The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for country-coded model numbers of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules under the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order, 2025. Under the SOP, all new PV module models must carry a four-character country-code suffix, with the first two characters identifying the module manufacturing country and the next two identifying the solar cell manufacturing country.
Moreover, separate model numbers will be required for bill of materials (BOM) using cells manufactured in different countries. Existing Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-registered models must also create corresponding country-coded model numbers, with no fresh testing required where the BOM is only deleted or restricted or separated without other changes. Test laboratories will verify the revised BOM and country details. BIS shall, subject to fulfilment of all applicable requirements, issue a revised BIS certificate/addendum to the existing certificate incorporating the newly created model numbers.
Additionally, manufacturers must comply within 180 days of the SOP issue, after which non-compliant applications will not be processed. The complete country-coded model number must be used consistently across product labels, test reports, BIS certificates, datasheets and other relevant documents.
