India considers customs duty on solar equipment from August

The government plans to impose customs duty on solar equipment from August and allow imports in the power and green energy sectors from certain countries only after prior approval of the administrative ministry, an official statement said.

The move is expected to curb imports from China, which overwhelmingly dominates India’s market for solar equipment, although the government did not name any country in its statement which mentioned national security as key consideration.

Imported equipment would also be checked in Indian labs for quality and malware, the government said in a statement after a meeting between industry representatives and RK Singh, power and renewable energy minister.