To curb the procurement of solar generation equipment from China, and increase the reliance on domestic manufacturing, the government is planning to impose the basic customs duty (BCD) on imports of such products.
Though solar imports from China have gradually fallen since the imposition of the safeguard duty in July 2018, it still remained the largest source of solar cells and panels in April-December FY20 with imports worth $1.2 billion. A 20% BCD on these products was proposed in the Budget, but the Ministry of New and Renewable energy (MNRE) had clarified that the levy will not be imposed at least till the expiry of the safeguard duty regime.
