Solar companies seek duty on Chinese wafers, ingots

NEW DELHI: India has achieved self-sufficiency in solar module manufacturing. But the feat has rendered domestic producers of polysilicon, wafers and ingots – the building blocks for modules – vulnerable to dumping by China-owned companies.
The manufacturers of these inputs, who make up the solar industry‘s upstream segment, are now seeking safeguard duty (SGD) against Chinese supplies and policy interventions such as making locally-made supplies mandatory, similar to the ones given to module manufacturing.
Industry body ISMA recently told renewable ministry officials that the dumping will impact the viability of upstream investments. It rooted for fresh capital subsidy programme, priority lending and interest subvention, among other fiscal incentives, as well as import duty exemption on capital goods and raw material for producing polysilicon, ingots and wafers.