Indian solar PV manufacturers have filed an anti-dumping petition with the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. The petition was filed on June 5, 2017 which the ministry is yet to accept or send an official notification, stated Mercom Capital Group.
The Indian PV module manufacturers are hoping for an interim duty to be levied against Chinese solar modules, as per Mercom sources.
This is the second time that Indian solar manufacturers have filed this kind of petition, the first one being in FY2011-12. It was related to cells and modules manufactured in the region of Greater China , Malaysia and the US. The ministry then imposed anti-dumping tariffs in the range of $0.11 to $0.81 per W. But the Indian government finally closed the case in 2014.
Back then, the government apparently appeased the solar manufacturing industry by talking of guaranteeing a market that would make it mandatory to use domestically produced goods in solar projects. But things seem to have changed post the World Trade Organization's decision in favour of the US on India's domestic content requirements (DCR) for its solar projects (see Final WTO Verdict In India-US Solar Dispute). Post this decision, India has had to do away with DCR in solar energy auctions.
A year back in July 2016, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) had reportedly stated in the Indian Parliament that Indian PV manufacturers are not interested in continuing with their anti-dumping petition (see Indian PV Manufacturers Not For Anti-Dumping Duty).
Several solar markets across the world have issued anti-dumping and/or anti-subsidy protection measures against solar cells and modules from China. After Europe and the US, recently Turkey imposed an anti-dumping fee in the range of 26.99% to 28.73% on modules coming from China (see Turkey Slaps Anti-Dumping Fee On Chinese PV Makers).
Commenting on the impact this fresh petition by Indian PV makers may have on the business, Mercom Capital stated, "Considering that cheaper Chinese modules are fueling Indian solar installations and have brought down tariffs to record low levels and the fact that the previous anti-dumping case was closed without a tariff imposition, it is difficult to see this petition going far. Anti-dumping cases are also not a short-term remedy and take years to complete."