Domestic solar equipment manufacturers have said that cheap import of silicon cells, modules and thin films from China, Taiwan, Malaysia and the US was posing a serious challenge to local players and needed to be curbed. Besides, these imports were in violation of global fair trade rules.

The Indian Solar Manufacturers’ Association (ISMA), representing 25 domestic solar manufacturers such as Moserbaer Solar and Tata Power, is hopeful that the anti-dumping investigations into solar cells imports, launched by the Commerce & Industry Ministry in 2013 from the four countries, would result in imposition of suitable anti-dumping duty.

“In our representation to the Government, we have established that the identified countries are selling their products in India at below normal price and that it was leading to injury to the domestic industry.

“We are hoping that a ruling will be in our favour,” said Dhruv Sharma, CEO, Jupiter Solar Power Ltd.

Anti-dumping duties are imposed when it is conclusively proved that exporters from a particular country were selling products at prices lower than what they were offering in their local markets.

Domestic manufacturers also have to prove that their businesses were being affected adversely due to cheap imports.

Interestingly, the US and the EU have already imposed anti-dumping duties ranging from 30 per cent to 254 per cent on Chinese solar imports.

The Commerce & Industry Ministry is scheduled to come up with its suggestions on an whether there is a case for imposing anti-dumping duty on solar product imports and what should be an appropriate level of such duty on May 22.

Imports of solar products have increased more than 40 per cent from 800 MW of generation capacity in 2012-13 to 1.4 GW in 2013-14, according to ISMA.

This has resulted in 70 per cent domestic capacities lying idle and estimated losses of ₹1,000 crore to the domestic industry.

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