(ET)
The government appears to have turned down a plea by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to scrap import duty on solar panels imposed last year, according to the minutes of a meeting held earlier this month.
The renewable energy ministry had backed the demand by solar developers that such equipment should continue to be exempted from duty. This would mean developers getting equipment from overseas having to pay levies that add up to about 10%, ppossibly reversing the decline in solar tariffs in successive auctions in the past three years unless power producers choose to absorb the extra cost, experts said. However, developers that quoted tariffs based on a zero-duty calculation in past auctions may get some relief.
