The Indian Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended the implementation of a 25% safeguard importation duty on solar cell imports from China and Malaysia for a 2-year period. The proposal has not yet been approved by the government and the duty will start at 25% in the first year, then be reduced to 20% for the first six months of the second year and to 15% in the final six month period. The proposal is very similar to the safeguard duty levied by the United States in January 2018, which set up anti-dumping tariffs on imported solar cells and modules at 30% during the first year and then gradually declining to 15% after a 4-year period.
The DGTR aims at preventing the complete erosion of the domestic solar manufacturing base as the rise of imports threaten the domestic cells producers. The proposal was initially requested by the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) on behalf of five Indian producers. However, several solar project developers rely on overseas components and have objected that it would jeopardize India's plans to reach its solar capacity targets.