To encourage domestic manufacturing of solar modules, the government has decided to grant excise duty exemption to modules that will go into rooftop solar plants for a minimum capacity of 100 kW. The benefits are available regardless of whether it is a “single project or a bundled project”, says a press release issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy today.
The ‘excise duty exemption certificates’ will be issued by the designated officer of MNRE, the release says, giving details of the procedure to be followed to get the exemption.
India has rooftop capacity of 285 MW, spread over thousands of roofs. Most of the projects are grid-connected, and are already eligible for excise exemption.
The solar consultancy, Bridge to India, estimates that India has off-grid solar rooftop installations of 112 MW. While welcoming the exemption, Jasmeet Khurana, Senior Manager, Bridge to India, says the incentive is likely to have little impact on the market. “It might be useful for some larger off-grid projects, of which there are few. For smaller projects, it just adds a layer of paperwork with very little benefit,” Khurana said in a statement to Business Line.