The Ministry of Finance has extended the countervailing duty (CVD) on imports of textured tempered solar glass originating in or exported from Malaysia until June 8, 2026.

The CVD was originally imposed in March 2021 for five years under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, following findings that subsidised imports from Malaysia were causing injury to domestic manufacturers. The duty was scheduled to expire on March 8, 2026.

A sunset review was initiated in June 2025 to examine whether withdrawal of the duty would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of subsidisation and injury to the domestic industry. Since the investigation is not expected to conclude before the original expiry date, the government has exercised its powers under Sections 9(1) and 9(6) of the Customs Tariff Act to extend the duty temporarily.

As per the notification, the countervailing duty will remain in force up to and including June 8, 2026, unless it is revoked, superseded, or amended earlier based on the outcome of the review.

The extension ensures continued protection for domestic solar glass manufacturers during the pendency of the DGTR investigation, while providing regulatory certainty to importers and downstream users in the solar value chain.

Solar glass was cited by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s as one of the key ancillary components in the solar manufacturing value chain that has not kept pace with module manufacturing growth. It recently issued an advisory to banks and financial institutions, calling for prudence in lending to standalone solar module manufacturing. Stakeholders welcomed the advisory, saying capital should flow into parts of the renewable energy ecosystem that have remained underdeveloped.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry finalized antidumping duties on imports of textured tempered solar glass from China and Vietnam after it was concluded that dumping of solar glass by the two countries had caused material injury to the domestic industry. Anti-dumping duties were determined within the range of $658-$664/MT for China and $570-$664/MT for Vietnam.

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