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					</table>The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (<a href="https://www.dgtr.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DGTR</a>) has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into the imports of solar cells from China, whether or not assembled in solar modules, and to recommend the appropriate amount of anti-dumping duty, which, if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry.
It has held that there is sufficient prima facie evidence that the solar cells originating from China are being dumped in the Indian market, causing injury to the domestic industry.
The investigation is in response to applications filed by five Indian companies alleging injury to the domestic industry due to dumped imports and seeking the imposition of an anti-dumping duty.
The present investigation will cover the period from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. The injury investigation will cover the period from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2023, and the present investigation&#8217;s period.
The parties to the investigation must provide their comments, substantiated with evidence, within 30 days.
In a gazette notification, DGTR said the volume of solar cell imports had increased significantly over the injury period, both in absolute terms and in relation to production and consumption in India. The price of imported cells from China has declined significantly, undercutting the prices of the domestic industry.
“Despite increased production capacities and demand in the market, the domestic industry is faced with significantly unutilized capacities and a negligible share in the market. This has resulted in significant piling up of inventories,” DGTR said.
The application was filed by FS India Solar Ventures, Jupiter International, RenewSys India, Tata Power Solar Systems, and TP Solar under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment, and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995.
Losses for Domestic Industry
The domestic industry claimed that the imports have resulted in significant financial losses, cash losses, and almost no return on investment. The domestic industry has also claimed three market segments for the subject goods: imports for re-export, projects with Domestic Content Requirements (DCR), and the open market.
Since the DCR market requires projects to compulsorily procure goods domestically, it is insulated from the ill effects of dumped imports. However, in the open market, the domestic industry cannot sell its goods and has practically no sales as it cannot compete with dumped imports.
The domestic industry has highlighted that significant capacity additions are being made in India, which are severely threatened if the dumped imports are not kept in check.
The products under consideration are solar cells or photovoltaic cells, assembled in modules or made into panels, produced using c-Si or thin film technology. The solar cells may be monocrystalline or multi-crystalline, which are included within the scope of the product under consideration.
Solar cells are manufactured mainly using two production technologies: crystalline silicon-based solar cell technology (c-Si) and thin film technology. Solar cells and modules or panels produced through c-Si-based and thin film technology are included within the scope of the product under consideration.
The applicants have proposed solar cells (monocrystalline and multicrystalline cells) and solar modules for consideration in the investigation.
DGTR has noted that the domestic industry has produced solar cells using c-Si technology and solar modules using thin film technology. However, the domestic industry has not produced solar modules using c-Si technology. While c-Si modules are being imported into the country, the domestic industry produces and supplies thin-film modules. In the absence of an identical or alike article in all respects, solar modules produced using thin film technology are considered ‘like article’ to solar modules produced using c-Si cells, closely resembling characteristics of the imported article.
Therefore, to initiate the investigation, products manufactured by the domestic industry are considered &#8220;like articles&#8221; to those imported from China.
The applicants have claimed that there are only six known producers of solar cells in India, including three of the applicants. However, DGTR has considered the production of solar cells by FS India Solar Ventures and Jupiter International only as part of the eligible domestic production.
In February, DGTR <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/dgtr-anti-dumping-probe-solar-glass" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiated</a> an anti-dumping investigation on imports of textured tempered coated and uncoated glass originating in or exported from China and Vietnam.
A month earlier, it had <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/dgtr-extension-anti-dumping-duty-eva-backsheets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommended</a> the extension of anti-dumping duty on the imports of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate backsheets originating in or exported from China for five years.

DGTR Opens Anti-Dumping Investigation into Solar Cell Imports from China

The Union Minister of Power, R.K. Singh, cautioned domestic manufacturers against importing necessary equipment from ‘countries of concern.’
Singh spoke at a webinar- Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) Annual Convention 2020- where he addressed domestic power generation equipment manufacturers.
“We will set up a task force that will focus on manufacturing zones where you will get land and power at reasonable rates. Simultaneously, we are building barriers such as the ‘approved list of modules and manufacturers (ALMM), which is again non-tariff based. This is already in place for wind, and soon, we will come up with a similar list for solar modules.
In January 2019, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MNRE</a>) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-announce-list-of-approved-solar-manufacturers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> an order that it would be mandatory to enlist the eligible models and manufacturers of solar PV cells and modules complying with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and publish it as the ALMM list. Only those modules and cells enlisted in this list by manufacturers would be utilized in government-owned projects and those set up for the sale of electricity to the government. Prior to inclusion in the ALMM, a MNRE team would be inspecting the facility to conduct production and sale audit of the firm.
The ALMM order is <a href="https://mercomindia.com/solar-industry-covid-19-almm-deadline-extended/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">set</a> to be implemented starting September 30, 2020. The extension was granted due to the ongoing pandemic.
Singh further added that the world had lost its faith in China, and they want to come here to set up manufacturing in India, “And by manufacturing, I don’t mean assembly lines, I mean 50-60% value addition.”
He told the panel, “My advice to you is to stop importing from countries which are of concern, we will examine those imports with a magnifying glass for two to three years. So, the best thing to do is not to import at all from these countries. This is one way to fight import dumping, which is negatively impacting our domestic manufacturer. So we are going into put in place a lot of non-tariff barriers, plain and simple.”
He even advised the industry to work on reverse engineering, “Look at South Korea, they didn’t discover the television (TV). But their brand Samsung is world-famous for its TVs. This is my biggest complaint about our industry. We should start working on reverse engineering.”
In April this year, the central government <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1615711" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tweaked</a> its existing foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to deter opportunistic takeovers and acquisitions of Indian entities by foreigners. According to the new rules, an entity from a country sharing borders with India can invest only through the government route.
Notably, China’s FDI in the Indian non-conventional energy segment was just 3.14% of the total Chinese FDI over the last five years. Total investment in the sector by Chinese enterprises was around $46.61 million, while its total FDI in India was $1,481.65 million in the last five years. FDI for non-conventional energy by Chinese companies <a href="https://mercomindia.com/china-fdi-in-india-non-conventional-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dropped</a> to $150,000 compared to $24.44 million in the previous year.
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Image credit: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (GODL-India) / <a href="https://data.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gazette_Notification_OGDL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GODL-India</a>

India to Set up a Task Force to Establish Power Equipment Manufacturing Zones: RK Singh

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