India may extend the safeguard duty for a year

India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) issued on July 18 a notice recommending an one-year extension of the safeguard duty (SGD) on imports of solar cells and modules under tariff items no. 85414011 and 85414012. The DGTR suggested imposing the duty in two phases: 14.50% for the first six months and 14.50% for the subsequent six months on imports from China, Thailand, and Vietnam. Other developing countries will be exempted from the duty.

In the notice, DGTR claimed that implementation of both basic customs duty (BCD) and SGD will exert huge pressure on end users. Moreover, increasing BCD will violate the agreement with WTO. So, it’s not likely to raise the BCD rate and impose SGD and BCD simultaneously. 

Based on InfoLink’s understanding, it’s highly likely that SGD will be extended, while BCD is not likely to be introduced. The final decision is expected to be announced soon.