India Budget 2017 – Mr.Soumyen Mukherjee, President Sova Solar Limited Shares his Expectations
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Following points may be included in the impending budget for the FY 2017-18
- Import duty on machinery for setting up solar photovoltaic module manufacturing plant may please be waived. Duty waiver should be extended to the existing solar module manufacturer.
- Exemption of capital subsidy need to be allowed @30% on capex and the threshold limit need to be Rs 5.00 crore.
- Exemption of Import duty on glass import under notification no 24/2005 need to be continued, otherwise cost of glass will be increased by 9.95% (approx) and all DTA unit become unviable. Moreover, the present installed capacity of glass plant (domestic) is not sufficient to cater the present and emerging demand of glass required for the upcoming solar project declared by MNRE, Govt. of India.
- Existing exemption in import and domestic procurement of raw material should be continued and exemption on final product i.e. solar module need to be continued. In upcoming GST also, we expect that the said exemption will continue.
- The discrimination on levy of duty both (custom & excise) on solar module manufacturer operating under EOU,DTA & SEZ should beremoved by way of amending the proviso to Para 6 at Notification No.22/2003-CE dated 31.3.2003 and proviso to Para 3 of Notification No.52/2003-Cus dated 31.3.2003 specifiying that such provision shall not be applicable with respect to manufacture of goods where inputs are already exempted from payment of Central Excise duty or Customs duty either in terms of any other notification or for any other reason and if the Notification No. 12/2012-CE dated 17.3.2012 is made applicable to EOUs and SEZs also. Both such amendments should be made retrospectively since the same are only clarificatory in nature. In absence of such amendment with retrospective effect, Central Excise authorities on the one hand are demanding Central Excise duty on the SPM cleared by EOUs to DTAs and on the other hand are demanding Customs duty forgone on inputs used for manufacture of finished SPM which were ultimately cleared to DTA for last 5 years by way of invoking extended period of limitation upon the allegation of willful misstatement or suppression of fact, which is not proper and correct.
6. As solar module comes under ITA-1 item, sale of all these items, be it export or domestic, should be allowed as deemed export under Chapter 8 of Foreign Trade Policy
