Power Ministry supports raising import duties on power equipment

20 Jan 2012 Evaluate

A move, which could help the domestic power equipment makers who have for long lobbied for imposition of customs duty on imported Chinese tools to offset some of the high costs they incur at home, the Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has requested the finance ministry to impose customs duties on the import of transmission and distribution equipment into the country. Their key complaint against Chinese imports has been that their producers enjoy lower interest rates and an undervalued currency, giving them an edge in pricing over Indian equipments. 

Their stance has been supported by the power minister who feels that Indian companies can now be protected with this move. Sushilkumar Shinde said that it was not possible to do so earlier as most of the foreign companies had set shops in India on the assurance that they would be protected. But now the scenario had changed and India had enough capacity to meet domestic demand. Hence some protection could definitely be provided in the 12th Plan. The minister further observed that the transmission and distribution (T&D) segment has progressed fast and once domestic demand was met, Indian firms would be in a position to export high end T&D equipment. That some Indian firms had already received orders from abroad, he stated.

Currently, projects under 1,000 MW attract 5% import duty while other projects benefit from duty-free import of equipment. Further, the government is reportedly looking at two options; first, bringing all the power projects at par, which is, levying a uniform duty on all power generation equipment, regardless of the project size. In such a situation, the duty may be levied at the current rate of 5%. Second, imposing a basic import duty at 5%, besides an extra levy of 5% and 4% countervailing duty (imposed in lieu of excise duty for domestic producers), making it a total of 14%.
 
The move is likely to benefit local equipment manufacturers such as BHEL, L&T and Bharat Forge and on the other hand, power producers will be affected, as they import machinery, mainly from China.  Earlier, a panel headed by Planning Commission member Arun Maira had recommended an imposition of 10% basic customs duty and 4% special additional duty. The contention was that imposition of duty would create a level playing field between domestic and Chinese manufacturers and ensure that local companies are not rendered uncompetitive. The proposal, however, was opposed by the power ministry.

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