Pakistan may drop import duty on solar products - report

In a bid to put an end to electricity load-shedding, the Pakistan Solar Association (PSA) on Sunday proposed zero duties on imports of solar equipment for the 2015-2016 federal budget, the Pakistan Observer said Monday.

PSA has called on the government to exempt from taxes and duties all solar equipment, including photovoltaic (PV) panels, batteries, as well as hybrid, off- and on-grid charge controllers, chairman Faiz Bhutta was cited as saying. Apart from making the standard certification mandatory for import of quality solar equipment, the association also called for control units and solar energy monitoring devices to be excluded from the tax and duties tariff list.

Through spurring the development of the solar segment, Pakistan can fight the severe energy crisis threatening the country’s economic growth, the daily said, quoting Bhutta.

Under the country’s Finance Act 2014, the duties imposed on solar panels, batteries and inverters and charge controllers were 32%, 55% and 35%, respectively. In comparison, they were free from taxes between 2006 and 2014, according to the report.

This year Pakistan is seen to import 1,500 MW of PV modules, up from 300 MW in 2014. Only 10 MW are manufactured locally, Pakistan Observer noted.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!