The government Thursday decided to slap 21 percent duty on imports of power equipment, mainly to protect domestic companies from cheap Chinese shipments.
“Cabinet has approved levying 21 percent import duty on power equipment sourced from overseas,” sources said.
The Cabinet has approved 5 percent basic customs duty, 12 percent counter-veiling duty and 4 percent special additional duty on import of power gear.
At present, equipment imported for projects of less than 1,000 MW capacity attract 5 percent customs duty, while those above that enjoy exemption.
The proposal is aimed at providing a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers such as BHEL and Larsen & Toubro against cheap imports, especially from China.
However, private power generation companies expressed dissatisfaction.
“It will increase the cost of power. The government has only gone by the protection of domestic equipment makers. They have not really addressed the concerns of private power generation companies,” Association of Power Producers (APP) Director General Ashok Khurana said.
Source: PTI
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