India weighs countervailing duty on Chinese power plant equipment

The government is considering imposing import duty on Chinese power plant equipment, which gets an unfair advantage in the Indian market because of availability of cheap credit in China.

The government is considering a proposal to change the import duty structure of power plant equipment in order to protect the interests of domestic industry, power minister Prabhul Patel said today. The union power ministry has circulated a draft note for cabinet on reviewing the duty structure on imported power plant equipment, he added.

A power ministry note being circulated among various concerned ministries proposes imposition of a 14 per cent duty on imported power plant equipment. The move is aimed at providing a level playing field for domestic manufacturers of power plant equipment, the demands by the domestic players including BHEL and L&T.

The note follows recommendations by an official committee set up by the government for imposition of duty on imported power equipment in the light of cheaper imports from China.

The government had constituted a committee headed by member (industry), Planning Commission to suggest options and modalities to take care of the disadvantages suffered by the domestic industry relating to power sector, he said.

Further, the government had also recently announced a National Manufacturing Policy in an effort to promote the domestic capital goods industry, including heavy electrical equipment industry, the minister said.