India waive tax on wind turbines

Wind turbine equipment will be exempt from tax duty in India, according to an announcement made by the Indian government.

The announcement comes as a part of the government’s pledge to reach 60 gigawatts of installed wind energy capacity by March 2022.

At the end of August 2015, just over 24 GW of wind energy capacity was operational in the country.

Equipment exempt from excise duty will include towers, nacelles, rotors, blades, and wind turbine controllers. The tax will be paid for manufacture and sale of products.

This will benefit a large number of wind turbine manufacturers in India, including Gamesa India, Suzlon Energy, Inox Wind, and Vestas.

The country announced recently a national offshore wind energy policy, which will auction for project sites next year.

India has very few manufacturers with experience in offshore wind turbines. It is clear that this tax exemption is a bid to attract foreign manufacturers such as Gamesa, Vestas, and Siemens.