Federal Government changes import rate for solar panels and wind turbines

Assembled solar panels and wind turbines of up to 7.500 kVA will pay an import tariff of 10,8% from January 2024. The decision was announced this Tuesday (12) by Gecex-Camex (Executive Management Committee of the Chamber of Foreign Commerce).

The justification given by the agency for adopting the measure is that taxing this equipment should help stimulate national production of both products.

The decision also revokes 324 former tariffs on photovoltaic modules that had been reduced to zero. To give the market time to adapt to the new rules, Gecex-Camex also established import-exempt quotas, in decreasing amounts until 2027.

The quotas will be: US$ 1,13 billion between January and June 2024; US$1,01 billion between July 2024 and June 2025; US$717 million between July 2025 and June 2026; US$403 million between July 2026 and June 2027.

According to a Wladimir Janousek, Secretary of Industry and Commerce of the RING (National Institute of Clean Energy) and a professional who has been actively following the entire process, some issues still need to be clarified by the Government.

“We still need to understand how this issue of quotas will work, as not all solar panels will be exempt until 2027. According to the Government itself, the biannual quotas may be revised depending on the entry of new manufacturers or if the capacity is not enough to meet national demand. We should have a definition on this this week,” he said.

“We at INEL have always supported, since the first meetings began, the adoption of a transition plan that would allow exactly this time for the national industry to be further trained, not only in terms of production capacity, but technically and with a series of other factors to so that it can compete with imported modules. This is not just in price, but in quality, certifications and product guarantees. We proposed that some formatting, a transition, should occur. The way the Government is proposing is this quota regime”, pointed out the INEL executive.

Wind turbines

Before the Federal Government's decision, all wind turbines with a power above 3.300 kVA could be purchased abroad with zero import tax. Now, only equipment with a power greater than 7.500 kVA will be entitled to exemption, and for just one year.

This is because it was defined that all purchases outside the country involving wind turbines will incur 11,2% import tax from 2025 onwards. Any exemptions, for any power, will only be granted upon proof of no production.

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