BCD, AIDC and import duty on solar modules: the 2026 stack EPCs must price in

Import duty is the line most EPCs underprice. The BCD on solar modules in India 2026 has been high enough to wipe out the headline price gap with Indian modules. Get the full duty stack right and you quote the real landed cost — not the supplier invoice.

What BCD and AIDC actually are

BCD is Basic Customs Duty — the main tax India charges on imported goods. AIDC is the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess, a separate charge added on the same imported value. Both apply to solar cells and modules brought in from abroad, and together they make up most of the import cost over the supplier price.

The government set these duties to grow Indian solar manufacturing. The aim is simple: make imported modules cost more, so buyers choose Indian-made ones. This duty wall sits next to the ALMM list and DCR rules, which already require domestic content for many schemes.

Why this matters before you buy

A foreign supplier quotes you a per-watt price. That price is not what the module costs you. By the time the container clears the port, BCD, AIDC, a surcharge, GST and clearing fees have been added. Price the job on the supplier invoice and your margin disappears at customs.

The 2026 duty stack, layer by layer

The duty stack is a set of charges added one on top of another. Each layer uses a different base, so the order matters. Here is how the layers build up on an imported solar module.

• Assessable value — the CIF price plus landing charges. This is the base.
• BCD — Basic Customs Duty, a percentage of the assessable value.
• AIDC — a cess on the assessable value, charged alongside BCD.
• Social Welfare Surcharge — a smaller charge calculated on the duty.
• IGST — GST on the total of value plus all the duties above.

Because IGST sits on top of the duties, a higher BCD also raises the GST you pay at import. The duties compound. That is why a 40% headline duty can feel like more once the full stack and clearing costs land.

The duty rates table (point-in-time)

These rates are illustrative and point-in-time for June 2026. They change with Union Budgets and CBIC notifications, and some have faced exemption windows. Confirm every rate with a customs broker and the current CBIC notification before you price a job.

Cells versus modules: why the gap matters

The duty on cells has been lower than the duty on full modules. That gap is deliberate. It lets Indian module makers import cells more cheaply, build the module here, and still beat a fully imported module on landed cost.

What the gap means for sourcing

If you buy a finished imported module, you pay the higher module duty. If you buy an Indian-assembled module, the maker paid the lower cell duty — or used Indian cells and paid none. The List-II cell mandate, expected around June 2026 but subject to deferment and court proceedings, pushes even further toward Indian cells. Confirm whether it was deferred in the latest MNRE order, status as of 20 June 2026.

Building the true landed cost

Landed cost is the total you pay to get a module onto your warehouse floor. Build it line by line, not as a guess. Here is the worksheet most procurement leads use.

Run this on every imported BOM. A module that looks cheaper on the supplier invoice often lands dearer than an Indian module once the full stack is added. Compare landed-to-landed, never invoice-to-invoice.

GST on top of the duty

GST is charged on the duty-inclusive value, so it sits on top of BCD and AIDC. For a registered business the IGST is often creditable, but it still ties up cash at the port until you claim it. Treat GST as its own line in the landed cost.

The GST rate on modules and the matching HSN codes change, so confirm both for the financial year you import in. Our GST and HSN guide covers the codes for the whole solar BOM. Always confirm with a chartered accountant.

Exemptions, SEZ and project imports

Some import routes carry concessions, but they are narrow and change often. SEZ units, certain mega-power or project-import schemes, and specific exemption notifications can lower or remove duty for qualifying projects. None of these are automatic.

Do not assume an exemption applies to your job. Each one has conditions, paperwork and a live notification behind it. Confirm eligibility with a customs broker and a chartered accountant against the current CBIC notification before you build it into a quote.

Why the duty stack drives DCR and ALMM choices

The duty stack is the money side of the same push that ALMM and DCR enforce on the rules side. High duty makes imported modules costly; ALMM and DCR make many of them ineligible. Together they steer most government-linked projects to Indian modules.

For an EPC, this means your sourcing decision is rarely about the cheapest invoice. It is about the cheapest compliant module landed in your warehouse. The domestic versus imported cell trade-off usually lands in favour of Indian content once duty is in the maths.

How SuryaHub helps you price the real cost

Most quoting errors come from costing on the supplier invoice, not the landed cost. SuryaHub procurement and inventory lets you record duty, cess, GST and clearing against each module line, so the cost that flows into your quotation is the cost that hits your bank. SuryaHub is pre-revenue; the only real pilots are Suryantra Energy and RGESPL, and every duty figure here is point-in-time, not a guarantee.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

Duty rates and the stack come from primary government sources. Rates change often, so always confirm the current numbers with CBIC and a customs broker before you price an import.

• Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) ↗

  Customs tariff, BCD and AIDC notifications. The primary source for current rates.

• Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) ↗

  ALMM orders and the policy push toward domestic cells and modules.

• Indian Trade Portal (DGFT) ↗

  HS codes, applied duty and import policy for solar goods.