Blue Wafers In Solar Cell Manufacturing: Critical Compliance Risks For Solar Project Developers

Summary

Solar manufacturers and project developers should be aware of an emerging and significant compliance risk concerning the origin of photovoltaic cells and modules for purposes of tax credits, customs and antidumping/countervailing (AD/CVD) laws, and certain tariffs. While a recent ruling issued by U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) implies that these products originate in countries other than where the P/N junction is formed for purposes of now-terminated Section 201 duties, the ruling does not overrule prior CBP rulings or impact country of origin for purposes of other important tariff regimes, such as AD/CVD duties. Nor does the ruling impact domestic content analyses under important tax programs, such as the Domestic Content Bonus Credit under Section 45Y and Section 48E of the Internal Revenue Code and the Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit under Section 45X. Even with respect to the very narrow circumstances to which the ruling directly applies, reliance on