From pv magazine France
Four solar modules from Chinese cell and module manufacturer DMEGC have been removed from France’s list of products eligible for the reduced 5.5% value-added tax rate after an error was identified in component traceability, according to French certification body Certisolis.
The reduced rate applies only to modules meeting a carbon footprint threshold of less than 530 kg of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-peak.
The decision marks an unusual intervention in the certification regime.
“Out of 6,000 applications reviewed to date, this is the first time this has happened,” Franck Barruel, chief executive of Certisolis, told pv magazine France, adding that the error did not originate with the certifier. “During a second review, we identified an error in the documents provided by DMEGC concerning the traceability of certain components, which significantly affected the carbon footprint calculation.”
DMEGC acknowledged the mistake and moved to limit its commercial impact.
“Certisolis contacted us, and we admitted the error in the file,” Mehdi Boudal, sales director for France, Africa and the Middle East, told pv magazine France. “We withdrew the modules that could be removed from sale, and for the others, we informed our distributor and developer clients that they could continue to be marketed under the 20% VAT rate.”
The manufacturer said it will reimburse the VAT difference for modules already installed and plans to submit a corrected application to regain certification under the 5.5% rate. DMEGC has operated in the French market since 2013.
Certisolis said it will apply heightened scrutiny to future applications submitted under the reduced VAT framework and under the forthcoming Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), whose criteria have yet to be defined. At present, only two manufacturers remain certified for the reduced rate: Voltec, with four modules, and JinkoSolar, with one.
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