France’s certification body says it has revoked eligibility for a lower solar VAT rate for four Chinese-made modules after discovering traceability errors that changed their carbon footprint calculations.
Four solar panels from Chinese cell and module manufacturer DMEGC have been removed from France’s list of products eligible for the reduced 5.5% VAT rate after an error was discovered in the traceability of components, French certification body Certisolis said.
The reduced rate only applies to modules that meet 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.
“Of the 6,000 applications reviewed so far, this is the first time this has happened,” said Franck Barruel, CEO of Certisolis. pv magazine Franceadding that the error did not come from the certifier. “During a second assessment, we identified an error in the documents provided by DMEGC regarding the traceability of certain components, which significantly affected the carbon footprint calculation.”
DMEGC acknowledged the error and tried to limit its commercial impact.
“Certisolis contacted us and we admitted the error in the file,” said Mehdi Boudal, sales director for France, Africa and the Middle East. pv magazine France. “We have withdrawn the modules that could be withdrawn from sale, and for the others we informed our distributors and developer customers that they could be marketed under the 20% VAT rate.”
The manufacturer said it will refund the VAT difference for modules already installed and plans to submit a corrected application to regain certification under the 5.5% rate. DMEGC has been active on the French market since 2013.
Certisolis said it will increase scrutiny of future applications made under the reduced VAT framework and under the upcoming Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), the criteria for which are yet to be defined. Currently, only two manufacturers are certified for the reduced rate: Voltec, with four modules, and JinkoSolar, with one.
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