Waaree Energies Ltd shares lost 4% on Monday after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ruled that the solar cell and module manufacturer evaded tariffs applicable on modules imported into the US made from photovoltaic cells from Vietnam and Malaysia from 2021 to 2026.
Waaree now needs to pay a tariff of about 2.7 times on the specific imports, though the exact quantum of duties hasn’t been finalized. Waaree has the option to seek administrative and judicial review.
For Waaree, this is the second adverse US policy action this year. In April, the US imposed an anti-dumping duty of 123% on solar imports from India and other countries. The duty is on a preliminary basis, and a final decision is expected by mid-July.
Waaree said the CBP ruling is limited to a small portion of its imports into the US, but this comes with risks.
“We believe CBP saying that Waaree had a ‘four-year history of reporting the wrong country of origin’ does carry reputational weight and may impact 65-70% of Waaree's total order book of ₹53,000 crore,” JM Financial Institutional Securities said.
As per the US tariff policy, module imports into the country attract anti-dumping and countervailing duties if the solar cells used to make them come from specified countries. According to the CBP, it conducted a verification of Waaree’s production records and accounting system and found that the company did not import into the US solar modules manufactured with Chinese-origin solar cells.
Company outlook
Waaree has posted sustained growth with robust solar generation capacity addition in India, which stood at 45 GW in FY26, up from 25 GW in FY25. The outlook for the company has been strengthened by the government’s notification requiring domestic solar project developers to source cells from an approved list of models and manufacturers from 1 June.
The government also plans to mandate domestic sourcing of ingots and wafers (inputs used to make solar cells) by June 2028. Waaree started construction of a 10 GW ingots and wafers facility in March at an investment of ₹6,200 crore, which would benefit from the proposed mandate.
Waaree aims to clock ₹1 trillion in revenue by 2030, representing a 30% compounded annual growth rate from ₹26,500 crore in FY26. Ebitda rose about 1.2 times to ₹5,900 crore in FY26.
As per the close on 29 June, Waaree’s shares have declined 17.6% since 29 April, when it declared its FY26 results. A final decision on the duty and developments related to the CBP verdict are key to the stock’s fortunes.