Volatile decisions to stymie solar power ambition

It was celebrated as ‘relieving’ by energy activists, hailed as a ‘milestone’ by solar installers, and welcomed as ‘money-saving’ by homeowners when parliament voted to eliminate duties and taxes on solar power accessories, which had previously ranged from 27 to 57 percent. Yet this promising horizon was abruptly overshadowed when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) promulgated its Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) on 8 June 2026, which allowed zero duties only for corporate companies with long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) listed as Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs).

The immediate wave of intense public outrage was hardly unexpected. After the legislation took effect, administrative bodies like the NBR have no mandate to change statutory policy without explicit judicial intervention. Following sustained public dialogue and stakeholder forums, the NBR issued a revised SRO on 11 August, capping import levies and taxes at 17 percent for importers of commercial renewable energy equipment.

Throughout this volatile transition, enthusiastic solar installers and small investors were left disheartened. An initiative that promised to revolutionize the country's green energy landscape was effectively derailed by entrenched bureaucratic conservatism. Attempting to mitigate the fallout, the NBR released a subsequent directive on 17 August clarifying its earlier SROs, specifying that customs tariffs must remain capped at 1 percent, even amid discrepancies in Harmonized System (HS) code classifications.

An initiative to eliminate duties and taxes on solar power accessories aimed at revolutionizing the country's green energy landscape is effectively derailed by entrenched bureaucratic conservatism 

These persistent policy shifts have sparked sharp inquiries from green energy investors, grassroots installers, and everyday consumers alike:

With tax authorities generating a mere Tk 3.5 billion annually from sustainable power, what explains such relentless revenue extraction, given that each megawatt of solar capacity offsets Tk 30 million per year and Tk 5.95 billion over 20 years by curbing fossil fuel import dependence on Heavy Fuel Oil and Liquefied Natural Gas?

Given the severe strain that fossil fuel imports �" particularly petroleum, coal, and LNG �" place on foreign exchange reserves and the balance of payments (BOP), Bangladesh desperately needs to accelerate its shift toward renewables to safeguard its national economy. Under these critical conditions, what justification led the cabinet to grant import tariff and tax exemptions for a mere six-month window?

As the military escalation involving US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggers severe disruptions along the Strait of Hormuz, the administration finds itself scrambling to secure sufficient fuel imports, particularly LNG, needed to sustain key industrial sectors and export markets. Against this precarious backdrop, decentralized solar initiatives, ranging from rooftops to agrivoltaic systems, offered a viable lifeline for the nation's energy security.

To alleviate these mounting strains, the government formulated an extensive Renewable Energy Development Strategy Paper (RESP) recommending a targeted financial pool; yet this vital instrument continues to face bureaucratic inertia. Establishing a dedicated renewable energy fund capitalized at a minimum of Tk 250 billion (USD 2 billion) is imperative to rescue this neglected sector.

Beset by relentless inflationary pressures, small and marginal households barely manage fundamental living expenses, rendering capital investments in rooftop solar virtually out of reach. To bridge this financial chasm, granting a targeted Tk 20,000 subsidy per kWp for systems under 3 kWp across rooftop, agricultural, and agrivoltaic applications remains essential, alongside concessional banking facilities that finance 70 percent of capital costs at a capped 5 percent interest rate. Ultimately, a direct appeal from the Prime Minister is essential to rally public support, urging citizens to embrace distributed rooftop generation, transform every household into a self-sustaining power station, and thereby safeguard long-term economic stability, sovereign energy security, climate adaptability, and ecological stewardship.