India Extends Compliance Deadline for Solar Inverters Above 200 kW to 31 December 2026

This extension stems from the Central Government's notification S.O. 492(E), the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order 2025, issued on 27 January 2025. Covering five product categories, the order supersedes the 2017 mandate on compulsory registration for solar photovoltaic products and was scheduled to take effect 180 days after its release. Previously, via notification S.O. 3597(E) dated 5 August 2025, the Indian government once extended the self-certification requirement for SPv Inverters over 200 kW (Items 4 and 5) to 30 June 2026.

Per the latest official circular, the extension is granted due to limited domestic testing infrastructure and the need to grant manufacturers additional time to achieve full compliance. During the extended period, manufacturers shall conduct self-certification by holding valid IEC certificates matching Indian national standards.

Additionally, manufacturers are required to furnish test reports issued by accredited testing laboratories together with specified valid IEC certificates.

This latest move offers relevant manufacturers an extra six-month compliance window (July – December 2026) to ease pressures arising from immediate third-party certification. The measure helps avoid supply chain disruptions for utility-scale solar projects and guarantees steady project rollouts. Importers are obligated to verify suppliers' certification credentials and secure test reports from accredited labs. The extension also lays bare gaps within India's domestic testing infrastructure, which may spur corresponding investment and technical collaboration in the sector.

Nevertheless, manufacturers that fail to satisfy all compliance prerequisites by 31 December 2026 risk being barred from the Indian market. A further extension may be considered if testing laboratories are unable to scale up their operational capacity in time.