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MNRE Mandates Country Codes for Solar Module and Cell Origin

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					</table>The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (<a href="https://mnre.gov.in/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MNRE</a>) has issued a standard operating procedure requiring solar module model numbers submitted for registration or inclusion with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to identify the countries where the modules and solar cells are manufactured.
The SOP establishes a four-character country identifier that must be added as a suffix to the existing or identified model number. The first two characters will represent the country where the solar module manufacturing unit is located, while the next two will represent the country where the solar cells incorporated in the particular bill of materials (BOM) are manufactured. The identifiers must use ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes.
Under the prescribed format, for instance, a module manufactured in India using Indian-manufactured cells would carry the suffix “ININ,” while an India-manufactured module using cells manufactured in China would carry “INCN.”
The four-character suffix will form an integral part of the model number for BIS registration and certification and for subsequent identification of the model.
MNRE issued the SOP to establish a consistent and verifiable mechanism for tracing the manufacturing origin of solar modules and cells.
The ministry had notified the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order, 2025, in January 2025. The Quality Control Order requires specified products, including solar modules, to conform to applicable Indian Standards and bear the BIS Standard Mark.
MNRE also issued revised Guidelines for Series Approval of solar photovoltaic modules in December 2025. However, the Quality Control Order, Series Approval Guidelines, and applicable BIS requirements do not prescribe a specific nomenclature or model-number format, allowing manufacturers to assign model numbers subject to marking and registration requirements.
If a manufacturer has multiple BOMs under the same original model number containing cells manufactured in different countries, it must create separate model numbers carrying the corresponding country identifiers for each BOM configuration.
A single country-coded model number cannot cover BOMs containing solar cells manufactured in different countries.
Manufacturers can, however, use cells from multiple manufacturers under a particular model if all the cell manufacturers are located in the same country. The approved BOM must identify each cell manufacturer and the relevant cell details.
The requirements also apply to existing BIS-registered solar module models. Manufacturers must create corresponding additional model numbers carrying the four-character country identifier.
For each additional model number, manufacturers must submit BOM details restricting or separating solar cells according to the country represented by the final two characters of the suffix. The details must be submitted through the existing BIS application and inclusion procedure.
Fresh testing will not be required if creating the additional model number involves only deleting, restricting, or separating solar cells or cell variants already approved under the existing BOM.
This exemption applies when there is no addition or modification of any BOM or component, material, manufacturing process, or design that would otherwise require testing. The original test report can be used after the test laboratory verifies the revised BOM.
The test laboratory must issue a supplementary test report containing the newly created model number and revised BOM, with reference to the original test report, after verification.
No fresh testing fee can be charged in such cases. However, applicable charges related to marking, documentation, and other relevant requirements can be levied. BIS will subsequently issue a revised certificate or an addendum to the existing certificate incorporating the newly created model numbers, subject to compliance with applicable requirements.
Manufacturers seeking inclusion of an additional model must submit the original test reports for the existing registered BOM and the revised BOM applicable to the proposed model number.
They must also provide the solar cell model number, except for thin-film solar modules, and the name, address, and country of the solar cell manufacturers. Manufacturers must declare that all cells covered under the particular country-coded model are manufactured in the country represented by the final two characters of the model-number suffix.
Test laboratories must verify that the module manufacturing location corresponds to the first two characters of the suffix and that the manufacturing country of the solar cells corresponds to the final two characters.
They must also ensure that cells covered under a particular BOM are manufactured in only one country and that the revised BOM does not introduce any new component, material, design, or manufacturing-process change requiring testing under the applicable series or retesting guidelines.
If a new BOM is added, the applicable retesting guidelines, Series Approval Guidelines, and the SOP for model-number identification will apply.
Manufacturers of existing BIS-registered solar module models must submit the applications and complete the BIS registration process for the country-coded additional model numbers within 180 days from the issuance of the MNRE office memorandum.
After the 180-day period, all applications for registration, inclusion, or addition of solar module models must follow the new identification mechanism. BIS will not accept or process new models that do not comply with the prescribed model-number and corresponding BOM requirements.
The BIS-approved country-coded model number must also be used consistently on product labels and markings, test reports, BIS certificates, module data sheets, and other documents where the model number must be declared.
In December 2025, MNRE <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/mnre-issues-revised-bis-series-approval-guidelines-for-solar-modules?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> revised guidelines for the series approval of solar modules, detailing the testing requirements for manufacturers and laboratories for compulsory BIS registration under the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order, 2025.
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