Shares of power equipment makers today gained ground,rising as much as 2 per cent,amid hopes that the government may take a decision on hiking import duty on power gear. BHEL rose by 2.18 per cent to Rs 234.65,while Larsen & Toubro moved up by 0.43 per cent to Rs 1,407.20 on the BSE. Among others,BGR Energy Systems was up 1.13 per cent,Siemens (1.22 per cent) and ABB (0.07 per cent). The government is likely to take up the issue of levying about 21 per cent duty on imported power gear,particularly to guard against the low-priced equipment from China,at the Cabinet meeting today. Earlier this month,the Power Ministry floated a fresh proposal for slapping higher duty on imported equipment for the power sector. At present,equipment imported for projects of less than 1,000 MW capacity attract 5 per cent customs duty,while those above that enjoy exemption. The proposal is aimed at providing a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers such as BHEL and Larsen & Toubro against cheap imports,especially from China.
