Tax exemption on solar energy – by Adriana Zeledón
During 2019 the solar energy industry in Costa Rica experienced several changes regarding tax exemptions of the goods used for this purpose. Before March 2019, the article 28 of the 7447 Law about the Regulation of the Rational Use of Energy (1984) listed a bit more than 20 goods that were tax exempted for the use of solar energy, but during that month it went down to seven goods that now play a critic role in solar systems for water heating and electricity generation. These are:
- Solar Water heaters
- Photovoltaic modules (known as solar panels)
- Micro and mini hydroelectric generators
- Mini wind generators
- DC/AC inverters for photovoltaic systems and mini hydroelectric generators
- Batteries for photovoltaic systems and mini hydroelectric and wind generators
- Battery charge controllers for photovoltaic systems, wind or hydroelectric generators
The rest of the components of a system which are not mentioned in the above list, do not have tax exemption. Some examples of these are the aluminum structure to support the solar panels or the solar cable. These were included in the list before March 2019.
Another relevant change is that in July 2019 the Law on Strengthening Public Finance came into effect, stipulating that services will not be tax exempted. So, in the case of solar energy, the maintenance, installation or other services are charged with 13% tax rate.
Therefore, the industry operates with these modifications and joins to protect the consumers interests, in order to make it easier and more accessible to have clean energies and become a part of a regenerative lifestyle for our Planet.
