Five Chinese solar panel firms have circumvented tariff regulations and are exploiting Free Trade Agreement (FTA) loopholes to export to India even as Indian solar panel manufacturers are grappling with the influx of cheaper Chinese imports funnelled through intermediary countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Despite New Delhi's 40 per cent customs duty on solar modules and 25 per cent on solar cells to boost domestic production and reduce Chinese imports, companies in China are finding ways to bypass high tariffs and continue their supply to Indian solar farm developers. Chinese firms have used this strategy to evade local tariffs as revealed by a year-long investigation in 2023 by US federal authorities.