The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan notified Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture to consult again with PV business operators regarding the introduction of the nation’s first “commercial PV module tax,” which Mimasaka City had requested for consultation with MIC.

Mimasaka City passed the “commercial PV module tax ordinance” as a non-statutory purpose tax in December 2021. It was expected to go into effect in FY 2023 if the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications gave his consent, but this notice brought uncertainty to the introduction of the tax.

It was planned that PV module tax of 50 JPY ($ 0.4) per 1 m2 of PV module would be imposed for five years, for PV systems with an output capacity of 10 kW or more installed in Mimasaka City. The Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association (JPEA) expressed opposition against the proposal, claiming that the tax would hinder dissemination of PV power generation.