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PLI-ACC beneficiaries (Reliance New Energy, Ola Electric, Rajesh Exports) must hit a Year-1-to-Year-5 Domestic Value Addition ramp from 25 to 60 percent to claim ₹18,100 Cr in cumulative incentives across 50 GWh of cell production. The DVA computation requires per-cell or per-batch bill-of-materials reconciliation tying domestic supplier invoices, imported-content customs Bills of Entry (net of MOOWR/EPCG refunds) and sale invoices into a single auditable thread. Without a structured reconciliation discipline, the year-end DVA aggregate cannot be defended at PMA audit and prior PLI disbursements face clawback risk.
Maintain a cell-SKU bill-of-materials master with domestic versus imported tagging at material level. For each imported input, link to customs Bill of Entry with CIF value plus duty plus clearance charges as landed cost, net of MOOWR or EPCG refund where applicable. For each domestic input, link to supplier tax invoice. Per quarter, aggregate sale-value of ACC cells (gross output) minus aggregate landed cost of imported content to derive DVA. Reconcile capacity-utilisation evidence at plant level. Build the quarterly PLI claim file with cross-references to cell sale invoices (IRN), domestic supplier invoices, Bills of Entry and capacity-utilisation log. Roll up to annual milestone for clawback-resistant audit.
Cell-SKU master with kWh rating, chemistry (NMC/NCA/LFP), bill-of-materials per cell with each material tagged domestic or imported; supplier master with domestic supplier GSTIN or import port-of-origin; Bill-of-Entry register with CIF, duty, clearance, MOOWR/EPCG refund status; cell sale ledger with IRN, buyer GSTIN, kWh; quarterly PLI claim builder; PMA disbursement reconciliation; DVA annual roll-up with audit-trail.
A per-quarter DVA reconciliation pack with computation backed by bill-of-materials, supplier invoices and Bills of Entry; quarterly PLI claim file in PMA-prescribed format; annual milestone reconciliation against capacity-utilisation commitment; clawback-resistant audit trail tying every claimed kWh to its underlying domestic and imported content.
An ACC beneficiary in Karnataka closes Q2 FY 2026-27 cell production at 1.2 GWh — 4.8 lakh NMC cells dispatched to two battery-pack assemblers serving Ola Electric and a commercial-vehicle OEM. The quarterly PLI claim file due to PMA (Project Management Agency, IFCI) requires Domestic Value Addition of at least the Year-2 ramp threshold, evidenced by cell-by-cell bill-of-materials reconciled to supplier invoices and customs Bills of Entry. The EV battery cell supplier reconciliation PLI-ACC India workflow is the discipline that turns a ₹240 Cr quarterly sale book into a defensible PLI claim of roughly ₹35-45 Cr, with audit-grade traceability that survives PMA examination and protects prior disbursements from clawback.
Quick reference
| Concept | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PLI-ACC outlay | ₹18,100 Cr | Notification 2021 |
| Cumulative capacity allocated | 50 GWh | Bid awards 2022 |
| Beneficiaries | Reliance New Energy, Ola Electric, Rajesh Exports | MHI notification |
| DVA Year-1 | 25% | Scheme guideline |
| DVA Year-5 | 60% | Scheme guideline |
| Disbursement | Quarterly claim with annual reconciliation | PMA workflow |
| Claim authority | Ministry of Heavy Industries via IFCI as PMA | MHI |
| Imported-content basis | CIF + customs duty + clearance, net of MOOWR/EPCG | Customs Act + scheme |
| Section 31 invoice for cell sale | IRN + e-way bill | CGST Act |
| Customs duty deferral | MOOWR | Customs Act |
What is the PLI-ACC scheme
The Production Linked Incentive scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell battery storage manufacturing was notified by the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) in 2021 with a total outlay of ₹18,100 Cr to incentivise 50 GWh of cumulative cell-manufacturing capacity in India. The intent was to anchor domestic cell capacity that would otherwise have continued to be imported from China, Korea and Japan, where 90+ percent of global cell supply was concentrated.
After a competitive bid round in March 2022, awards were made to:
- Reliance New Energy Solar Limited — initially 5 GWh, scaled with later awards
- Ola Electric Mobility — 20 GWh
- Rajesh Exports — 5 GWh
A second tranche supplemental bid was floated in 2023 to allocate residual capacity, with further beneficiaries added.
The scheme pays an incentive per kWh of cells produced and sold (capped per the scheme matrix) over a five-year period commencing from each beneficiary’s commercial-production start date, contingent on the beneficiary hitting two interlinked milestones each year: a Domestic Value Addition (DVA) ramp and a committed capacity-utilisation milestone.
How does Domestic Value Addition work
The DVA ramp:
| Year | DVA threshold |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 25% |
| Year 2 | 35% |
| Year 3 | 45% |
| Year 4 | 55% |
| Year 5 | 60% |
DVA is computed as:
DVA percent = (Sale Value of ACC cells minus Imported Content Landed Cost) divided by Sale Value of ACC cells
Imported content is determined at landed cost — CIF value plus customs duty plus clearance charges, all referenced to the customs Bill of Entry, net of any MOOWR or EPCG refund where applicable. Domestic content includes domestically sourced raw materials (cathode precursor from Altmin or Epsilon, electrolyte salt from Neogen or Tata), in-house value addition (electrode coating, calendering, stacking, formation, ageing) and labour and overhead.
The DVA is monitored at beneficiary level annually. But a robust supplier-reconciliation discipline requires per-cell or per-batch DVA tracking so the year-end aggregate is built bottom-up from auditable cell-level evidence.
What is the cell tier supply chain
An Advanced Chemistry Cell is built from four main material streams:
| Material stream | Share of cell material cost | Domestic capacity FY 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Cathode active material (NMC / NCA / LFP) | 35-45% | Partial — precursor capacity ramping at Altmin, Epsilon Carbon |
| Anode active material (graphite, silicon-graphite) | 12-18% | Limited — most imported |
| Separator (PE / PP with ceramic coating) | 8-12% | None at scale — imported |
| Electrolyte (lithium salts in organic carbonate) | 8-12% | Ramping at Neogen, Tata Chemicals |
| Other (current collector foils, casing, BMS interface) | 15-25% | Mostly domestic |
As of FY 2026-27 most cathode active material, separator film and electrolyte salt is imported from China, Korea, Japan or Germany. Domestic capacity is building in cathode precursor and electrolyte but coverage is partial. The Year-1 DVA threshold of 25 percent acknowledges this import dependence and rises to 60 percent by Year 5 as domestic-supply ecosystem matures.
How is the quarterly PLI claim built
Each quarterly claim file submitted to PMA requires:
- Cells produced and sold — manufacturer dispatches to battery-pack assemblers or OEMs, with tax invoice numbers, IRN references, e-way bill numbers, kWh rating per cell, and aggregate kWh sold in the quarter.
- DVA computation — bill-of-materials per cell SKU, domestic supplier invoices (GSTIN, value, quantity) and Bill of Entry references for imported content (port, BoE number, CIF, duty, clearance, MOOWR/EPCG refund status, landed cost).
- Capacity-utilisation evidence — plant-level cell-production log against committed capacity utilisation for the year.
- Cumulative-to-date totals — claim period and year-to-date against the committed annual milestone.
PMA processes the claim, disburses on approval, and runs annual audit against the year-end milestone. Discrepancies between declared and audited DVA trigger clawback of prior disbursements.
RMPV Calculator
Quantify raw-material price variance on imported cathode and electrolyte inputs — the variance moves DVA percent quarter-to-quarter and must be reconciled cell-batch to BoE for PMA audit.
Open the RMPV Calculator →How does customs duty refund interplay with DVA
Several inputs to ACC manufacturing — lithium carbonate, certain cathode precursors, separator film — carry customs duty rates that have been progressively reduced via Union Budget notifications. Where duty has been paid on imports later certified as inputs to ACC manufacturing, two duty-deferral or refund mechanisms apply:
- MOOWR (Manufacturing and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations) — the manufacturer operates a customs-bonded warehouse; duty is deferred until clearance for home consumption, and waived where the finished goods are exported. For domestic ACC cell sale, duty crystallises at clearance from MOOWR-bonded inventory.
- EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods) — applies primarily to capital-equipment imports, with duty exemption conditional on export-obligation fulfilment. Less directly relevant for raw-material imports but matters for cell-line capital expenditure.
The DVA reconciliation must use the net-of-refund landed cost for imported content, not the gross duty-paid figure. A bill-of-entry-by-bill-of-entry cross-reference to the refund/deferral status is essential. Errors here either understate DVA (using gross duty when refund was received) or overstate DVA (treating bonded inventory as duty-paid when it was deferred).
Worked example — Karnataka ACC beneficiary, Q2 FY 2026-27
- Cells dispatched in Q2: 4.8 lakh NMC cells at 0.0025 kWh each = 1,200 MWh (1.2 GWh)
- Sale value at average ₹50 per cell ASP: ₹240 Cr
- Bill-of-materials per cell average ₹38 of cost
- Imported content per cell (cathode precursor, separator, electrolyte salt): ₹19 — 50%
- Net-of-refund landed cost of imported content: ₹16.50 per cell after MOOWR refund on certain inputs
- Total imported content landed cost for quarter: 4.8 lakh × ₹16.50 = ₹79.2 Cr
- DVA computation: (₹240 Cr minus ₹79.2 Cr) divided by ₹240 Cr = 67%
- Year-2 DVA threshold: 35% — comfortably exceeded
- Capacity-utilisation: 1.2 GWh in Q2 against 5 GWh committed annual milestone = 24% Q2 toward 100% annual
- PLI per kWh (scheme matrix): around ₹3,000-4,000 per kWh (illustrative band, exact value per scheme appendix)
- Estimated quarterly PLI claim: ₹36-48 Cr
- Backup evidence package: 4.8 lakh cell sale invoices with IRN, 162 domestic supplier invoices, 24 customs Bills of Entry with refund-status cross-reference, plant capacity-utilisation log
What does the Section 393 / GST overlay look like
Two tax interactions:
- Section 393(1)(k) (legacy 194Q) — the battery-pack assembler or OEM buyer deducts 0.1 percent TDS on cell purchases above the ₹50 lakh threshold per FY. The cell manufacturer sees this in Form 26AS and reconciles against per-buyer sales.
- GST on cell sale — cells attract IGST/CGST+SGST at the notified rate. Inter-state sale to Ola Electric (Tamil Nadu) or other OEMs carries IGST; intra-state Karnataka sale CGST+SGST. ITC on imported content paid customs IGST is available, subject to reconciliation in GSTR-2B.
For the broader payment-code reference see TDS payment codes 1001-1092 India and Section 393 TDS new Income Tax Act reconciliation.
MHI authority reference
For PLI-ACC scheme guidelines, DVA computation rules, beneficiary list, milestone-based disbursement schedule and quarterly PLI claim formats see the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), Government of India.
What automated reconciliation changes
Assembling a quarterly PLI-ACC claim file with cell-level bill-of-materials, supplier invoices and Bills of Entry cross-referenced to refund status is a 20-30 person-day exercise per quarter for a 1 GWh-per-quarter manufacturer. Purpose-built auto component reconciliation software India holds the cell-SKU bill-of-materials master, the supplier master with domestic-vs-imported tagging, the Bill of Entry register with MOOWR/EPCG refund cross-reference, and the quarterly PLI claim builder in one frame. Customer outcomes include match rate improvement from 51 percent to 88 percent on revenue-grade ledgers. Build is two-to-four weeks on AWS Mumbai (ISO 27001:2022). For the inbound procurement match see three-way matching software India.