MNRE Solar Module Warranty SOP 2026: What EPCs Must Know

Quick Answer

1. What is this? An MNRE Standard Operating Procedure for warranty management and claims settlement on solar PV modules under its distributed renewable energy schemes.
2. Is it in effect? Yes. Issued May 6, 2026, mandatory for all manufacturers participating in the covered schemes.
3. Who does it apply to? Modules supplied under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, PM-KUSUM, and the New Solar Power Scheme. Not a universal requirement on every module sold in India.
4. What's the biggest practical risk for EPCs? The 6-month invoice-to-installation window. Miss it, and the warranty clock shrinks before the system is even commissioned.
5. What should EPCs do now? Check every current module order's invoice date against installation schedule, and update client-facing warranty language to reflect the SOP's actual terms, not generic manufacturer marketing claims.

Why This Matters for EPCs

Warranty disputes are one of the most common sources of client friction years after commissioning, and until now, India had no uniform procedure governing how those disputes get resolved. MNRE's own stated reason for issuing this SOP is that it received multiple representations about inconsistent warranty procedures and claim settlement practices across manufacturers. If you've ever had a client's module replacement claim stall because a manufacturer's process was unclear or inconsistent, this SOP is a direct response to exactly that problem, and it now gives you a defined procedure to point to when a claim gets contested.

It also changes what you should be putting in writing to clients at the point of sale. Warranty language that's vaguer or weaker than what this SOP actually requires is now underselling what your client is entitled to on a scheme-backed project.

What the SOP Actually Requires

The Two Warranty Periods

Manufacturers supplying modules under MNRE's covered schemes must provide a minimum 10-year product warranty, covering defects in design, materials, workmanship, and manufacturing that materially affect module performance. Separately, a 25-year limited power output warranty is required, guaranteeing the module maintains specified performance levels under Standard Test Conditions, in line with applicable Indian Standards, IEC standards, and ALMM requirements.

These aren't new numbers in the industry, 10-year product and 25-year performance warranties have been common manufacturer marketing claims for years. What's new is that they're now a mandatory, standardized floor for scheme-backed modules, with a defined dispute-resolution procedure behind them, rather than terms that varied manufacturer to manufacturer and weren't uniformly enforceable.

The Six-Month Clock Most EPCs Aren't Watching

This is the detail with the most direct operational impact on your business. The warranty commencement date is linked to the installation or commissioning date of the solar system, but only if the modules are deployed within six months of the invoice issuance date. Delays beyond six months proportionally reduce the warranty period.

In practice, this means the warranty clock can start eroding while modules sit in a warehouse waiting for a delayed DISCOM approval, a stalled site survey, or a backlog in your own installation schedule, all of which are common, and all of which are now warranty-relevant, not just schedule-relevant. A project that takes eight months from procurement to commissioning because of factors entirely outside your control could hand the client a warranty that's already been proportionally shortened before the system ever generates a unit of power.

Testing and Claims Procedure

For disputed performance claims, the SOP prescribes standardized field verification: Electroluminescence testing and I-V testing, with NABL-accredited laboratories required wherever a formal lab assessment becomes necessary. Manufacturers must acknowledge a complaint within 48 hours, and the SOP sets defined timelines for technical assessment, corrective action, and replacement depending on the severity of the defect and component availability.

Two provisions worth flagging directly to clients: refurbished modules are explicitly prohibited as warranty replacements, a defective module must be replaced with a new unit of equivalent or higher specification. And manufacturers are required to maintain legal or financial arrangements that keep their warranty obligations enforceable even if the company restructures, merges, or dissolves, across the full 25-year performance period. That second point addresses a real, previously unaddressed risk: a manufacturer that no longer exists in 15 years has historically left the client with an unenforceable warranty. This SOP doesn't eliminate that risk entirely, but it puts a documented obligation behind it for the first time.

MNRE has also proposed integrating warranty certificates with the national DCR portal, creating a traceable digital record tied to each installation, useful for EPCs managing warranty documentation across a large installed base rather than tracking paper certificates project by project.

What EPCs Should Do With This Right Now

• Audit current module orders against the six-month window. For any project with modules already invoiced but not yet installed, calculate where that project stands against the six-month clock, and flag any at risk of a shortened warranty before the client finds out after the fact.
• Update your standard client-facing warranty language to reflect the SOP's actual terms rather than generic manufacturer brochure claims. Cite the specific 10-year and 25-year figures, and the scheme-specific scope, directly.
• Confirm supplier compliance before specifying a module for any PM Surya Ghar or PM-KUSUM project. A manufacturer's participation in these schemes now comes with binding warranty obligations, worth verifying rather than assuming.
• Build the field-testing procedure into your own claims-support process. Knowing that EL and I-V testing is the standardized dispute-resolution method means you can proactively document a suspected defect the same way, strengthening a client's claim rather than waiting for the manufacturer's own process to catch up.
• Don't extend this framing to non-scheme projects without checking. A commercial C&I project outside PM Surya Ghar, PM-KUSUM, or the New Solar Power Scheme isn't automatically covered by this SOP, confirm the applicable warranty terms separately for those proposals.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don't present this as a universal warranty mandate covering every solar module sold in India. It applies specifically to modules under MNRE's covered distributed renewable energy schemes.
• Don't assume the warranty clock starts at commissioning regardless of timeline. It only starts cleanly within the six-month invoice-to-installation window, past that, the period shrinks proportionally.
• Don't quote 10-year and 25-year warranties as marketing language alone. Under this SOP, they're a compliance floor with a defined enforcement and testing procedure behind them.
• Don't assume a manufacturer's warranty is worthless if the company later restructures or is acquired. The SOP requires continuity arrangements specifically to prevent that outcome, worth knowing so you don't undersell the protection a client actually has.
• Don't confuse this SOP with the separate December 2025 MNRE guidelines on series approval and BIS registration for solar modules under the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order, 2025. Related, but a different regulatory action covering product certification, not warranty claims.

How This Fits Into a Reslink Workflow

A warranty obligation that lives only in a manufacturer's fine print doesn't help a client three years from now when a module underperforms and nobody can find the paperwork. This is exactly the kind of documentation that needs to travel with the project file from day one, invoice date, installation date, module serial numbers, and the specific warranty terms that apply, attached to the same record as the design and proposal, not filed separately and forgotten.

See how a Reslink proposal keeps warranty and compliance documentation attached to the project record → Book a demo

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Which projects does this warranty SOP actually cover?

Modules supplied under MNRE's distributed renewable energy schemes specifically: PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, PM-KUSUM, and the New Solar Power Scheme. It is not a universal warranty mandate for every solar module sold in India. Confirm scheme applicability before citing this SOP on a non-scheme commercial or industrial project.

Q2. When did this take effect, and is it actually mandatory?

MNRE issued the Standard Operating Procedure via a memorandum dated May 6, 2026, circulated to all solar PV module manufacturers participating in its covered schemes. Compliance is mandatory for those manufacturers, not optional or aspirational guidance.

Q3. What happens if installation is delayed past six months from the invoice date?

The warranty period doesn't simply start late, it shrinks. The SOP states that delays beyond six months from invoice issuance proportionally reduce the total warranty period. This makes procurement-to-installation timing a warranty-relevant factor, not just a scheduling one, and it's worth building into how you sequence orders relative to expected installation dates.

Q4. What testing method resolves a disputed performance claim?

The SOP prescribes Electroluminescence testing and I-V testing for field verification of module performance, with NABL-accredited laboratories required wherever formal lab assessment is necessary. This gives both EPCs and clients a standardized, defensible method to document a suspected defect rather than relying on informal visual inspection.

Q5. Can a manufacturer use a refurbished module to fulfill a warranty replacement?

No. The SOP explicitly prohibits refurbished modules as replacements. A defective module must be replaced with a new unit of equivalent or higher specification.

Q6. What happens to the warranty if the module manufacturer goes out of business or is acquired?

The SOP requires manufacturers to maintain appropriate legal or financial arrangements to support their warranty obligations throughout the full 25-year performance period, including through restructuring, mergers, or dissolution. This doesn't guarantee the warranty is unaffected in every scenario, but it creates a documented obligation that didn't exist before, worth citing directly if a client raises manufacturer longevity as a concern.

Q7. How is this different from MNRE's BIS registration guidelines from December 2025?

They're separate regulatory actions covering different things. The December 2025 guidelines govern series approval and compulsory BIS registration for solar modules under the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order, 2025, a product-certification requirement. This May 2026 SOP governs warranty management and claims settlement after a module is already installed, a different stage of the module's lifecycle entirely.

Q8. Does this SOP set the warranty duration, or just the claims process?

Both. It sets the minimum durations themselves, 10 years product, 25 years performance, and standardizes the process for how a claim gets acknowledged, tested, and resolved once a dispute arises. Before this SOP, both the duration and the process varied by manufacturer.

Sources

• Mercom India, "MNRE Mandates 10-Year Warranty, 25-Year Performance Cover for Solar Modules," confirms the SOP's issuance, its applicability to PM Surya Ghar, PM-KUSUM, and the New Solar Power Scheme, and MNRE's stated rationale of addressing inconsistent manufacturer warranty practices.
• Energetica India, "MNRE Mandates 10-Year Product and 25-Year Performance Warranty for Solar Modules," confirms the May 11, 2026 report date, the six-month invoice-to-installation warranty window, and the STC/IS/IEC/ALMM performance alignment requirement.
• Power Peak Digest, "MNRE issues solar module warranty SOP for PM Surya Ghar, PM KUSUM," confirms the memorandum date of May 6, 2026, the signatory (Scientist-D Anubhav Uppal), the prohibition on refurbished replacement modules, and the manufacturer continuity obligation through restructuring or dissolution.
• Saur Energy, "MNRE Clarifies Cases Where Solar Module Makers Can Deny Warranty Claims," confirms the EL and I-V testing procedure, the NABL-accreditation requirement for lab assessment, the 48-hour complaint acknowledgment timeline, and the proposed integration with the national DCR portal.
• Mercom India, related coverage of MNRE's December 2025 series-approval guidelines under the Solar Systems, Devices and Components Goods Order, 2025, confirms this is a separate, earlier regulatory action distinct from the May 2026 warranty SOP.