China abolishes the VAT export refund on battery products from 1 January 2027
This page records one dated change. For the rules in China as they stand today, see the China guide →
- Jurisdiction
- China
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- Update
- Status
- Enacted
- Impact
- Plan ahead
- Announced
- 8 January 2026
- Effective
- 1 January 2027
- Authority
- Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration of the People's Republic of China
- Systems
- ERP, Customs, Tax engine
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Exporters of battery products and photovoltaic and similar products from China.
Battery exporters: price and cash-flow models should assume no export VAT refund for exports declared from 1 January 2027.
ERPCustomsTax engine
MOF and STA Announcement No. 2 of 2026 (8 January 2026) cancels the VAT export refund on photovoltaic and similar products from 1 April 2026, lowers the battery-product export VAT refund rate from 9% to 6% for 1 April to 31 December 2026, and cancels the battery-product export VAT refund from 1 January 2027; export consumption-tax refund policy is unchanged. The refund rate is determined by the export date on the customs declaration.
What changed in detail
Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration Announcement No. 2 of 2026, dated 8 January 2026, changes export VAT refunds in three steps.
It cancels the VAT export refund on photovoltaic and similar products from 1 April 2026. It lowers the battery-product export VAT refund rate from 9% to 6% for 1 April to 31 December 2026. It cancels the battery-product export VAT refund from 1 January 2027.
The export consumption-tax refund policy is unchanged. The refund rate is determined by the export date on the customs declaration.
What it means
Because the refund rate follows the export date on the customs declaration, not the contract or invoice date, shipments of batteries that clear customs on or after 1 January 2027 get no VAT refund, and the 6% rate applies only to exports declared in 2026 after 31 March. Exporters should schedule customs declarations with these dates in mind and reflect the loss of the refund in 2027 pricing.
Proof
二、自2026年4月1日起至2026年12月31日，将电池产品的增值税出口退税率由9%下调至6%；2027年1月1日起，取消电池产品增值税出口退税。2. From 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2026, the VAT export refund rate for battery products is reduced from 9% to 6%; from 1 January 2027, the VAT export refund for battery products is cancelled.
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