China adopts the Value-Added Tax Law, in force from 1 January 2026

What changed in detail

The Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress adopted the Value-Added Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China (中华人民共和国增值税法) at its 13th session on 25 December 2024. The Law has 38 articles. Article 38 brings it into force on 1 January 2026 and repeals the VAT Interim Regulations from the same date.

The Law puts the main rate structure into statute:

• 13% (Article 10(1)) for sales of goods, processing, repair and replacement services, leasing of tangible movable property, and imports, unless a lower rate applies;
• 9% (Article 10(2)) for transport, postal, basic telecoms, construction and real-estate leasing services, sales of real estate, transfers of land-use rights, and listed goods such as agricultural products, water and heating supplies, books and newspapers, and fertiliser and feed;
• 6% (Article 10(3)) for other services and intangible assets;
• 0% (Article 10(4)–(5)) for exported goods and for cross-border services and intangible assets within the scope set by the State Council;
• 3% (Article 11) as the levy rate under the simplified method.

The State Council can adjust the small-scale taxpayer standard, reporting the change to the NPC Standing Committee.

What it means

The Law is now in force. It mostly codifies rates and rules that already applied under the Interim Regulations and the 2016 VAT reform, so the headline rates did not move on 1 January 2026. The practical detail sits in the Implementation Regulations (State Council Order No. 826), which took effect the same day, and in the follow-on MOF and STA announcements, such as Announcement No. 25 of 2026 on non-taxable receipts. Read the Law together with the Regulations: the Law alone does not say how most of its terms apply.