China will eliminate value-added tax (VAT) export rebates for photovoltaic products from April 1, 2026, according to a joint notice released on Jan. 9 by the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China and the State Taxation Administration.
under the policy adjustment, VAT export rebates for solar products will be fully removed from April 1, 2026. For battery products, the export rebate rate will be cut from 9% to 6% between April 1 and Dec. 31, 2026, before being eliminated entirely from Jan. 1, 2027.
the published product lists indicate that the solar category covers monocrystalline silicon wafers with diameters above 15.24 cm, both above and below 220 micrometers in thickness, which are doped for electronic industry use. Industry sources note that most mainstream PV wafers currently produced fall within this de?nition.
the list also includes unassembled solar cells and ?nished photovoltaic modules.
the battery category extends beyond lithium-ion batteries and battery packs to include other energy storage technologies, such as all-vanadium redox ?ow batteries.
it also encompasses key upstream materials used in lithium-based batteries, including lithium hexa?uorophosphate, lithium manganate, lithium cobalt oxide, and lithium nickel cobalt manganese oxides.
this marks the second major adjustment to China’s export rebate regime for solar and battery products in just over a year.
in the previous round, announced on Nov. 15, 2024, and implemented from Dec. 1, 2024, export rebate rates for selected re?ned oil products, solar equipment, batteries, and certain nonmetallic mineral products were reduced from 13% to 9%.