On March 3, 2026, the State Administration of Taxation issued the “Notice on the Release of the 2026A Version of the Export Rebate Rate Library” (General Taxation Administration Letter [2026] No. 27), comprehensively updating the 2026 export rebate rate.
This is one of the most significant tax rebate policy adjustments in the foreign trade industry in recent years. Export tax rebates have been canceled or reduced for a large number of products.
The export tax rebate for photovoltaic products will be cleared to zero, the tax rebate rate for battery products will be reduced in two steps, and dozens of categories of commodities such as chemical raw materials, plastic products, ceramics, and glass will be tightened simultaneously.
The State Administration of Taxation released the 2026A version of the export tax refund rate library, mainly for two reasons.
The first is the annual adjustment of import and export tariffs and customs codes.
Every year, import and export tariffs are fine-tuned based on the international trade situation and domestic industrial policies, and the customs commodity codes are updated accordingly. The original tax refund rate library needs to be upgraded simultaneously to maintain data consistency.
The second is the major policy adjustment announced in Announcement No. 2 of 2026.
On January 8, 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued the “Announcement on Adjusting the Export Tax Rebate Policy for Photovoltaic and Other Products” (No. 2 of 2026), which clarified that from April 1, 2026, the export tax rebate rates for photovoltaic, battery and other products will be adjusted in batches, and some categories will even directly cancel the tax rebate.
The release of the 2026A version of the library is to systematically incorporate the above policy adjustments into the tax rebate rate system to achieve unified upgrades among multiple systems.
The new version of the library will be officially launched on March 5, 2026.
One of the core adjustments is to clear export tax rebates for photovoltaic products.
According to the announcement, starting from April 1, 2026, the value-added tax export rebate for photovoltaic and other products will be cancelled.
The export tax rebate rate for core categories such as photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic inverters will be directly adjusted from the original 13% to 0.
Assume that a photovoltaic company exports a batch of modules worth 1 million yuan. The original 13% export rebate rate is applicable, and 130,000 yuan of value-added tax can be refunded.
Starting from April 1, 2026, this 130,000 yuan tax rebate will be completely reset to zero, directly pushing up export costs by 13 percentage points.
However, for photovoltaic products that are also subject to consumption tax, the consumption tax export rebate policy will not be adjusted, and the consumption tax refund (exemption) policy will continue to apply.
The second core adjustment is to reduce taxes on battery products in two steps.
The adjustment of the tax rebate rate for battery products adopts a “two-step” strategy.
In the first step, from April 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026, the export value-added tax rebate rate for battery products will be reduced from 9% to 6%.
In the second step, starting from January 1, 2027, the export VAT rebate for battery products will be completely cancelled, and the rebate rate will be reduced to 0.
For example, a lithium battery export company has signed a long-term supply contract with an overseas customer. Assuming that it exports products worth approximately 4.17 million yuan in a single month and has an annual export value of approximately 50 million yuan, the tax refund amount will be reduced by approximately 1.5 million yuan.
If the contract period extends beyond 2027, the company will face a higher cost gap.
The coverage of this adjustment far exceeds the two major categories of photovoltaics and batteries.
Affected products also include chemical raw materials and products, plastic PVC and polymers, kitchen utensils, ceramic supplies, silicone, cement, glass products and other related products.
For example, for chemical product export companies, tax returns have been significantly reduced or even completely eliminated after the implementation of the new policy.
If kitchenware export companies quote and calculate profits based on the old tax rate, profits will shrink.
In addition, under the new policy, some commodities have been adjusted from enjoying export tax rebates to “output value-added tax is levied according to the tax rate”. The export cost of enterprises has increased significantly. It is necessary to accurately distinguish the situation of commodities, otherwise they will face tax penalties.
After the 2026A version library is officially launched, the connection between the old and new tax rates will be based on the export date indicated on the customs declaration form for export goods.
For goods declared for export before March 31, 2026, the old version of the tax refund rate shall apply; for goods declared for export on or after April 1, 2026, the new tax refund rate in the 2026A version library shall apply.
Enterprises need to arrange production and customs declaration as soon as possible to ensure that the goods complete the export declaration procedures before the specified time in order to lock in the original tax refund rate.
Four things companies must do.
First, upgrade the system in a timely manner, contact tax personnel or log in to the official website of the State Administration of Taxation to download the new version of the library to upgrade the export tax refund declaration system.
Second, review the product codes item by item to confirm the latest tax refund rate applicable to each product and whether it is still within the tax refund range.
Third, recalculate order profits, evaluate whether executing orders that have been signed but not yet exported at the original price will result in losses, and reconstruct the exchange rate quotation model for new orders.
Fourth, be wary of the trap of “deemed domestic sales” and accurately identify which goods fall into this category.
For answers to key questions, “photovoltaic and other products” include photovoltaic modules, photovoltaic inverters, solar cells, etc.; during the transition period for battery products, 2026 will be used to arrange the shipment pace and negotiate 2027 price terms with overseas customers in advance; the latest tax rebate rate can be checked through the online inquiry channel opened by the State Administration of Taxation.
This policy adjustment has a wide impact. Enterprises must ensure that system upgrades are in place, coding verification is accurate, and order profits are recalculated in a timely manner. The compliance response is to protect profits.
