On rural rooftops and factory workshops, photovoltaic panels have long become a new energy facility that can be seen everywhere. From farmers’ household power generation to large corporate power stations, China’s photovoltaic industry has dominated the global market with its high cost performance and mature production capacity.
Recently, the fields of foreign trade and new energy have ushered in major policy adjustments. The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued an announcement clarifying that starting from April 1, 2026, the value-added tax export rebate for products in the entire photovoltaic industry chain will be completely cancelled, and the rebate rate for energy storage batteries will be simultaneously reduced and a transition period will be set.
The implementation of this policy covering 249 types of products including silicon materials, silicon wafers, cells, modules, inverters, photovoltaic glass, etc. marks that my country’s photovoltaic industry has completely bid farewell to long-term export tax rebate support, and has shifted from relying on policy dividends to relying on core technologies and brand strength to participate in global competition.
This policy adjustment is not a temporary measure, but a scientific layout based on the industrial development stage.
Since photovoltaic products were included in the export tax rebate system in 2013, the 9% tax rebate rate has long provided support for companies to reduce costs and expand overseas markets, helping China’s photovoltaic industry grow from a follower to a global leader. Its industrial chain production capacity and shipments have ranked first in the world for many consecutive years, accounting for more than 85% of the global market.
As technology matures, costs fall, and economies of scale become more apparent, the photovoltaic industry has become fully market-oriented and competitive. Canceling export tax rebates is not only an inevitable choice to promote the quality and upgrading of the industry, but also a key measure to cope with the international trade environment and guide the industry out of low-price involution.
According to the requirements of the official announcement, the implementation of the policy is based on the export date indicated on the export goods customs declaration form. Photovoltaic products that have completed customs declaration before April 1st can still enjoy the export tax rebate at the original 9% tax rate; for products declared for export on April 1st and after, the tax rebate rate will be directly reduced to 0, without a buffer transition period.
Different from the one-step adjustment for photovoltaics, energy storage battery products have a gradient transition period. The tax rebate rate will be reduced from 9% to 6% from April 1 to December 31, 2026, and will be completely canceled from January 1, 2027, giving enterprises more sufficient time to adjust and smoothly respond to policy changes.
The most direct impact of canceling export tax rebates is the rigid increase in export costs for enterprises.
Calculated based on the export cost of a single watt, after the tax rebate is cancelled, the export cost of enterprises per watt will increase by about 0.09 yuan, and the annual cost increase of large-scale shipping enterprises will be significant.
In the face of cost pressure, leading companies can rely on their technological advantages, scale effects and global bargaining power to absorb costs and maintain market competitiveness by optimizing supply chains, increasing product premiums, adjusting overseas pricing, etc.; while small and medium-sized enterprises that have long relied on tax rebate dividends, lack core technologies, and rely on low prices and volume as their main model will face greater operating pressure, the process of survival of the fittest in the industry will accelerate, and market concentration will further increase.
From the perspective of the long-term development of the industry, the positive value brought by policy adjustments far exceeds short-term cost pressure.
In the past period, the photovoltaic industry has faced problems such as homogeneous expansion, low-price competition, and compressed profit margins. Some companies rely on tax rebates to maintain profitability and lack motivation for technology research and development and product innovation.
The abolition of tax rebate bonuses will force companies to invest resources in high-value areas such as high-efficiency battery technology, smart manufacturing, and low-carbon production. It will promote the industry’s shift from “winning by quantity” to “winning by quality,” and from price competition to value competition, helping China’s photovoltaic industry move from a manufacturing power to a manufacturing power.
Optimizing the international trade environment is an important consideration for this adjustment.
In recent years, global trade frictions have increased, and some countries have launched trade investigations into Chinese photovoltaic products. Low-price competition can easily lead to the risk of anti-dumping and countervailing investigations.
Cancel export tax rebates, reduce the color of policy subsidies, comply with international trade rules, reduce the probability of trade friction, and create a fairer environment for photovoltaic companies to expand overseas markets.
At the same time, enterprises are encouraged to accelerate their overseas localization layout, build overseas factories and warehousing centers, get closer to the end market, improve service capabilities, and enhance the stability of the global supply chain.
For the domestic market and end users, the impact of policy adjustments is relatively mild.
Domestic demand for photovoltaic installed capacity continues to be strong, and the construction of distributed photovoltaics, rural photovoltaic power stations, and large-scale ground power stations is steadily advancing. Enterprises are focusing on the domestic market to ensure stable domestic supply.
As industry technology upgrades, iterations of high-efficiency components, smart inverters and other products accelerate. End users can enjoy better and more durable photovoltaic products. Power generation efficiency and service life are simultaneously improved, and long-term use costs are further reduced.
The rural photovoltaic market is ushering in new development opportunities.
The cancellation of tax rebates will guide companies to focus on the domestic rural market, optimize product design, launch lightweight and cost-effective components that are more suitable for rural roofs, and simplify the installation and after-sales process.
Many places have continued the photovoltaic subsidy policy for rural areas, and added dividends from corporate technology upgrades. The overall cost of installing photovoltaics for farmers is controllable, and the income from power generation is stable. It can not only realize the use of clean energy, but also increase household income, and help rural revitalization and green development.
As the benchmark industry in my country’s new energy field, the photovoltaic industry’s cancellation of export tax rebates is an important milestone in its transformation and upgrading.
The policy direction is clear and clear, encouraging enterprises to increase R&D investment, break through core technology bottlenecks, and enhance product added value and brand influence; standardize industry competition order, curb disorderly expansion and low-price involution, and promote profits to return to a reasonable range; strengthen green and low-carbon development, promote carbon reduction and consumption reduction throughout the industry chain, and conform to the global energy transformation trend.
From reliance on subsidies to independence and self-reliance, from scale expansion to quality priority, the transformation of the photovoltaic industry is also the epitome of the high-quality development of China’s manufacturing industry.
The cancellation of export tax rebates is not a pressure for industry development, but an opportunity to move to a higher level.
Leading companies have stepped up technological research and launched cutting-edge products such as N-type high-efficiency components and laminated batteries to enhance their global voice; small and medium-sized enterprises have focused on subdivided areas and taken specialized and characteristic development routes to form differentiated competitive advantages; the entire industry has worked together to build new global competitive advantages with leading technology, strong brands, and stable supply chains.
This policy adjustment also sends a clear signal that the development of the new energy industry will pay more attention to market rules and long-term value.
In the future, the industry will focus on the three cores of technological innovation, green development, and global layout, continue to improve core competitiveness, and consolidate its global leadership position.
At the same time, the policy level will continue to optimize the business environment, support enterprises to expand domestic and foreign markets, promote the coordinated development of photovoltaic, energy storage, hydrogen and other industries, build a diversified new energy supply system, and help achieve the dual-carbon goal.
From photovoltaic panels on rural rooftops to photovoltaic power stations around the world, it took China Photovoltaic more than ten years to complete the leap from catching up to leading.
Now canceling export tax rebates and saying goodbye to policy dependence is a sign of industry maturity.
Short-term cost adjustments have brought pain, but long-term development has ushered in new opportunities. The industry will hone its core capabilities in market competition, serve the global energy transformation with better products and more advanced technologies, and win a broader future for China’s new energy industry.
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