Starting from April 1, 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation announced that Announcement No. 2 of 2026 will be officially implemented, making major adjustments to the export tax rebate policy for photovoltaic, battery and other products.
This is not a simple fine-tuning of tax rates, but a deep switch in China’s export tax rebate policy thinking – from “total volume to stabilize foreign trade” to “structure to promote upgrading.”
Photovoltaic products: Export tax rebates will be directly canceled without a transition period
According to the announcement, starting from April 1, 2026, the export value-added tax rebates for photovoltaic modules, silicon wafers and other photovoltaic products will be directly canceled.
This means that the price advantage that relied on the 13% tax rebate subsidy in the past has officially withdrawn from the stage of history.
The photovoltaic industry has long faced the dilemma of “increasing volume and decreasing price” – the decline in price is much greater than the expansion in quantity, and industry competition has deviated from the track of high-quality growth.
Maintaining a high tax rebate rate objectively strengthens low-price competition, intensifies production capacity expansion and profit compression.
Li Xianzhong, director of the General Affairs Department of the Ministry of Finance, previously pointed out that this adjustment is conducive to comprehensively rectifying the “involution” and disorderly competition in photovoltaic and other industries, forcing companies to shift from competing on price to competing on technology and brand.
Battery products: two steps, completely canceled in 2027
Battery products have received a one-year buffer period: from April 1 to December 31, 2026, the export value-added tax rebate rate will be reduced from 9% to 6%; starting from January 1, 2027, the export tax rebate for battery products will be completely cancelled.
The announcement clarifies that the tax refund rate shall be based on the export date indicated on the customs declaration form for export goods. If the goods have been declared for export before, the original tax refund rate shall be applied.
Expansion of product range: simultaneous adjustments to multiple categories of commodities
The coverage of this adjustment far exceeds previous expectations.
In addition to photovoltaics and batteries, products such as ceramics, glass, tobacco, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, miscellaneous chemicals, plastics and their products are also included in the scope of cancellation.
Dual effects of fiscal savings and industrial transformation
This round of export tax rebate adjustment has a significant fiscal savings effect.
China Merchants Securities research report estimates show that based on the assumption that the overall export growth rate in 2026 is about 5%, this round of adjustments is expected to save fiscal funds of about 62.4 billion yuan in 2026 and about 119.6 billion yuan in 2027.
In other words, tax rebate adjustment is not only an industrial policy tool, but also directly corresponds to the reallocation of financial resources, that is, part of the financial resources originally used to “subsidize exports” will be redirected to support domestic demand, people’s livelihood and high-quality development.
Which industries may become the next batch of adjustment targets?
Based on the previous rounds of policy changes since 2018, there is a high probability that the industries that will continue to have tax rebates reduced or canceled in the future will be concentrated in three categories: first, the “two high and one capital” industries, that is, high energy consumption, high pollution, resource-based industries; second, industries with overcapacity and serious involution; third, advantageous industries with strong export competitiveness and high technological maturity.
Business Response Suggestions
For export companies involved in the above products, it is recommended to focus on the following matters: First, immediately sort out the customs declaration time points of orders in transit to avoid tax refund losses due to policy switching; second, re-evaluate pricing strategies and cost structures, and incorporate tax refund policy changes into the design of contract terms; third, accelerate technology upgrades and brand building, and fundamentally reduce reliance on price-based tax support.
