Policy Implementation: Officially Effective April 1st

On January 9, 2026, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued the "Announcement on Adjusting Export Tax Rebate Policies for Photovoltaic and Other Products" (Announcement No. 2 of 2026), clarifying that from April 1, 2026, the VAT export tax rebate rate for battery products will be reduced from 9% to 6%, and will be completely abolished on January 1, 2027.

This is the second reduction after the initial reduction from 13% to 9% on December 1, 2024, marking the beginning of a "gradual withdrawal" phase for China's lithium battery export tax rebate policy.

Product Scope Affected: 22 categories of battery products including lithium primary batteries and primary battery packs, lithium-ion batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries. Whether the implementation of the new policy will promote upgrading and reform or simply weed out the rotten parts of the photovoltaic and other new energy industries is open for discussion.