China ends export VAT rebate on solar, batteries to follow in 2027
Since 1 April 2026, China no longer refunds export VAT on photovoltaic products (wafers, cells, modules and several raw materials). For batteries, the rate has fallen from 9% to 6% until 31 December 2026, before being removed entirely from 1 January 2027.
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A joint announcement from China's Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration, published on 9 January 2026, removes the export VAT rebate on photovoltaic products from 1 April 2026: wafers, cells and modules, along with related raw materials such as conductive glass and quartz products.
For batteries, the rebate rate is cut from 9% to 6% from 1 April to 31 December 2026, before disappearing altogether from 1 January 2027. This measure extends the one dated 1 December 2024, which had already removed the rebate on aluminium and copper and lowered that for photovoltaics and batteries from 13% to 9%.
In China, this rebate offsets all or part of the VAT paid upstream by the manufacturer. Removing it does not change the price the factory quotes, but it reduces the factory's export margin, and this is generally passed on, in whole or in part, to the price negotiated with the foreign buyer. The applicable rate depends on the export date shown on the Chinese customs declaration.
All foreign buyers of solar panels, cells, batteries and the covered components are affected, whatever their country: Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, major importers of Chinese solar products, are on the front line.
What it changes for an importer
A quote for solar panels or batteries drawn up before April 2026 is no longer comparable to a current quote: ask the factory for a dated FOB price and check the effect of the end of the rebate. For batteries, an order exported before 31 December 2026 still benefits from the 6% rate. Sorva checks the FOB price breakdown with its partner factories and helps you plan your shipments accordingly.
Sources
- State Council Information Office (SCIO), China to adjust or cancel export tax rebates for photovoltaic and battery products (12 January 2026)
- PV Tech, China's Ministry of Finance to remove export tax rebates for solar PV products in April 2026
- China's Ministry of Finance, joint announcement No. 15 [2024] on the adjustment of rebate rates (15 November 2024)
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