For these products, export tax rebates will be completely cancelled.

my country's photovoltaic industry has ushered in a major policy adjustment - for the first time since it was included in the export tax rebate policy system, the value-added tax export rebate for related products has been completely cancelled. This move marks a major change in my country's new energy industry policy orientation and has a profound impact on the future development of the photovoltaic industry.

1. Policy evolution: from high proportion of tax rebate to gradual cancellation

The export tax rebate policy for my country's photovoltaic industry began in October 2013. At that time, companies could enjoy a VAT refund rate of up to 50%. This policy became a key tool to support the industry's overseas expansion and helped my country's photovoltaic products quickly open up the international market.

As the competitiveness of the industry continues to improve, tax refund policies are gradually optimized. On November 15, 2024, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation issued Announcement No. 15 of 2024, which lowered the export tax rebate rate for some refined oil products, photovoltaics, batteries, and some non-metallic mineral products from 13% to 9%, taking an important step in policy adjustment.

Compared with photovoltaic products, policy adjustments for battery products are more specific. The announcement clarified that 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%; starting from January 1, 2027, the export value-added tax rebate for battery products will be cancelled. The setting of this gradient transition period fully takes into account the industrial characteristics and development needs of the battery link.

2. The rationality of policy adjustments and the effectiveness of “anti-involution”

Regarding this policy adjustment, Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, believes that the export tax rebate policy was originally intended to encourage industry development. Nowadays, due to technological progress and scale expansion, battery costs have dropped significantly, and it is reasonable to cancel the export tax rebate policy.

Lu Jinbiao, a consulting expert from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, also said that canceling export tax rebates is an important measure to "anti-involution." Since last year, the entire industry has changed the vicious competition model of grabbing orders at low prices, improved the supply and demand relationship through load reduction, and determined production according to sales, promoted price recovery, and achieved practical results in "anti-involution".

Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, revealed at the 2025 Photovoltaic Industry Annual Conference that industry self-discipline has curbed involution and externalization to a certain extent, and export prices have stopped falling. In the first 10 months of 2025, my country's photovoltaic product exports totaled US.42 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 13.2%. The decline was significantly narrower than the 34.5% in the same period in 2024, further confirming the positive effect of policy adjustments.

3. Industry impact: The battery sector is under pressure, accelerating industrial transformation

Policy adjustments have different impacts on different aspects of the photovoltaic industry. Industry insiders pointed out that compared with the component link, the battery link faces greater pressure to adjust business strategies during the transition period.

short term, companies may respond to the 6% tax rebate rate by reducing expenses;long term, as tax rebates return to zero in 2027, backward production capacity that lacks technology premiums will be eliminated at an accelerated pace, and the price elasticity and profit fluctuations in the battery sector are expected to be more dramatic than in the component sector.

From a long-term perspective, this policy adjustment marks the transformation of China's new energy industry from "purely exporting products" to "globalized local production". In order to avoid trade barriers and hedge against rising domestic export costs, companies will accelerate the deployment of production capacity in Europe, the Middle East and North America, and promote the restructuring of the global industrial chain.

The adjustment of my country's photovoltaic industry export tax rebate policy is an inevitable choice to adapt to the development of the industry. It will not only help optimize the industrial structure and enhance industry competitiveness, but also promote China's new energy industry to achieve higher-quality development in the global market.