Rimborso IVA Cina: auto elettriche al 9% dal 2027, stop per le sigarette elettroniche

China export tax rebate: electric vehicles cut to 9% from 2027, e-cigarettes out

TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2026

Beijing cuts the export VAT rebate on new energy vehicles by 4 points and scraps it for e-cigarettes from 1 April 2027, after solar products and batteries.

The China export tax rebate on battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will fall from 13% to 9% from 1 April 2027. From the same date the rebate on e-cigarette devices and related products disappears entirely: China's Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration announced it on 12 October.

China export tax rebate: what changes

The export VAT rebate returns to the Chinese exporter all or part of the VAT paid upstream on materials and components. When the rebate rate falls, the share that is not returned becomes a cost for the exporter. The joint statement covers new energy vehicles, a category that in China includes battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids, and e-cigarette devices. For products subject to consumption tax, the export rules on that tax do not change: existing refunds and exemptions remain. According to trade press reports, the rate applied to a shipment will depend on the export date shown on the Chinese customs declaration.

The numbers behind the decision

These are the figures confirmed by more than one source:

Export VAT rebate on new energy vehicles: from 13% to 9% from 1 April 2027, a cut of 4 points.
Export VAT rebate on e-cigarette devices and related products: abolished from 1 April 2027.
Rebate on photovoltaic products: abolished from 1 April 2026.
Rebate on batteries: from 9% to 6% from 1 April 2026, abolished from 1 January 2027.
Chinese exports of new energy vehicles: 4.006 million units in January-September 2026, up 130% on the same period of 2025; 571,000 in September alone, more than double a year earlier.

Why Beijing is scaling back export support

The cut on cars follows those on solar panels and batteries. Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said the measure aims to curb low-price competition abroad and to favour producers with strong brands and plants outside China; in his view it should not be read as a restriction on exports. The authorities describe it as an "optimisation" of rebate policy. The timetable points to a consistent line: at each step the government removes a tax support from an industry whose exports are growing fast.

What it means for importers

The figure does not say how much price lists will rise: that depends on how much the rebate weighs on each producer's margin and how much the producer chooses to absorb. It does suggest that for the goods involved the exporter's cost will rise from spring 2027, and that today's offers may not hold for later deliveries.

For companies importing electric cars, plug-in hybrids or e-cigarette devices into Europe it is worth acting on three fronts.

First, ask the supplier whether the quoted price includes the current rebate and how it plans to handle the move to 9% or to zero.

Second, link price validity to the date of the export customs declaration, so you know which lots ship under the old rate.

Third, plan orders for the first months of 2027 bearing in mind that a production delay can push a shipment past 1 April.

Buyers of other products from China are not affected by this statement, but the sequence of solar, batteries and cars suggests checking with the supplier the rebate rate for your own customs code: the supplier knows it, and it explains part of the price.

The next deadlines

Batteries lose the rebate on 1 January 2027; new energy vehicles drop to 9% and e-cigarettes to zero on 1 April 2027. For companies with annual contracts with Chinese suppliers, the window to renegotiate terms is therefore the end of 2026.

With La Merce, importers of Chinese products hit by the rebate cut agree prices and customs declaration dates with the supplier before 1 April 2027, so they do not discover the increase once the goods are already on order.