China's Ministry of Finance, General Administration of Customs and State Taxation Administration have jointly announced a differentiated battery consumption tax policy that fully exempts perovskite, tandem and gallium arsenide photovoltaic cells while phasing taxation back in for mature technologies. The policy will be implemented in stages beginning September 1, 2026, revising preferential rules that have stood for over a decade.
Perovskite, tandem and gallium arsenide cells are fully exempt from consumption tax until December 31, 2028, with the existing fuel cell exemption continued in parallel. Sodium-ion and solid-state batteries join the tax-free list for the same window. Eligibility carries a condition: products claiming a reduction or exemption must meet the corresponding national standards.
Mature categories face the opposite trajectory. Lithium-ion, lithium primary, nickel-metal hydride, mercury-free primary and vanadium redox flow batteries will be taxed at 2% from September 1, 2026, rising to 4% from September 1, 2027. Conventional crystalline silicon PV cells get a longer buffer in line with the industry's ongoing recovery - 2% from April 1, 2027, reaching the full 4% from April 1, 2028.
For perovskite developers, that translates into a direct cost advantage at the factory gate: against crystalline silicon products about to be taxed, perovskite manufacturers save up to 4% in tax burden, easing the early cost pressure of materials and manufacturing processes. The timing seems deliberate - perovskite is currently in the core stage of pilot line establishment and mass production ramp-up for large-size modules, so the 2026-2028 window is hoped to correspond with the commercialization breakthrough period.
The exemption is explicitly structured as a sunset clause, signaling that mature industries should compete under a unified tax system while policy support is reserved for technologies still in development. The full exemption through 2028 is expected to materially reduce financial pressure during pilot-line expansion and market promotion, helping China's perovskite route secure a first-mover position in the next generation of global photovoltaics.
