Interpretation of the Announcement of the General Administration of Customs on Publishing the Corresponding Customs Commodity Codes for Relevant Battery‑related Products

                                                      Release Date: 1 September 2026, 17:46                                                              Source: General Administration of Customs

Recently, the General Administration of Customs has issued the Announcement on Publishing the Corresponding Customs Commodity Codes for Relevant Battery‑related Products. Relevant contents of the announcement are interpreted as follows.

I. Background

On 16 July 2026, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration jointly released the Announcement on Adjusting the Consumption Tax Policy for Certain Batteries (Announcement No. 20 of 2026, hereinafter referred to as the Announcement), together with the Explanatory Notes on the Scope of Consumption Tax Levy on Batteries and the Taxable Items for Consumption Tax on Batteries at the Import Stage.

II. Main Contents of the Announcement

To facilitate the administration and collection of consumption tax at the import stage, separate customs commodity codes are specified for commodities classified under the same 8‑digit tariff heading but subject to different taxable or tax‑exempt treatments under the Announcement, so as to guide enterprises to make declarations in compliance with regulations.

Take 'photovoltaic cells, assembled into modules or panels' (tariff heading 8541.4300) as an example. According to the Announcement, a consumption tax rate of 2% will apply to photovoltaic cells starting from 1 April 2027, and the rate will rise to 4% from 1 April 2028. Perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells among photovoltaic cells shall be exempted from consumption tax for the period from 1 September 2026 to 31 December 2028.

Under the above provisions, 'photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or panels (excluding perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells)' fall within the scope subject to consumption tax, while 'perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells among photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or panels' are covered by the tax‑exempt category. Accordingly, tariff heading 8541.4300 is further split: ‑ Photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or panels: perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells → Commodity code: 85414300.10 ‑ Photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or panels (excluding perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells) → Commodity code: 85414300.90