Interpretation of the Announcement of the General Administration of Customs on the Release of Customs Commodity Codes for Relevant Battery Products

Recently, the General Administration of Customs has issued the Announcement on the Release of Customs Commodity Codes for Relevant Battery Products. Relevant contents of the announcement are interpreted below.

I. Background On 16 July 2026, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Taxation Administration issued the Announcement on Adjusting the Consumption Tax Policies for Certain Batteries (Announcement No.20 of 2026, hereinafter referred to as the Announcement). They also released the Notes on the Scope of Consumption Tax Levy for Batteries and Taxable Items for Consumption Tax on Batteries at the Import Stage.

II. Contents of the Announcement To facilitate the collection and administration of consumption tax at the import stage, corresponding customs commodity codes are specified for commodities falling under the same 8-digit tariff item, which are subject to different consumption tax levy or exemption rules set out in the Announcement. This helps enterprises make customs declarations in compliance with relevant regulations.Take 'photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or blocks' (tariff item 8541.4300) as an example. The Announcement stipulates that consumption tax on photovoltaic cells will be levied at a rate of 2% starting from 1 April 2027, and the tax rate will rise to 4% starting from 1 April 2028. Perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells among photovoltaic cells shall be exempt from consumption tax for the period from 1 September 2026 to 31 December 2028.In accordance with the above provisions, 'photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or blocks (excluding perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells)' are subject to consumption tax. By contrast, 'perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells which are photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or blocks' are eligible for consumption tax exemption.

Therefore, tariff item 8541.4300 is further subdivided:

Commodity code 85414300.10: perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells which are photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or blocks

Commodity code 85414300.90: photovoltaic cells assembled into modules or blocks (excluding perovskite cells, tandem cells and gallium arsenide cells)

Source: General Administration of Customs