Notice on Adjusting the Catalog Related to Import Tax Policies for Major Technical Equipment

Finance Departments (Bureaus), Development and Reform Commissions, and Industrial and Information Technology Authorities of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities separately listed in the state plan; Finance Bureau and Development and Reform Commission of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs and all directly affiliated customs; Tax Bureaus of the State Taxation Administration in all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities separately listed in the state plan; and the Ministry of Finance's Fiscal Supervision Commissioner Offices stationed in all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and cities separately listed in the state plan:

Based on the development of the domestic equipment manufacturing industry and its supporting industries in recent years, and after extensively soliciting opinions from industry authorities, industry associations, and enterprise representatives, the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration, and the National Energy Administration have decided to revise the relevant catalog of tax policies on the import of major technical equipment. The notice is as follows:

1. The "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Supported by the State for Development (2018 Revision)" (see Attachment 1) and the "Catalog of Key Components and Raw Material Goods for Import of Major Technical Equipment and Products (2018 Revision)" (see Attachment 2) shall be implemented from January 1, 2019. Domestic enterprises that meet the specified conditions and need to import goods listed in Attachment 2 for the production of equipment or products listed in Attachment 1 of this notice shall be exempt from customs duties and import value-added tax. For equipment, products, components, and raw materials with specified validity periods in Attachments 1 and 2, the tax exemption period shall end on December 31 of the respective year.

According to the domestic industry development situation, from January 1, 2019, the tax exemption policy for equipment such as million-kilowatt-class nuclear power units (second-generation improved nuclear power units) will be canceled, and the pre-allocated tax-exempt import quotas for enterprises producing related equipment and products in 2019 will be correspondingly canceled.

2. The "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Not Eligible for Import Tax Exemption (2018 Revision)" (see Attachment 3) shall be implemented from January 1, 2019. For projects and enterprises approved on or after January 1, 2019, that enjoy import tax preferential policies according to or by analogy with the "Notice of the State Council on Adjusting Import Equipment Tax Policies" (Guo Fa [1997] No. 37), the import of self-use equipment listed in Attachment 3 and the technology, supporting parts, and spare parts imported under contract with the above equipment shall be uniformly subject to import taxes according to regulations:

(1) Domestic investment projects and foreign-invested projects encouraged by the state;

(2) Projects funded by foreign government loans and international financial organization loans;

(3) Processing trade enterprises that import equipment provided by foreign investors without pricing;

(4) Foreign-invested advantageous industry projects in the central and western regions;

(5) Foreign-invested enterprises and research centers established by foreign investors using their own funds for technological transformation projects as stipulated in the "Notice of the General Administration of Customs on Further Encouraging Foreign Investment Regarding Import Tax Policies" (Shu Shui [1999] No. 791).

To ensure the smooth implementation of the above projects approved before the adjustment of the "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Not Eligible for Import Tax Exemption (2018 Revision)", for the projects and enterprises approved on or before December 31, 2018, that import equipment before or on June 30, 2019, the import tax policies shall continue to be implemented in accordance with Attachment 3 of the "Notice of the Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, General Administration of Customs, State Taxation Administration, and National Energy Administration on Adjusting the Catalog of Import Tax Policies for Major Technical Equipment" (Cai Guan Shui [2017] No. 39) and the "Announcement of the Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission, General Administration of Customs, and State Taxation Administration on Adjusting the " (2012 No. 83).

From July 1, 2019, for the above projects and enterprises importing equipment listed in the "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Not Eligible for Import Tax Exemption (2018 Revision)", import taxes shall be uniformly levied according to regulations. To ensure the uniform implementation of policies, when reviewing tax exemption for imported goods of relevant projects and enterprises, reference shall be made to both the "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Not Eligible for Import Tax Exemption (2018 Revision)" and the "Catalog of Imported Goods Not Eligible for Tax Exemption for Domestic Investment Projects (2012 Adjustment)". For goods with the same name listed in both catalogs or goods listed only in the "Catalog of Major Technical Equipment and Products Not Eligible for Import Tax Exemption (2018 Revision)", the goods and their technical specifications listed in the latter shall prevail.

3. From January 1, 2019, the "Notice of the Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, General Administration of Customs, State Taxation Administration, and National Energy Administration on Adjusting the Catalog of Import Tax Policies for Major Technical Equipment" (Cai Guan Shui [2017] No. 39) shall be repealed.