China to Cancel VAT Export Rebates for E-Cigarette Equipment From April 2027

China's Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration have published an adjustment to export tax policy that removes the value-added tax export rebate for e-cigarette equipment and devices, with the change taking effect from April 1, 2027.

The announcement is part of a broader reshuffle of export rebates on selected products. It specifies, by customs commodity code, the range of goods affected, and it includes atomizer and misting devices and nicotine salts among the categories, meaning the measure reaches both the hardware and the liquid inputs of the vape industry.

The policy leaves the consumption-tax treatment of the affected goods unchanged. Where a product also carries a consumption tax, that existing tax arrangement continues to apply and is not part of the change. The adjustment is aimed specifically at the VAT export rebate.

For manufacturers, the effect is on the economics of exports. With the rebate removed, the net cost of an exported e-cigarette device rises, and the change is most felt by firms whose pricing had assumed the rebate. The authorities gave a roughly a-year transition window, running to the April 2027 effective date, for companies to recalculate export pricing and adjust their business plans.

The move is being read as a signal of how much weight regulators place on the domestic and export competitiveness of the e-cigarette category. It does not restrict the export of the products, and it does not touch the separate consumption-tax regime, but it does remove a cost-support tool that the hardware side of the industry has relied on.