Recently, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the Announcement on the Adjustment of the Preferential Tax Policies for Energy-saving Vehicles and New Energy Vehicles. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Vehicle and Ship Tax Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementing regulations, the announcement on the matters related to the adjustment of the preferential tax policies for energy-saving vehicles and new energy vehicles is as follows: From January 1, 2027, the vehicle and ship tax policy will be abolished by halving the levy on energy-saving vehicles, and the vehicle and ship tax policy will be abolished for pure electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including extended range) hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell commercial vehicles. The above-mentioned types of vehicles newly acquired by taxpayersons and obtained before the implementation of this announcement shall be subject to the Vehicle and Ship Tax Law of the People's Republic of China and its implementing regulations and other relevant provisions. The relevant person in charge of the Department of Taxation of the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Property and Conduct Tax of the State Administration of Taxation, and the Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also read the relevant questions. I. The Announcement stipulates that from January 1, 2027, the policy of halving the vehicle and ship tax on energy-saving vehicles will be abolished, and the policy of exempting pure electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including extended range) hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell commercial vehicles from vehicle and ship tax will be abolished. What is the background to this policy change? A: A vehicle and vessel tax is a property tax that is levied annually on vehicles, ship owners or managers. Among them, for passenger cars (with an approved number of passengers of 9 or less), the tax amount is set according to the size of the exhaust volume. For example, if the exhaust volume is 1.0 liters or more to 1.6 liters (inclusive), the tax range is 300 yuan to 540 yuan; if the exhaust volume is 1.6 liters or more to 2.0 liters (inclusive), the tax range is 360 yuan to 660 yuan. For commercial vehicles, buses (with an authorized number of passengers of 9 or more) are levied on a per-vehicle basis, with a tax range of 480 yuan to 1440 yuan; trucks are levied on a quality basis, with a tax range of 16 yuan to 120 yuan per ton. The specific applicable tax amount shall be determined by the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government within the above tax amount range. In order to support the development of the new energy vehicle industry and promote energy conservation and emission reduction, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Vehicle and Ship Tax Law of the People's Republic of China" and its implementation regulations, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments issued a clear document to reduce the vehicle and ship tax by half for eligible energy-saving vehicles, and exempt qualified pure electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including extended range) hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell commercial vehicles from vehicle and ship tax. Since its implementation in 2012, this preferential policy has played a positive role in encouraging consumers to buy new energy vehicles and energy-saving vehicles, and promoting the development of the automobile industry. In recent years, China's automobile industry, especially the new energy vehicle industry, has accelerated its development. In 2025, China's new energy vehicle sales reached 16.49 million units, and new energy vehicle domestic new vehicle sales accounted for more than 50%. All-electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including extended range) hybrid vehicles, fuel cell commercial vehicles, energy-efficient vehicles, and other fuel vehicles are all large assets. According to relevant data, the average selling price of plug-in (including extension) hybrid passenger vehicles in 2025 was 218,000 yuan, and the selling price of some models reached more than 1 million yuan. The resumption of vehicle and ship taxation on the above-mentioned types of vehicles is conducive to promoting tax fairness and enhancing the regulatory role of taxation on income distribution. 2. Are pure electric passenger cars and fuel cell passenger cars subject to vehicle and ship tax? A: According to the "Vehicle and Ship Tax Law of the People's Republic of China", pure electric passenger cars and fuel cell passenger cars are not subject to vehicle and ship tax and are not subject to vehicle and ship tax. 3. Does the Announcement continue to enjoy the preferential policy of vehicle and ship tax for 4 categories of vehicles such as pure electric commercial vehicles obtained before the implementation of the Announcement? A: According to the provisions of the Announcement, from January 1, 2027, taxpayers will no longer enjoy preferential policies for pure electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including extended range) hybrid vehicles, fuel cell commercial vehicles, and energy-saving vehicles obtained before the implementation of the Announcement, and will be subject to vehicle and ship tax according to the regulations. IV. After the implementation of the Announcement, how to calculate and pay the vehicle and ship tax for 4 types of vehicles such as pure electric commercial vehicles? A: From January 1, 2027, pure electric commercial vehicles, plug-in (including extension) hybrid vehicles, fuel cell commercial vehicles, and energy-saving vehicles shall be subject to the vehicle and ship tax according to the specific applicable tax amount of vehicles determined by the people's government of each province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government in accordance with the List of Vehicle and Ship Tax Items attached to the Vehicle and Ship Tax Law of the People's Republic of China. 5. After the implementation of the Announcement, how to declare and pay the vehicle and ship tax for 4 categories of vehicles such as pure electric commercial vehicles? A: According to the current tax management regulations, there are two ways to declare and pay the vehicle and ship tax. One is collected and remitted by the insurance institution, and the taxpayer can be withheld by the insurance institution when purchasing the compulsory insurance for traffic accident liability. The other is for taxpayers to declare and pay on their own. Specific online and offline channels can be selected. The online processing method is: log in to the Electronic Taxation Bureau of the region where you are located, and enter the "Property and Behavior Tax Combined Reporting" module to declare and pay the vehicle and vessel tax; the offline processing method is: go to the tax hall of the vehicle registration place, and declare and pay the vehicle and vessel tax on the spot. The specific method and channel can be selected by the taxpayer. It should be noted that the vehicle and ship tax is declared annually, calculated monthly, and paid in one lump sum. The specific time limit for tax declaration and payment shall be stipulated by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government. If the motor vehicle and vessel tax is collected and remitted by an insurance institution, the taxpayer shall pay the vehicle and vessel tax at the same time as purchasing the compulsory insurance for motor vehicle traffic accident liability. 6. After the implementation of the Announcement, how do 4 types of vehicles such as pure electric commercial vehicles determine where to pay the vehicle and ship tax? A: For vehicles registered with the vehicle registration department according to law, if the taxpayer declares and pays by himself, he shall pay the vehicle and ship tax at the place of vehicle registration; if the insurance institution collects and pays the vehicle and ship tax on behalf of the insurance institution, he shall pay the vehicle and ship tax at the place where the insurance institution is located. If the insurance institution has collected and paid the vehicle and vessel tax on behalf of the insurance institution, the taxpayer shall no longer declare and pay the vehicle and vessel tax to the tax authority. Vehicles that do not need to be registered according to law shall pay the vehicle and ship tax at the place where the owner or manager of the vehicle is located. (Compiled by Qin Chao, Automobile House).