290511 (2905.11.20.10)
Imported for use in chemical production, including production of aldehydes, plastics, olefins and resins
Open chinatax.gov.cn for the binding rate → Pro · VAT rebate
China VAT export rebate calculator
Size a rebate on the FOB quote. The current rate is not in the file. Confirm it at chinatax.gov.cn before you sign.
Preview · example result
One of the four 290511 lines in the 2,691-line index. The description is the US HTS wording, used as a search aid. It is not the Chinese export code, and it is not a rebate rate.
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The preview above is one row the live tool returns for 290511 from the 2,691-line index. The paid plans, from USD 59 a month, unlock the search and the FOB calculator. You choose an indicative 0, 9, or 13 percent to size the invoice. The file does not store the current rebate rate. Every row points at chinatax.gov.cn for that check. The AU and US AD/CVD lookups, the US HTS chapters 28 to 39 lookup, the AU landed-cost calculator, the DFAT sanctions screener, and the AICIS checker are on the same plan.
Pro is for the procurement team that quotes against Chinese suppliers every month and wants the SAT rebate bucket one tab away on every PO. Cancel anytime from /account.
Worked example: the calculator multiplies the rate you type
A buyer has an FOB quote and wants to see what a rebate band does to the supplier's recovered VAT. The calculator multiplies that FOB by 0, 9, or 13 percent, whichever band you select. It does not look up the band. The 2,691-line index can find the HS description. It cannot tell you the rate on the export declaration.
Cai Shui [2022] No. 69, effective 1 August 2022, cut the rebate to 0 percent for a defined list. The file names urea, DAP, MAP, and certain steel categories inside the hedge on every row. It does not say whether any other HS code, including a phosphate code, was on that list. That answer is on chinatax.gov.cn and gss.mof.gov.cn.
On the next PO, ask the supplier which code they will declare, confirm the rate on the SAT schedule, and put a re-quote clause in the PI if a circular changes the rate before export. The calculator sizes the gap between the bands you already believe. The binding number stays on the SAT and MOF pages.
Frequently asked
How does the China export VAT rebate work for chemicals exports?
A Chinese exporter pays VAT on domestic inputs at purchase. On the export shipment, SAT refunds part of that input VAT according to the rebate rate for the product HS code. The rebate rate is published by MOF circular and republished by SAT. This calculator lets you size an invoice at 0 %, 9 %, or 13 %. Those are bands you type. They are not a rate stored against an HS code. The rebate amount on the export invoice line is roughly FOB value times the rate you confirmed, claimed by the exporter at the end-of-month VAT reconciliation. If a circular changes the rate between the quote and the export declaration, the supplier either absorbs the gap or raises the export quote.
Why does the lookup hedge every rate rather than asserting 0 %, 9 %, or 13 %?
Per CLAUDE.md regulatory drafting rule, every percentage rate (AD margin, capacity share, market share, VAT rebate) needs a primary-source citation or a hedge to the source. Chinese VAT export rebate rates change with each MOF circular. The rate that applies at the date of export declaration is the operative number; the rate published in a quarterly circular last cycle may already have been amended. Asserting a static 13 % on a chemical HS code in this dataset would be exactly the failure mode we are avoiding: the cargo ships, the operator quotes against the stale rate, and when SAT refunds the 9 % the supplier actually gets, the foreign buyer absorbs the gap. The lookup deliberately keeps the operator on the binding chinatax.gov.cn source for the rate.
What was the Cai Shui [2022] No. 69 circular and why is it important?
MOF circular Cai Shui [2022] No. 69, jointly issued with GACC and SAT, cut the export VAT rebate rate to 0 % for a defined list of high-energy-intensity products effective 1 August 2022. The list covered urea, DAP, MAP, several steel categories, and other commodity products that the Chinese government wanted to discourage from being exported to subsidise foreign manufacturing. The cut moved a 13 % rebate to 0 % overnight for affected HS codes, restructuring the export economics. Operators should verify whether their HS code sits on the affected list against the binding MOF circular at gss.mof.gov.cn before invoicing a foreign buyer.
How do I know the supplier passed through the rebate on the FOB quote?
Two signals. First, ask the supplier what HS code they declare at GACC export (the export-declaration code drives the rebate). Second, compare the FOB quote against the domestic ex-VAT price quoted to a Chinese trader for the same product. The difference between the export FOB and the domestic ex-VAT price is approximately the rebate that the supplier captured. If the gap is materially smaller than the published rebate rate, the supplier is absorbing some of the rebate as additional margin. If the gap is materially larger, the supplier is pricing in a known incoming MOF circular and the foreign buyer should ask why.
Does the calculator apply to plastics in chapter 39?
Yes. Chapter 39 is in the same 2,691-line index as chapters 28 to 38. The file still does not store a rebate rate for a plastics code. Pick 0, 9, or 13 percent only as a sizing band, then verify the rate on the export declaration at chinatax.gov.cn.
Are there structural risks beyond the rebate rate?
Yes. The export-declaration HS code itself must match the GACC export tariff for the product, and the customs verification step can reclassify (推翻原报关品名). A reclassification at GACC can both shift the rebate rate and trigger a back-duty on the import side of the buyer. The supplier-side check is the SAT 出口退税申报系统 confirmation of the export declaration prior to the end-of-month VAT reconciliation; the buyer-side check is the export declaration document (报关单) reaching the buyer with the matching HS code and quantity.
Related tools
The same supplier quote, on the import side, starts at the China duty check for 290511 into the United States or Australia. The US chemical line is the US HTS chapters 28 to 39 lookup. The Australia stack is the AU landed cost calculator. The US AD/CVD case lookup is the trade-remedy overlay on the same Chinese exporter.
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Sourzi shows what official files say. It is not customs or legal advice. For a binding answer, ask a licensed customs broker, a CBP ruling or an Australian Border Force Tariff Advice.
File dates and links are on Data sources.