Updated: 2025-02-28 Source: STA General Office

Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China

Adopted at the Nineteenth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on February 25, 2011; and amended in accordance with Decision on Amending Eight Laws including Construction Law of the People’s Republic of China adopted at the Tenth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China on April 23, 2019.

Article 1    Owners or custodians of vehicles and vessels within the territory of the People’s Republic of China, as prescribed in the Tax Items and Amounts Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax attached to this Law, shall be the taxpayers of vehicle and vessel tax and shall pay vehicle and vessel tax in accordance with this Law.

Article 2    The applicable tax amount for vehicles and vessels shall be implemented in accordance with the Tax Item and Amount Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax attached to this Law.

The specific applicable tax amount for vehicles shall be determined by local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government in accordance with the tax amount range as prescribed in the Tax Items and Amounts Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax attached to this Law and the regulations of the State Council.

The specific applicable tax amount for vessels shall be determined by the State Council within the tax amount range as prescribed in the Tax Items and Amounts Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax attached to this Law.

Article 3    The following vehicles and vessels shall be exempted from vehicle and vessel tax:

(1)    Vessels for fishing and aquaculture;

(2)    Vehicles and vessels used exclusively by the army and armed police forces;

(3)    Vehicles and vessels used by the police;

(4)    National comprehensive firefighting and rescue vehicles and special vessels hung with emergency rescue special license plates;

(5)    Vehicles and vessels of the foreign embassies and consulates in China, representative offices of international organizations in China and their relevant personnel, which shall be exempted from tax in accordance with the law.

Article 4    Vehicle and vessel tax may be reduced or exempted for energy-saving or new energy-powered vehicles and vessels. Where tax reduction or exemption is needed due to serious natural disasters or other special reasons, vehicle and vessel tax may be reduced or exempted. The specific measures shall be prescribed by the State Council and submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for the record.

Article 5    Local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government may, according to the actual situation, reduce or exempt vehicle and vessel tax for public transportation vehicles and vessels, and motorcycles, three-wheeled vehicles and low-speed trucks owned by rural residents and mainly used in rural areas.

Article 6    Insurance institutions engaged in compulsory third-party liability insurance for motor vehicles shall be the withholding agents of vehicle and vessel tax on motor vehicles, and shall withhold vehicle and vessel tax in accordance with the law and issue vouchers for the taxes withheld when charging insurance premiums.

Article 7    The place for vehicle and vessel tax payment shall be the place of registration of the vehicles or vessels, or the place where the withholding agent is based. For vehicles and vessels that do not need registration in accordance with the law, the tax payment place shall be the place where the owner or custodian of the vehicles or vessels is based.

Article 8    The obligation for paying vehicle and vessel tax occurs in the month when the ownership or management right of the vehicle or vessel is obtained.

Article 9    Vehicle and vessel tax shall be filed and paid annually. The specific tax filing and payment period shall be determined by local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government.

Article 10    Vehicle and vessel registration and administration departments, such as public security, transportation, agriculture and fisheries authorities, vessel inspection institutions and industry regulatory authorities of withholding agents of vehicle and vessel tax, shall provide relevant information on vehicles and vessels to tax authorities in order to strengthen the collection and administration of vehicle and vessel tax.

When vehicle owners or custodians apply for vehicle registration and periodic inspection, they shall submit the certificate of tax payment or tax exemption in accordance with the law to the traffic management department of the public security authority. The traffic management department shall verify the documents before processing the application.

Article 11    Vehicle and vessel tax shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of this Law and Tax Collection and Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 12    Implementation regulations for this Law shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 13    This Law shall enter into force from January 1, 2012. Provisional Regulations on Vehicle and Vessel Tax of the People’s Republic of China, which was promulgated by the State Council on December 29, 2006, shall be repealed simultaneously.

All information in this document is authentic in Chinese. English is provided for reference only. In case of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.

Annex：

Tax Items and Amounts Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax