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

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

Promulgated by Order No. 611 of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China on December 5, 2011, and amended in accordance with Decision of the State Council on Amending Some Administrative Regulations on March 2, 2019.

Article 1 The Regulations are formulated in accordance with Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law).

Article 2 Vehicles and vessels mentioned to in Article 1 of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law refer to:

(1)   Motor vehicles and vessels that shall be registered with  vehicle and vessel registration administration departments in accordance with the law; and

(2)   Motor vehicles and vessels that are not required to be registered with vehicle and vessel registration administration departments in accordance with the law, but are operated or used within an internal site of an entity.

Article 3 Local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government shall determine the specific applicable tax amounts for vehicles based on Tax Items and Amounts Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax attached to Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, and shall follow the following principles:

(1) The tax amounts of passenger vehicles shall increase progressively with the engine displacement from small to large;

(2) The tax amounts of buses shall be divided into two brackets based on the assessed and approved passenger capacity of less than 20 people and 20 people or more, and shall increase progressively.

The specific applicable tax amounts for vehicles determined by local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government shall be submitted to the State Council for the record.

Article 4 The specific applicable tax amounts for motor vessels are as follows:

(1)    Three yuan per ton where the net tonnage does not exceed 200 tons;

(2)    Four yuan per ton where the net tonnage is more than 200 tons and not more than 2000 tons;

(3)    Five yuan per ton where the net tonnage is more than 2000 tons and not more than 10000 tons; and

(4)    Six yuan per ton where the net tonnage is more than 10000 tons.

Vehicle and Vessel tax for tugboats shall be calculated and collected by the engine power with one kilowatt equivalent to 0.67 tons of net tonnage.

Article 5 The specific applicable tax amounts for yachts are as follows:

(1)    600 yuan per meter where the length of the yacht not exceeding 10 meters;

(2)    900 yuan per meter where the length of the yacht that is more than 10 meters and not more than 18 meters;

(3)    1300 yuan per meter where the length of the yacht that is more than 18 meters and not more than 30 meters;

(4)    2000 yuan per meter where the length of the yacht that is more than 30 meters; and

(5)    600 yuan per meter for auxiliary-power sailing yachts.

Article 6 The engine displacement, curb weight, assessed and approved seating capacity, net tonnage, kilowatts, and hull length, mentioned in Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law and the Regulations, shall be based on the data recorded in the registration certificates or vehicle licenses issued by vehicle and vessel registration administration departments.

Vehicles and vessels that are not required to be registered in accordance with the law, vehicles and vessels that should have been registered in accordance with the law but have not been registered, or vehicles and vessels for which vehicle and vessel registration certificates or vehicle licenses are not available, shall be subject to the technical parameters and data indicated in the manufacturer's certificate of conformity or import documentation. If such documentation can not be provided, the tax authority in charge shall assess and determine the technical parameters and data by referencing relevant national standards. If relevant national standards are not available, they shall be assessed and determined by referencing similar types of vehicles and vessels.

Article 7 The vessels for fishing and aquaculture, mentioned in Article 3(1) of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, refer to the vessels registered as fishing or aquaculture boats with the fisheries vessel registration administration departments.

Article 8 The vehicles and vessels used exclusively by the army and armed police forces, mentioned in Article 3(2) of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, refer to the vehicles and vessels registered with the vehicle and vessel registration administration departments of the army and armed police forces in accordance with the relevant regulations and issued with the army and armed police license plates.

Article 9 The vehicles and vessels used by the police, mentioned in Article 3(3) of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, refer to vehicles issued with police license plates by public security authorities, national security organs, prisons, administrative organs for re-education through labor, the people’s courts, and the people’s procuratorates, as well as specialized vessels for carrying out police duties.

Article 10 Vehicle and vessel tax may be exempted or reduced by half for energy-saving or new energy-powered vehicles and vessels. The scope of qualified vehicles and vessels shall be determined by the financial and taxation departments of the State Council in consultation with relevant departments of the State Council and submitted to the State Council for approval.

Where the taxpayers have difficulties in tax payment due to serious natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and other special reasons that require tax reduction or exemption, vehicle and vessel tax may be reduced or exempted within a certain period of time. The specific period and amount of reduction or exemption shall be determined by local people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government and submitted to the State Council for the record.

Article 11 Vehicle and vessel tax shall be collected by tax authorities.

Article 12 When collecting vehicle and vessel tax, withholding agents shall indicate the information of the tax collected on the insurance policy of the compulsory traffic accident obligation insurance for motor vehicles and the insurance invoice, which shall serve as a certificate for the tax collected.

Article 13 For vehicles for which tax has been paid or is exempted in accordance with the law, taxpayers shall provide the withholding agents with the tax payment certificate or tax exemption certificate issued by the tax authority in charge at the place of vehicle registration.

Article 14 Where a taxpayer fails to pay vehicle and vessel tax within the prescribed time limit, the withholding agent may collect and remit the overdue payment of surcharge for tax arrears when it collecting and remitting tax.

Article 15 Where the withholding agent has collected and remitted vehicle and vessel tax, the taxpayer shall not file the vehicle and vessel tax with the tax authority in charge at the place of registration of the vehicle.

Where there is no withholding agent, the taxpayer shall file vehicle and vessel tax with the tax authority in charge and pay the tax by himself/herself.

Article 16 When paying vehicle and vessel tax, the taxpayer shall provide the corresponding documents reflecting information related to taxation such as engine displacement, curb weight, assessed and approved passenger capacity, net tonnage, kilowatt, and yacht length, as well as other information required by the tax authority based on actual needs.

If such information was already submitted in previous years, taxpayers may not provide it again.

Article 17 Taxpayers of vehicle and vessel tax shall pay the tax at the specific applicable tax amounts determined by local people’s government of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the central government where the location for tax payment is.

Article 18 The withholding agent shall remit the tax and surcharge withheld in a timely manner and file returns with the tax authority in charge. When remitting the tax and surcharge to the tax authority, the withholding agent shall also submit a detailed report on the collected tax and surcharge. The specific deadline for the withholding agent to remit the tax and surcharge shall be determined by local tax authorities of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in accordance with the law and administrative regulations.

Article 19 For the newly purchased vehicle and vessel, the amount of tax payable for the year of purchase shall be calculated on a monthly basis from the month when the tax obligation occurs. The amount of tax payable shall be the annual amount of tax payable divided by 12 and then multiplied by the number of taxable months.

Where, within a tax year, the taxed vehicle or vessel is stolen, robbed, scrapped or lost, the taxpayer may, with certificates issued by the relevant administrative departments and the tax payment certificate, apply to the tax authority in charge at the place where the tax is payable for a refund of the tax from the month when it is stolen, robbed, scrapped or lost until the end of the tax year.

Where the stolen or robbed vehicle or vessel for which the tax has already been refunded is recovered, the taxpayer shall calculate and pay vehicle and vessel tax from the month when the relevant certificate is issued by the public security authority.

Article 20 Where the ownership of the vehicle and vessel for which vehicle and vessel tax has been paid is transferred within the same tax year, no additional tax shall be paid and no tax refund shall be made.

Article 21 The month when the ownership or management right of a vehicle or vessel is obtained, mentioned in Article 8 of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law, shall be based on the month when the invoice or other proof document for the purchase of the vehicle or vessel is issued.

Article 22 The tax authorities may handle the collection of vehicle and vessel tax at the vehicle and vessel registration administration departments or inspection institutions.

When handling vehicle-related registration and periodic inspection procedures, the traffic administration department of the public security authority shall not handle the relevant procedures unless the certificate of tax payment or tax exemption is provided in accordance with the law.

Article 23 Vehicle and vessel tax shall be filed on a yearly basis, calculated on a monthly basis, and paid in a lump sum. The tax year begins from January 1 and ends on December 31 of a calendar year.

Article 24 Foreign vehicles and vessels and vehicles and vessels from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan Region, which temporarily enter China, are exempted from vehicle and vessel tax.

Article 25 The motor vessels for which vessel tonnage tax is paid in accordance with the relevant regulations are exempted from vehicle and vessel tax within five years after the date of the implementation of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law.

Vehicles and vessels that travel or operate within the airport, port and railway station that are not required to be registered with the vehicle and vessel registration administration departments in accordance with the law are exempted from vehicle and vessel tax within five years after the date of the implementation of Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law.

Article 26 The definitions of vehicles and vessels in the Tax Items and Amounts Table of Vehicle and Vessel Tax attached to Vehicle and Vessel Tax Law are as follows：

Passenger cars refer to vehicles, in terms of design and technical characteristics, mainly used for carrying passengers and their personal luggage, with a assessed and approved seating capacity (including the driver) of not exceeding nine passengers .

Commercial vehicles refer to vehicles other than passenger cars, in terms of design and characteristics, used for carrying passengers and goods, which are divided into buses and trucks.

Semi-trailer tractors refer to commercial vehicles equipped with a special device for towing semi-trailers.

Three-wheeled vehicles refer to trucks with three wheels, designed with a maximum speed not exceeding 50 kilometers per hour.

Low-speed trucks refer to trucks powered by diesel engines, designed with a maximum speed not exceeding 70 kilometers per hour, and equipped with four wheels.

Trailers refer to non-motorized vehicles that require be towed by cars or tractors to operate properly due to their design and technical characteristics.

Special purpose motor vehicles refer to vehicles, in terms of design and technical characteristics, used for special tasks.

Special wheeled mechanical vehicles refer to wheeled engineering vehicles with special structure and functions, equipped with rubber tires, capable of self-propelled movement, and designed with a maximum speed exceeding 20 kilometers per hour.

Motorcycles refer to two-wheeled or three-wheeled vehicles, regardless of the type of propulsion, designed with a maximum speed exceeding 50 kilometers per hour, or using an internal combustion engine with a displacement exceeding 50 milliliters.

Vessels refer to all types of motorized and non-motorized vessels as well as other waterborne mobile equipment, excluding lifeboats carried on vessels and rafts with a length of less than five meters. Thereamong, motor vessels refer to those propelled by machinery; tugboats are specialized vessels used for towing (pushing) transport vessels; non-motor barges refer to non-motor vessels registered as barges with the vessel registration administration department; yachts refer to vessels with built-in mechanical propulsion devices, with a length of less than 90 meters, primarily used for sightseeing, leisure, water sports, and other recreational purposes, and shall have vessel inspection certificates and certificates of seaworthiness.

Article 27 The Regulations shall enter into force from January 1, 2012.

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.