China raises VAT rates on minerals to 17%

Published: 05 Jan 2009 00:02:14 PST

Jan. 5, 2009 (China Knowledge) - The value-added tax (VAT) rates on 82 minerals products have been raised from 13% to 17%, effective from Jan. 1, 2009, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation.

The 82 kinds of minerals include both ferrous and nonferrous metals as well as non-metal minerals, such as copper ore, nickel ore, aluminum ore, and mineral concentrates, etc.

The move is to bolster the sector amid the global economic downturn and help reduce the tax burden of domestic miners paid for ore imports by over RMB 123 billion in 2009.

Revenues of China's non-ferrous metal and processing industry dropped 34.1% from a year earlier in the first 11 months of last year, and the profits of iron and steel industry fell 13.7% year-on-year during the period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

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