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This post was last edited by Xishan Ge on 2026-2-28 at 17:39. Recently, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Taxation Administration issued the \"Notice on Preferential Import Tax Policies for the Exploration, Development, and Utilization of Energy Resources during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period,\" which is valid from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030. To improve the energy production, supply, storage, and distribution system, strengthen domestic oil and gas exploration and development, and support the utilization of imported natural gas, the notice proposes three sets of preferential import tax policies. First, for self-operated projects carrying out oil (natural gas) exploration and development operations in China’s seas, as well as emergency rescue projects for offshore oil and gas pipelines, import duties are exempted on equipment that cannot be produced domestically or whose performance does not meet the requirements, and that is used directly in exploration and development operations or emergency rescue – including technical documentation imported along with the equipment under contracts, as well as instruments, spare parts, and specialized tools. Second, for Sino-foreign cooperative projects that carry out oil (natural gas) exploration and development operations in China’s seas, equipment that cannot be produced domestically or whose performance does not meet the requirements, and that is used directly in such exploration and development activities – including technical documents imported along with the equipment as per the contract, as well as instruments, spare parts, and specialized tools – are exempt from import duties and value-added tax at the import stage. Third, for eligible imported natural gas, value-added tax incurred at the import stage is refunded at a certain rate. For the imported natural gas under the long-term gas contracts signed by the end of 2014 and approved by the **Development and Reform Commission, the value-added tax incurred at the import stage is refunded at a rate of 70% ； For other natural gases, when the import price is higher than the reference value, the VAT paid at the import stage is refunded at 80% of the ratio resulting from the inversion between that import price and the reference value.