Recently, the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration jointly issued the "Announcement on Adjusting Export Tax Rebate Policies for Products Such as Photovoltaic Products", clearly stating that starting from April 1, 2026, the value-added tax (VAT) export tax rebates for a number of products including stone and related products will be cancelled. This involves 33 categories of stone-related products such as processed marble, granite, limestone and other construction products, stone mills, and stone rollers, marking that China's stone exports have officially bid farewell to the era of "policy dividends" and entered a new stage of market-oriented competition and industrial upgrading.
It is reported that the cancellation of stone export tax rebates this time is not an abrupt adjustment, but a continuation of the gradual tightening of policies. Looking back to 2024, the export tax rebate rate for some stone products has been reduced from 13% to 9%. This comprehensive cancellation means that the previous 9% tax rebate rate will disappear completely, and stone export enterprises will have to bear the full VAT cost of 11%-13%, which directly increases the cost of export products and exerts a direct impact on stone enterprises relying on exports.
According to the interpretation of the taxation department, the core purpose of this policy adjustment is to prevent tax-related risks in the export of goods subject to domestic link taxes, maintain the order of foreign trade exports, and more importantly, promote the stone industry to get rid of the dependence on "low-price competition", force the industry to transform from resource-driven to technology-driven and value-driven, and help achieve high-quality industrial development and balanced import and export trade. It is worth noting that the policy clearly states that stone products declared for export before April 1, 2026 and complying with relevant regulations can still apply for tax rebates in accordance with the original policy; the export consumption tax policy for relevant stone products subject to consumption tax will not be adjusted.
As a major global stone exporter, China has a large-scale stone industry. The industry pattern of "the world's stone looks to China, and China's stone looks to Nan'an" has long been formed, and regions such as Nan'an, Fujian have gathered a large number of stone processing and export enterprises. The cancellation of tax rebates this time has the most obvious impact on small and medium-sized stone enterprises mainly engaged in rough processing with low added value - the profit margin of such enterprises was originally only 5%-8%. After the cancellation of tax rebates, the export profit of rough-processed stone is basically zero, and some enterprises have urgently stopped stocking rough-processed products for export to avoid inventory backlog.
Reporters visited the Nan'an Stone Industry Base in Fujian and learned that the industry is currently experiencing an obvious adjustment upsurge. Many enterprises are urgently holding high-level meetings to adjust their development strategies: most small and micro enterprises plan to abandon rough processing businesses such as ordinary stone cutting and raw stone sales, turn to deep processing fields such as customized countertops and special-shaped decorative parts, invest in CNC cutting and polishing equipment, and improve processing accuracy and raw stone utilization rate; large and medium-sized enterprises focus on intelligent manufacturing and brand building, build digital factories, implement the model innovation of "layout first, then board purchase", and improve service added value.
Chen Liangti, Deputy Secretary-General of the Nan'an Stone Association, said that although the cancellation of tax rebates has brought short-term pains, in the long run, it will promote the industry to "eliminate the inferior and retain the superior" and eliminate low-end production capacity with backward technology and inadequate environmental protection. "Chinese stone enterprises still have core advantages in processing technology. As long as they abandon the low-price competition thinking and focus on improving product value, they can gain a firm foothold in the international market." He also mentioned that emerging markets such as the Middle East and Africa have strong demand, and Saudi Arabia's granite imports increased by 39.4% in 2024, providing new market space for Chinese stone enterprises.
Industry experts analyzed that this policy adjustment will accelerate the restructuring of the stone industry pattern. On the one hand, rough processing capacity will withdraw at an accelerated pace, and the capacity withdrawal rate of small and medium-sized producing areas is expected to exceed 20%; on the other hand, greenization, intelligence and high-endization will become the mainstream of industry development, with natural stone and rock slab replication developing in parallel. Models such as the recycling of leftover materials and circular production will be widely promoted, helping the stone industry get rid of the old label of "high energy consumption and high pollution".
In addition, the policy level also provides support for enterprise transformation. The "Work Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Building Materials Industry (2025~2026)" jointly issued by six ministries and commissions proposes to tap the potential of traditional consumption and continue to carry out green building materials going to the countryside activities, providing broad space for stone enterprises to deepen the domestic market; local policies such as "technological deputy general managers" and R&D expense subsidies also help enterprises improve their technological innovation capabilities and solve transformation problems.
Industry insiders generally believe that 2026 will become a "critical year" for the transformation of China's stone industry. The cancellation of tax rebates is not an "end", but a "starting point" for the industry to get rid of policy dependence and achieve high-quality development. In the future, only by focusing on product upgrading, technological innovation and diversified market layout can Chinese stone enterprises take the initiative in global competition and promote China's transformation from a "major stone exporting country" to a "strong stone industry country".