Measures for the Pilot Implementation of Environmental Protection Tax Collection on Volatile Organic Compounds

Entities subject to pollutant discharge permit management that directly discharge volatile organic compounds not listed in the annex to the Environmental Protection Tax Law shall pay environmental protection tax on volatile organic compounds; entities not subject to such permit management or whose permits do not identify volatile organic compound emissions are temporarily exempt. The first pilot phase covers printing, petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, equipment manufacturing, and automobile manufacturing. The tax rate is RMB 8 to 12 per pollution equivalent, determined by provincial-level governments. Emissions shall be calculated using material balance, monitoring, or pollutant generation and discharge coefficients, and declared quarterly; certain equipment sealing-point sources may be declared annually. Taxpayers rated Grade A or B for air-environmental performance shall be taxed at 50% or 75% of the payable amount respectively. Underreporting or falsifying data triggers enhanced calculation and disqualifies taxpayers from incentives.