On 27 December 2016, the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly published a notice to support scientific research and technological innovations.
In accordance with the notice, the equipment and goods that can or cannot be manufactured in China but do not meet the requirements or specifications of research or teaching activities, may be imported free from VAT, import duty at the import stage and consumption tax by research institutions, technology development organizations and universities from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020.
The VAT exemption is also available to import books and literature stuffs by universities and research institutions for teaching and research functions.
