When was the value-added tax (VAT) reform implemented in China?

On August 1, 2013, the VAT pilot reform was implemented nationwide, as formalized by the promulgation of the Notice Concerning the Nationwide Adoption of VAT in lieu of Business Tax Pilot Tax Collection Policy in the Transportation Industry and Certain Modern Service Industries (Circular 37) by China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) and State Administration of Taxation (SAT) on May 24, 2013.

In December 2013, China’s State Council revealed the further expansion of the VAT reform to the railway transportation and postal service industries, and the MOF and the SAT jointly released the Notice Regarding the Inclusion of Railway Transportation and Postal Service Industries under VAT in lieu of Business Tax Pilot Reform (Circular 106), which came into effect on January 1, 2014, abolishing Circular 37.