BEIJING -- A draft law on value-added tax (VAT) was submitted Tuesday for its first reading at the ongoing 38th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress.

The draft law makes provisions with regard to VAT taxpayers, scope, rates, payable amounts and incentives, while basically maintaining the current VAT framework and tax burden ratio.

It is based on the country's provisional regulations on VAT, with necessary adjustments made in certain areas.

VAT is the largest tax in China. VAT revenues stood at about 6.2 trillion yuan (about 891.5 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, accounting for 36 percent of the country's total tax revenues throughout the year.

China has stepped up its reform of VAT in recent years as part of efforts to cut taxes and fees on a greater scale.