BEIJING: China’s latest departure tax refund measures will allow overseas visitors to obtain instant refunds across more regions and give them up to 28 days to leave the country, making multi-city trips easier and encouraging longer stays and greater spending.
Jointly issued by six central departments, including the Commerce Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the State Taxation Administration (STA) Ministry, the new policy package upgrades the country’s refund-upon-purchase service through two main changes: cross-regional recognition among tax refund agents and a unified 28-day departure deadline.
“Cross-regional recognition allows overseas visitors to plan their trips to China with greater freedom and convenience,” said Xie Zhenfa, deputy dean of the School of Economics at Xiamen University.
“After receiving an instant refund in one city, they can travel to another city and continue spending without having to worry about their departure arrangements.”
Under the country’s earlier instant tax refund service, eligible overseas visitors shopping at participating stores can sign an agreement and provide a credit card pre-authorisation to receive an advance payment in yuan equal to the expected tax refund.
That brings forward a process that would otherwise be completed at the departure port. Although the service had already been rolled out nationwide, transactions handled by tax refund agents in different areas were not always mutually recognised, according to the STA.
Travellers who received an advance refund were often required to leave through a designated port within a locally prescribed period, limiting its usefulness for cross-province itineraries.
In this regard, the new measures seek to remove those location-based restrictions.
Once visitors have completed the refund procedure and received the advance payment, they may undergo customs verification at any eligible departure port within a region covered by mutual recognition.
Some regions have already piloted wider recognition networks. They include Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province; a southern network covering Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan provinces, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; and a southwestern network including Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and Chongqing, according to the regulators.
The arrangement means, for example, that a visitor who receives an advance refund after shopping in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, may depart from Fuzhou, Fujian province, or Haikou, Hainan province, provided the selected port is covered by the recognition network.
“This move will further improve the consumer experience in China while also unlocking new demand,” Xie noted.
The second change standardises the departure deadline for the refund-upon-purchase service at 28 days.
Purchases made no more than 28 days before a visitor’s departure are eligible, replacing deadlines that previously varied between regions.
Xie said the longer and uniform window would give visitors more room to arrange or adjust their itineraries and allow more travellers to benefit from the policy.
“It is better suited to overseas visitors on in-depth tours, multicity itineraries or extended business trips, helping them shift from quick ‘check-in’ trips to more immersive travel,” he said. — China Daily/ANN
