By Tian Hong, Wang Yunna, People’s Daily
As China continues to expand its opening up, its visa-free policy network keeps growing, and departure tax refund procedures are being streamlined. These measures are fueling rising enthusiasm among international visitors for tourism and shopping in China.
China fully implemented its departure tax refund policy in 2015 and has since rolled out a series of new and improved measures. In April of this year, six government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, issued a set of measures to further optimize the policy to better serve international tourists and stimulate inbound consumption.
Key improvements include lowering the minimum purchase threshold for tax refunds from 500 yuan ($70.7) to 200 yuan and raising the cash refund limit from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan. These changes have effectively expanded the number of tax-refund stores, enriched the range of refundable goods, and improved the overall service quality, yielding clear results.
Latest data from the State Taxation Administration show that from January to September this year, applications for departure tax refunds by overseas travelers surged by 229.8 percent year on year, while the total refund amount rose by 97.4 percent. These figures underscore the growing inbound consumption vitality unleashed by the continued optimization.
International tourists have responded positively. A Swiss visitor, shopping with his girlfriend at a flagship store on Shanghai’s Huaihai Road, praised the convenience: “The tax refund process was quick and smooth, offering a 9 percent refund — almost like a 10 percent discount. For a first-time visitor to China, this is very convenient.”
These streamlined procedures and financial incentives are enhancing China’s appeal as a premier shopping destination, further integrating the country into global tourism networks.
Beyond authorizing individual stores to offer instant refunds, Shanghai established 26 centralized tax refund service points across key commercial districts. These hubs allow tourists to consolidate refunds from multiple purchases made at different stores in a single location, greatly improving efficiency.
During the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in November 2024, Shanghai introduced a centralized instant tax refund service station directly at the expo venue — a first. This station featured integrated POS systems for departure tax refunds, combining pre-authorization agreements with real-time advance refunds.
Currently, Shanghai boasts over 1,700 tax-refund stores citywide. Many service points now offer mobile refund options. This enables the entire process, from purchase invoicing and customs verification to refund payment, to be completed online. Through online pre-authorization, refunds can be received instantly via platforms like Alipay.
This year, Shanghai has handled departure tax refunds for nearly 100,000 travelers from 179 countries and regions. As of Sept. 29, the city’s departure tax refund sales had increased by 83.8 percent year on year, while the total refund amount rose by 82.9 percent, ranking first among all provincial-level regions in China.
“More than 3,000 yuan in refunds was credited instantly. This is remarkably efficient. Traveling in China has been a great experience!” said a tourist from Spain, who spoke highly of China’s instant tax refund policy.
At Teemall shopping center in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong province, he spent over an hour carefully selecting a wide variety of items, from smartphones and drones to traditional Chinese clothing, as well as specialty snacks and intangible cultural heritage-inspired creative products.
“Chinese products are of high quality and offer great value for money. I really like them,” he said. He initially thought that only luggage and clothing were eligible for instant refunds, but was pleasantly surprised by the wide range of applicable products.
With a smooth application process and rapid refund, the Spanish tourist was able to fully enjoy his shopping experience in China. “When I come the next time, I’ll bring a few extra empty suitcases to take more Chinese products home,” he said.
The continued improvement of instant tax refund policies and services is attracting a growing number of overseas tourists to travel and spend in China.
Guangzhou officially launched its first batch of centralized instant tax refund service points at the end of June, making refund procedures simpler and payments faster.
With the introduction of one-stop online services for in-store instant refunds, overseas visitors can now scan a merchant-specific QR code after shopping and complete the refund process independently online, with the fastest refunds credited within five minutes.
At present, the number of tax-refund stores in Guangzhou has exceeded 1,500, covering all 11 urban districts of the city.
