Foreign tourists can now immediately receive a tax refund on purchases at certain stores without the need to fill out complicated forms at airport customs offices just before departure. On April 8, China launched a new tax refund policy for international tourists, replacing the traditional refund-upon-departure model with a more streamlined refund-upon-purchase one. Earlier, the policy was piloted in several cities. The new model allows tourists to receive tax refunds instantly, rather than having to wait until they leave the country. “Providing overseas travelers with a greater variety of shopping options and improved, more convenient tax refund services will help stimulate inbound consumption and support high-standard opening-up and economic growth,” said Chen Binkai, Vice President of the Central University of Finance and Economics.
The new tax measures include lowering the minimum purchase amount for refunds from CNY500 to CNY200, effective immediately, and doubling the upper limit for cash refunds from CNY10,000 to CNY20,000. Adjustment of the lower purchase limit for refunds to CNY200 is expected to enable more specialty stores, souvenir and gift shops to join the tax refund program. The government circular also outlines steps to expand the number of departure tax refund stores, increase the supply of merchandise and improve related services. More departure tax refund stores will be set up in major shopping areas, pedestrian streets, tourist sites, resorts, cultural venues, airports, and hotels. Departure tax refund stores are also being encouraged to broaden product offerings to include time-honored brands, renowned Chinese consumer goods, smart devices, intangible cultural heritage items, crafts and specialty products. “The enhanced shopping experience will help draw more overseas tourists to China and drive an increase in shopping,” said Wang Peng, Associate Researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, adding that it will also inject more vitality into the market.
Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, said at a news conference in Beijing, that the Ministry is encouraging “relevant institutions to provide tax refund services through various means such as mobile payments, bank cards and cash, and better meet the diverse payment service needs of overseas travelers”. Under the new refund-upon-purchase model, tourists can claim value-added tax (VAT) rebates at designated retail stores right after shopping, which means an instant discount and free cash or digital renminbi. For instance, if a foreign tourist buys a Huawei Mate XT at the original price of CNY23,999 including tax,he or she can receive an in-store refund of about USD360. The amount is enough for someone to take a high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, plus a one-night luxury hotel stay. To get the immediate tax refund, a foreign tourist must buy eligible goods at stores displaying “Buy and Refund” signs, then present the VAT invoice, tax refund application form, and their passports at the store’s refund counter. The process can be as short as a few minutes. When departing the country the visitor needs to submit the original tax refund form to customs officials for stamping, and then present their receipts to the tax refund counter.
Since being piloted in Shanghai, Beijing, and other places, the new mechanism has been well received by a large number of overseas travelers, with a significant boost to consumption, experts said. The scale of tax refunds processed through the refund-upon-purchase tax policy in 10 pilot areas increased 22-fold year-on-year in 2024, said Xie Wen, an official with the State Taxation Administration. The increase in the pilot areas is 18 times the national average growth rate of outbound tax refunds, Xie added. In Beijing, the list of stores offering instant tax refunds to foreign tourists is not restricted to large shopping centers like Beijing SKP. To date, there are 16 stores in the capital offering refund-upon-purchase services, with many of them also equipped with AI intelligent translation screens. Among them are well-known time-honored brands such as the TCM pharmacy Tongrentang and the silk and cloth store Ruifuxiang.
China introduced the departure tax refund policy for overseas travelers in 2015. Last year, sales of eligible goods rose 120% year-on-year, while the total amount of tax refunded increased by 130%. Inbound tourists spent a total of USD94.2 billion last year, up 77.8% from a year earlier. At the MixC malls in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, prominent signs and clear instructions for overseas shoppers seeking departure tax refunds are now a common sight in stores like Sundan and DJI. The number of stores offering departure tax refunds at Shenzhen’s MixC malls has risen by 30% year-on-year in 2025. Shenzhen launched a new pilot program featuring a “one order, one bag” model at three designated malls. Under the scheme, purchases and departure tax refund forms are packed together in sealed bags, enabling customs officials to quickly verify the packaging’s authenticity and cut inspection time by more than 50%, the China Daily reports.
