Tax refunds to visitors show huge uptick

Tourists go through the departure tax refund process in Chengdu, Sichuan province. (ZHANG LANG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE)

Fueled by China's visa-free policies for visitors from more than 50 countries and the coordinated growth of cultural tourism and business exhibitions, top-tier Chinese cities have reported significant increases in the total amount of tax refunded to foreign travelers so far this year, according to Customs data.

For example, Customs authorities at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, an aviation hub in South China's Guangdong province, verified over 4,600 departure tax refund applications from overseas travelers in the first four months of 2025, with the total value of these applications reaching 104 million yuan ($14.46 million) and the refunded tax amount exceeding 13 million yuan — up 195 percent, 149 percent and 150 percent year-on-year, respectively.

"I had a fantastic time and bought many things as well, including a new smartphone and some kitchen appliances," said Jao Shu-Min, a traveler from Australia, while going through the departure tax refund process at the declaration counter of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, information provided by Guangzhou Customs showed.

Her tax refund application listed the names, unit prices and tax amounts of the purchased items, with a refund rate of 11 percent.

"In the past, I was always worried that visa procedures might delay my travel plans," said Chloe Elizabeth, a traveler from the United Kingdom, who received a tax refund of 2,600 yuan at the declaration counter of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in early May.

"China's visa-free transit policy saved us time and prompted my spontaneous decision to visit. Overall, the experience of sightseeing and shopping has been excellent," she said.

Around 2,120 kilometers from Guangzhou, Customs authorities at Beijing Capital International Airport processed a total of 6,108 departure tax refund applications between January and April, with refund invoices totaling 316.81 million yuan and tax refunds amounting to 40.55 million yuan.

During the five-day May Day holiday this year, a total of 435 tax refund applications were verified at Beijing Capital International Airport, jumping 105.19 percent on a yearly basis. The total value of the verified refund invoices reached 11.98 million yuan, up 181.41 percent year-on-year, statistics from Beijing Customs showed.

China began implementing a nationwide tax refund policy for international tourists in early April, replacing the traditional refund-at-departure system with a more efficient refund-at-purchase model.

The upgraded tax refund policy, initially implemented in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, and Shenzhen in Guangdong province, has been expanded to a nationwide rollout.

Under the updated policy, eligible tourists can now receive tax refunds immediately at the point of purchase, eliminating the need to wait until departure, said Zhao Zhao, deputy head of Customs at Beijing Daxing International Airport.

To attract more overseas visitors, China rolled out a new policy in late April allowing foreign travelers to claim departure tax refunds for same-store purchases of 200 yuan per day — down from the previous threshold of 500 yuan, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Driven by favorable visa-free and tax refund policies, Shanghai Customs verified a total of 36,000 departure tax refund applications in the first four months, marking a year-on-year increase of 137.4 percent.

During the same period, Shanghai Customs facilitated the movement of 13.86 million inbound and outbound travelers, 83,000 flights and 233 cruise ships, up 26.8 percent, 15.3 percent and 111.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.