Foreign visitors impressed by easier sales tax refunds(3)

Foreign tourists visit a cosmetics outlet in a shopping mall in Shanghai on April 4. (CHINA DAILY)

Simplicity of use

Under the new refund-upon-purchase model, tourists can claim value-added tax 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 with an original price of 23,999 yuan ($3,299) including tax, he or she can receive an in-store refund of about $360.

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 entire time for 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, at a news conference on Sunday.

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 TCM pharmacy Tongrentang and the silk and cloth store Ruifuxiang.