The Notice aims to stimulate inbound consumption and promote Chinese-made products in international markets by lowering the refund threshold, expanding refund coverage, and improving service convenience.
The highlights are as follows.
- Lower Refund Threshold: The minimum purchase amount eligible for tax refund has been reduced from RMB 500 to RMB 200. This allows more specialty stores and souvenir shops, which typically have lower average transaction values, to participate in the tax refund program, thereby boosting sales of Chinese products.
- Higher Cash Refund Limit: The cap for a single cash refund transaction has been increased from RMB 10,000 to RMB 20,000. Multiple refund channels are supported, including mobile payments and bank cards.
- Expanded Tax Refund Store Coverage: Business districts, tourist attractions, and airports are encouraged to add more tax refund counters. Newly established stores with a tax credit rating of M are now eligible to apply for qualification. The record-filing process has been shortened to five working days.
In recent years, China’s visa-free policy has fueled a surge in inbound tourism. Currently, China grants unilateral visa-free access to citizens of 38 countries and transit visa-free access to citizens of 54 countries, with an extended stay of up to 240 hours. According to data, China received 26.94 million foreign visitors in 2024, marking a 96% year-on-year increase. Their total spending reached USD 94.2 billion, up 77.8%. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of foreign inbound tourists reached 9.215 million, marking a 40.2% year-on-year increase. The strengthened tax refund policy continues to significantly boost inbound consumption.
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
