On April 8, the State Administration of Taxation issued the "Announcement on Promoting the Service Measures for "Buy and Refund" for Departure Tax Refunds for Overseas Travelers", which clearly stated that from April 8, the "Buy and Refund" service measures for Departure Tax Refunds will be promoted nationwide.
According to reports, "buy now and refund" is a convenient service measure. Compared with the traditional process of leaving tax refund, the tax refund process is advanced, so that overseas tourists can get tax refunds during the shopping process, which is conducive to passengers receiving tax refunds at the shopping site for re-consumption, providing overseas tourists with more convenient and diverse tax refund options. The initiative has been piloted in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Zhejiang and other places in the early stage, and now it has met the conditions for national promotion.
The Announcement points out that overseas passengers purchase tax refund items at the "buy now and refund" store and apply for credit card pre-authorization, they can receive equal tax refunds on site; when the passenger leaves the country, the customs verify the passenger's identity and tax refund items; after the tax refund agency reviews the shopping tax refund information, it will immediately lift the credit card pre-authorization guarantee and complete the departure tax refund matters. The Announcement also clarifies that tax refund stores that are willing to provide "buy-and-refund" services can become "buy-and-refund" stores after negotiations with local tax refund agencies.
A relevant person in charge of the State Administration of Taxation said that the tax department will strengthen the interpretation and guidance of relevant policies, continuously upgrade and improve the system functions, optimize the tax refund processing process, actively help attract overseas tourists to China for consumption, and fully release the consumption potential of inbound tourism. (CCTV reporter Li Xia)
