Beijing and Shanghai will implement a tax refund policy for departing international visitors starting July 1, becoming the second and third places in China to have such a policy. The policy will have four clauses to it which must be met in order for departing visitors to successfully receive a tax refund on their in-store purchases:

1) The person wishing to receive a tax deduction on their purchase must go to the same tax-free store of their purchase on the same day of their departure; only purchases of at least 500 Yuan qualify for tax deductions.
2) The purchased item must not have already been used.
3) The time between the item’s purchase and the visitor’s departure  dates must not exceed 90 days.
4) Shipping of the item must be handled by the purchaser (i.e., packed in carry-on or checked luggage).

The tax deduction rate stipulated by the new policy will equate to 11%. In other words, if international visitors make a purchase worth 1000 RMB, they can theoretically receive up to a 110 RMB discount in tax reductions.

It should be noted that tax-free stores are not the same as duty-free stores, the former of which provide a refund on the purchased item’s value-added tax.

Source: m.thepaper.cn

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Keywords: China duty-free China tax-free shopping