Travelers line up for departure tax refunds at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. CHINA DAILY
Core measures of the upgraded version 2.0 departure tax refund policy, including a fully paperless process and a random inspection system for small amounts, were officially rolled out earlier this month, allowing inbound travelers to immediately experience seamless efficiency.
"Previously, processing a tax refund required paper invoices and forms, which took time to print and were easy to lose, but now the entire process can be completed with just one code," said a Romanian traveler. On July 1, he purchased a watch in Beijing, generated an electronic form by scanning a code at the store, and quickly verified it at the Beijing Capital International Airport customs window.
This paperless system allows travelers to generate a universally applicable "departure tax refund service code" via mobile browsers anytime after entering the country. It enables them to process refunds at any designated store or departure port nationwide and track electronic invoices and progress online, making the procedure fully traceable.
Efficiency is further boosted by a new regulation effective July 1, which applies random physical inspections to refund applications under 10,000 yuan ($1,471). "My documents were not selected for physical inspection today, so I completed all procedures in just a few minutes, which makes us more willing to buy quality domestic products," said Yang Liqin, a Hong Kong traveler who received a 530-yuan refund for a camera at Shenzhen's Futian Port.
