China on Tuesday expanded its departure tax refund policy to cover eight cities in central China's Hubei Province and the northeast city of Dalian.
The policy allows overseas tourists to claim back value-added tax on eligible purchases made at designated tax refund stores before leaving China. Tuesday's expansion made 57 more shops across Hubei eligible for this policy.
Alex Shahnavaz, a British shopper, test drove a new energy vehicle and bought a smart phone and a smart bracelet for a total price of nearly 2,000 yuan (about 280 U.S. dollars) after trying out several electronic products at a mall in Wuhan, capital of Hubei, on Tuesday.
Soon later, he received a tax refund of about 177 yuan (about 24.7 U.S. dollars) on the spot.
"It's the policy is getting better in China as I've seen that right now. The thing is like foreigners are able to come over here and then buy stuff and then when they return it back home, they can get that more easier and convenient about the tax refund," Shahnavaz said.
China began implementing the departure tax refund policy for overseas travelers in 2015. Since then, the scale of departure tax refunds has grown year by year, benefiting an ever increasing number of overseas travelers.
On April 27 this year, the country introduced a package of measures to optimize the policy, including measures lowering the minimum purchase threshold for refunds from 500 yuan (about 70 U.S. dollars) to 200 yuan, raising the cash refund ceiling from 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, expanding the network of participating stores, and broadening the range of products covered.
"[I bought] not only electronic devices, but also clothes or the handmade stuff from China. So I'm a huge fan of China overall. So with this new idea, I guess so many international customers will attract to Chinese products," said Vina, a Polish shopper.
"Following the relevant departure tax refund policy, most of our products comply with the requirements and are eligible for tax refund," said Gu Jin, director of departure tax refund affairs at the Wushang Dream Plaza in Wuhan.
Departure tax refund policy expanded to more regions
