The Ministry of Commerce and six other departments issued a notice on the 27th to further optimize the exit tax rebate policy and expand inbound consumption. The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the same day to introduce the relevant situation and respond to external concerns. Departure tax refund refers to the policy of refunding value-added tax on goods purchased by overseas tourists at tax refund stores when they leave the country, which is an internationally recognized practice. Vice Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping stated that the Ministry of Commerce, together with relevant departments such as the Ministry of Finance, has issued a notice that is conducive to improving the convenience of overseas tourists shopping in China. It is an important lever to promote the expansion of inbound consumption and vigorously boost consumption, and an important way to promote high-level opening up to the outside world and smooth the domestic and international dual circulation. Jia Ronge, Director General of the Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance, introduced that since 2015, China has fully implemented the policy of tax refund for overseas tourists leaving the country. Compared with countries and regions that implement exit tax refund policies internationally, firstly, the tax refund is strong. China refunds 11% of the inclusive price of most goods, which is equivalent to refunding all value-added tax; Secondly, the scope of tax refund products is wide. Except for a few items that are prohibited or restricted from leaving the country, all other products are subject to the exit tax refund policy, providing overseas travelers with a wider range of product choices. In 2024, the total expenditure of inbound tourists in China reached 94.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 77.8%; The sales revenue and tax refund amount of goods processed by overseas tourists for departure tax refund increased by 1.2 times and 1.3 times respectively year-on-year; Overseas tourists' inbound consumption accounts for about 0.5% of China's GDP, while the inbound consumption of major countries in the world accounts for between 1% and 3% of GDP... A set of data introduced at the press conference shows that China's inbound consumption has enormous growth potential. This notice mainly addresses the issues of a shortage of tax refund stores, limited choices for tax refund shopping, a shortage of domestic products, and the need to further improve the convenience of tax refunds. It proposes 8 policy measures from three aspects: promoting the expansion of tax refund stores, enriching the supply of tax refund products, and improving the level of outbound tax refund services. Expand stores to provide more good shops for overseas tourists - The notice proposes to optimize the layout of tax refund stores and encourage various regions to set up tax refund stores in large commercial districts, pedestrian streets, tourist attractions, resorts, cultural and museum venues, airports, passenger ports, hotels and other gathering places for overseas tourists. Relax the registration requirements for tax refund shops, allowing enterprises with a tax credit rating of M or above, newly opened shops established less than 1 year, etc. to apply to become tax refund shops. On the day of the announcement, the State Administration of Taxation also released the revised "Management Measures for Outbound Tax Refunds for Overseas Tourists' Shopping (Trial)" to the public. Relaxing entry requirements and adjusting filing levels have become keywords. Xie Wen, Director of the Goods and Services Tax Department of the State Administration of Taxation, introduced that on the basis of the current tax credit levels of A and B for tax refund shops, a new M level has been added, which means that newly opened shops can also become tax refund shops on the premise of complying with other relevant regulations. Adjust the filing level of tax refund shops from the original filing with provincial tax bureaus to directly filing with the competent tax authorities, further facilitating the filing process of tax refund shops. Increase products to provide overseas travelers with more good items to buy - According to the notice, the current policy of requiring overseas travelers to purchase tax refund items in the same store on the same day for a minimum of 500 yuan to receive a tax refund has been significantly reduced to 200 yuan. Increase the supply of high-quality products such as time-honored brands, Chinese consumer goods, smart products, and intangible cultural heritage products. Sheng Qiuping said that currently, overseas tourists' tax refund shopping is mainly based on international brands, with fewer domestic brands and insufficient shopping choices. On the one hand, it lowers the threshold for tax refund shopping, and on the other hand, it also allows more specialty stores, souvenir shops, gift shops, etc. with lower unit prices to join the tax refund shops, promoting the sales of domestic products. Miao Muyang, Director of the Industrial Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said that it will encourage and guide the registration of characteristic cultural products and other shops in tourist attractions, vacation areas, cultural and museum venues and other areas where overseas tourists gather to become departure tax refund shops, and promote the scientific and reasonable layout of "buy and refund" centralized refund points in relevant areas. We not only need to promote China's beautiful scenery and beautiful life, but also vigorously promote Chinese goods and services. We will provide excellent services to make it more convenient for overseas tourists to apply for tax refunds - the notice proposes to raise the cash tax refund limit to 20000 yuan. The main purpose is to meet the diverse consumption and payment needs of overseas tourists, "Jia Ronge said. On the basis of providing various tax refund services such as bank cards, mobile payments, and cash, the cash tax refund amount will be increased from the current 10000 yuan to 20000 yuan, and there is no limit to other tax refund methods. In 2024, the scale of "buy and refund" tax refund processing in 10 pilot areas including Shanghai and Beijing increased 22 times year-on-year, which is 18 times the year-on-year growth rate of the national outbound tax refund scale. Not long ago, the State Administration of Taxation issued a notice to promote the "buy and refund" service measures nationwide. Xie Wen said that after implementing measures such as reducing the amount of tax refund items and increasing the cash tax refund limit, overseas tourists can purchase a wider range of goods for tax refund on site, with lower thresholds and better experience, and the policy effect will further expand. In order to improve the efficiency of tax refund verification and reduce the waiting time of passengers, Xia Jun, Director of the Port Supervision Department of the General Administration of Customs, suggested that firstly, the items for tax refund upon departure should be carried by the passengers themselves or checked out with them. Secondly, during the physical inspection process, if the tax refund items submitted by the passenger for inspection match those listed on the application form, the customs will confirm and sign on the application form; If there is a discrepancy between the quantity of items submitted for inspection by the passenger and the quantity listed on the application form, the customs shall confirm and sign based on the actual quantity, and the passenger shall use this as evidence to handle the tax refund procedures. Thirdly, the tax refund items to be verified should be in a state of not being used or consumed yet. Xu Qing, Director of the Transportation Department of CAAC, said that in the next step, it will continue to promote the increase of international passenger transport, encourage airlines to layout emerging markets, and improve the "the Belt and Road" route network; Promote the optimization of comprehensive service counter functions at hub airports, providing foreign passengers with "one-stop" services such as cultural tourism, payment, transportation, and communication; Encourage capable ports and airports to set up departure tax refund shops. (New Society)