SHEKOU Cruise Homeport officially began offering tax refunds to overseas passengers Sunday, becoming the first port and the second departure location in Shenzhen to provide such services, following the Shenzhen airport, the Shenzhen Economic Daily reported.

About 380,000 overseas travelers depart through Shekou Cruise Homeport every year, statistics show.

The tax rebate policy for overseas tourists has achieved good results since being implemented in Shenzhen on April 1, 2016, according to the Daily report. The total amount of tax refunded has reached 7.67 million yuan (US$1.09 million). The purchased goods mainly include clothes, bags, watches and electronic products.

The establishment of a new departure tax refund location is of practical significance for optimizing the business environment, stimulating inbound tourism consumption and creating an international and modernized tax system in Shenzhen, said the Daily.

At present, 147 designated tax refund stores have been approved by the city’s tax authority and commerce bureau.

Foreign tourists and those from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), the Macao SAR and Taiwan, who have stayed on the Chinese mainland for less than 183 consecutive days are entitled to a departure tax refund.

The purchased goods should be for personal use and not subject to prohibitions on being taken out of the Chinese mainland.

(Zhang Yu)