TWENTY-THREE stores at the MixC shopping mall in Luohu District became Shenzhen’s first batch of shops to provide instant departure tax refund service to overseas shoppers yesterday.

A ceremony was held at the shopping mall to inaugurate the service, which is for foreign travelers and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who meet the conditions of the departure tax rebate. It allows them to receive refunds directly from stores after purchasing tax refund items.

Shenzhen is the sixth city to pilot the service after Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Chengdu.

“I bought a handbag for 16,200 yuan [US$2,256] today and received a tax refund of 1,458 yuan on the spot. It feels very convenient,” a traveler from Belarus identified only as Igor, the first beneficiary of the new policy in Shenzhen, said.

Traditionally, tax refunds upon departure are processed at the airport. Under the new policy, overseas shoppers can receive the refunded value-added tax on the spot in renminbi in cash after producing sales invoices and filling in an application form as required.

Compared to the traditional way of processing refunds at the departure port, the new policy enables overseas tourists to use the refund to purchase again.

Also yesterday, a centralized tax refund point was established in the mall. After shopping at stores that provide instant departure tax refund service, eligible overseas travelers will be rebated with the value-added tax at the centralized tax refund point. The practice helps ease the burden on individual stores for cash on hand and allows overseas tourists to “spend and receive money in one go.”

“In one day, a tourist is allowed to spend a maximum of 110,000 yuan in the same pilot store, which can satisfy the needs of cross-border shoppers, especially those from Hong Kong,” Dai Wenzhong, a senior official of the bureau, said.

Ming Anbin, deputy director of the city’s taxation bureau, said the policy will be expanded across the city in the future. It will help further promote the establishment of flagship stores by international renowned brands in Shenzhen and enhance the city’s appeal for overseas tourists.

The total value of goods sold for departure tax refunds in the city hit 22.35 million yuan in the first 11 months of this year, with 262 people applying for departure tax refunds, 461 departure tax refund application forms issued, and a tax refund amount of 2.2623 million yuan processed, as per the bureau.              (SD News)