六部门：加力优化离境退税措施扩大入境消费

English

Six Departments Move to Further Improve Departure Tax Refund

Six departments — the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration and the National Immigration Administration — have jointly issued a notice on further optimizing departure tax refund measures to expand inbound consumption. The notice sets out eight measures, with the small-amount random inspection system and paperless refund processing taking effect on 1 July 2026.

• More refund shops: encourage more eligible stores to register as tax refund shops and optimize their distribution. Local authorities are supported in selecting key shopping districts, scenic areas, markets and ports with large numbers of overseas travellers so that tax refund shops are essentially available in all key locations.
• Random inspection for small amounts: from 1 July 2026, refund application forms for purchases under 10,000 yuan will be subject to random physical verification on a proportional basis. Forms for purchases of 10,000 yuan or more will continue to be physically verified one by one.
• Better “buy now, refund now” service: the “buy now, refund now” service will be further improved and mutual recognition will be promoted across regions, so that travellers who use the service can complete their departure tax refund at a port in another city. The departure time limit for the service is uniformly extended to 28 days nationwide.
• Paperless refund processing: from 1 July 2026, customs and refund agents may confirm refund application forms and sales invoices online and process refunds, making the whole refund process paperless.
• Refund service at major expos: departure tax refund service areas will be set up at major events such as the China International Import Expo, the China Import and Export Fair and the China International Consumer Products Expo.
• Better inbound consumption environment: international consumption centre cities and pilot cities for an internationalized consumption environment will step up departure tax refund work, improve payment convenience and build influential international consumption clusters. More international passenger flights will also be encouraged.
• Better public information: a variety of departure tax refund materials will be produced and distributed via inbound flights, airports, hotels and media so that overseas travellers can find refund information easily.
• Promotion overseas: as part of building the “Shopping in China” brand, promotion will be carried out overseas to raise international awareness of the policy.
• Consistency: where previous rules issued by relevant departments or local governments differ from this notice, this notice prevails.

The notice was issued jointly by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration and the National Immigration Administration. Its document number is Shang Xiaofei Fa No. 74 of 2026, it is dated 12 May 2026, and it was published by the Ministry of Commerce. It asks relevant departments to work out detailed implementation plans and local governments to improve their working mechanisms.

For overseas travellers, the most direct changes are the uniform extension of the “buy now, refund now” departure limit to 28 days with completion allowed at a port in another city, paperless refund processing, and wider availability of tax refund shops in key shopping districts, scenic areas, markets and ports. When you actually claim a refund, the list of refund shops, the service counters and the detailed steps are subject to the latest announcements of local customs, tax authorities and refund agents.