Analysts urge Shenzhen to allow more shops to join tax refund scheme

Shenzhen is actively expanding its departure tax refund services in preparation for the APEC CEO Summit in November.

A scholar suggests lowering the threshold for shops to join the tax-refund scheme so that more small shops can offer tax refunds, allowing tourists to discover more Chinese products.

In Shenzhen, tourists can process tax refunds not only at ports of departure, but also at designated tax-refund stores, with the "refund upon purchase" service.

The prerequisite is that they spend at least 200 yuan and leave the mainland within 28 days.

This mall in Qianhai has also set up a service point. But not all visitors know about the arrangement.

This tourist from Hong Kong says she has never heard of such an arrangement.

She thinks that even if it is cheaper to buy products in Shenzhen, it is a nuisance to bring it back to Hong Kong, especially when she can get similar products on online shopping platforms like Taobao.

This tourist has refunded tax twice in Shenzhen, one time receiving about a hundred-plus dollars from her purchase of a hat or around two to three thousand dollars.

She says that both times there were no queues, which she attributes to people's lack of knowledge about their arrangement. She says the only bothersome part is filling in the tax refund form.

The person in charge of this electronics store which provides tax-refund services, says that new tech products in Shenzhen are generally launched quicker than overseas, helping them draw tourists.

They hope that during the APEC CEO Summit in November, sales will increase.

He says that products like drones, and 3D printers are especially popular among tourists.

They have added more of these products and their staff are also undergoing language training.

In the first half of this year, sales of departure tax-refund goods in Shenzhen more than doubled year on year.

As of July this year, Shenzhen has about 2,680 departure tax-refund stores.

A scholar believes these shops are concentrated in shopping malls, and coverage is still not high enough.

He suggests lowering the application threshold.

He explains that in some other cities, small merchants or traditional shops also provide tax-refund services.

He holds that APEC is a good opportunity to change many foreigners' impressions of China. Tax refunds are actually just one of the "lubricants" in this.

As part of the measures to serve APEC guests, Shenzhen authorities recently set up a tax-refund service point at a hotel in Shenzhen Bay, which also provides foreign currency exchange services for the convenience of guests.