Better Converting "Inbound Passenger Flow" into "Onsite Consumption"

Cross-Region Recognition for Departure Tax Refund Service Implemented Among Hunan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan

Recently, the Hunan Provincial Tax Service, Fujian Provincial Tax Service, Guangdong Provincial Tax Service, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Tax Service, Hainan Provincial Tax Service, Xiamen Tax Service, and Shenzhen Tax Service jointly issued an announcement clarifying that starting July 1, 2026, the cross-region recognition for "Instant Tax Refund" service will be implemented across Hunan, Fujian (including Xiamen), Guangdong (including Shenzhen), Guangxi, and Hainan, to better convert "inbound passenger flow" into "onsite consumption."

Hunan launched the "Instant Tax Refund" service in April 2025. So far, the province has issued 1,521 tax refund application forms for 1,206 overseas travelers, achieving a tax-inclusive sales volume of 55.9855 million CNY. To further smooth out the coordination channels for cross-border services between Hunan and regions including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone, and the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, the Hunan Provincial Tax Service has collaborated with tax authorities in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Xiamen, Shenzhen, and other regions to establish a "5+2" collaborative framework. This framework ensures mutual recognition of business rules, interconnectivity of information systems, and alignment of regulatory standards for the "refund-upon-purchase" service.

This means that if an overseas traveler purchases tax-refundable goods at an "Instant Tax Refund" store in Changsha or Xiamen, they can enjoy this service when departing from any departure port in Guangzhou or Shenzhen in Guangdong, or Guilin in Guangxi, or Haikou in Hainan.

"Under the new policy, overseas travelers have a wider range of departure port options and can plan more travel itineraries and consumption activities within these regions, thereby further driving overall regional inbound consumption," said Li Ronghui, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Tax Service. He added that the bureau will leverage the cross-region recognition policy for departure tax refund service to collaborate with tax authorities in other provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, thereby optimizing online tax refund services and launching a 'tax refund consumption map' to attract more overseas tourists for sightseeing.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn