Administrative Measures for Departure Tax Refund for the Shopping of Overseas Tourists (for Trial Implementation)(Chapter I and Chapter V)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is hereby enacted in order to implement the State Council’s Departure Tax Refund Scheme, according to the Announcement No. 3 [2015] of the Ministry of Finance on Implementing the Tax Refund Policy for Purchases of Overseas Tourists Leaving China.
Article 2 Overseas tourists mentioned therein refer to foreigners, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots who stayed within the Chinese territory for no longer than 183 days.
Valid IDs refer to passports, Mainland Travel Permits for Hong Kong and Macau Residents, and Travel Passes for Taiwan residents to Enter or Leave the Mainland, with marked and acquirable date of last entry.
Tax refundable items means the personal items purchased by overseas tourists themselves from tax refund stores and meet tax refund conditions, excluding the following articles:
(1) The articles prohibited or restricted from export as listed in the List of Articles Prohibited or Restricted by the People's Republic of China from Import and Export. (2) The articles sold by tax refund stores to which the VAT exemption policy applies. (3) Other articles prescribed by the Ministry of Finance, the GAC, and the SAT.
Tax refund stores refer to enterprises that can apply for tax refund after registering with provincial and municipal levels tax authorities (hereinafter referred to as provincial IRS)and selling tax refundable commodities to overseas tourists
Departure tax refund information management system refers to the electronic management system complying with the requirement stated in the Announcement No. 3 [2015] of the Ministry of Finance on Implementing the Tax Refund Policy for Purchases of Overseas Tourists Leaving China.
Tax refund agencies refer to those agencies selected by provincial IRS, financial departments and Customs authorities refund basing on the principle of fairness, openness, and integrity.
Chapter V Procedures for application for tax refund upon Outbound Departure
Article 18 Overseas tourists should applies with the Customs office for verification of tax-refund goods;
Article 19 Overseas tourists should, upon applying with tax refund agencies, submit the following materials:
(1)Valid IDs; (2)Outbound Tax Refund Application Form sealed by the Customs.
Article 20 The tax refund agency, upon receiving the application from overseas tourists leaving China, shall collect their valid identity documents in the first place, and process tax refund confirmed by the customs after verifying that their information is accurate:
(1) The departure tax refund documentation provided is complete; (2) The tourist information on the Departure Tax Refund Application Form accords with the identity document collected ;(3) The Departure Tax Refund Application Form is verified and sealed by the customs; (4) The departure date for overseas tourists is no more than 183 days before the last entry; (5) The goods for refund are bought no more than 90 days before departure; (6) The Departure Tax Refund Application Form is in line with the Tax Refund Management System.
Article 21 Calculation of tax refund. On the basis of the VAT regular invoice of the goods for refund (VAT included), the tax refund rate is 11%. The calculation formula is as below:
VAT amount refundable=sales invoice amount of the goods for refund (VAT included)×tax refund rate VAT amount refunded=VAT amount refundable－tax refund procedure fee
Article 22 The currency for tax refund is CNY. The agency shall refund the tax by means of bank transfer in case the amount exceeds 10,000 Yuan, and by cash or bank transfer in case of no more than 10,000 Yuan according to the requirement of overseas tourists.
The overseas tourists, upon receiving or processing the tax rebates, shall sign the Payment Receipt of Departure Tax Refund for Overseas Tourists Leaving the Country for conformation.
Article 23 In the event that the tax refund management system can’t provide related information comparison in time due to certain reasons, the agency may calculate the VAT amount refundable in accordance with the regulations stipulated in Article 21. On the condition that the system could provide related information comparison, the agency shall deal with the tax refund by means of bank transfer after confirmation.
Article 24 The agency shall, prior to 15 days of the tax refund process, submit the Tax Refund Settlement Declaration Form of Overseas Tourists Leaving China of last month made through the management system to the competent State Administration of Taxation as the basis for tax refund settlement, and bind the following documents into a volume for reference:
(1)The Departure Tax Refund Settlement Declaration Formof Overseas Tourists Leaving the Country; (2)The Departure Tax Refund Application Formverified and sealed by the customs; (3)The Payment Receipt of Departure Tax Refundfor Overseas Tourists Leaving China signed by overseas tourists for confirmation.
Article 25 The agency shall, upon submitting the departure tax refund settlement to the competent State Administration of Taxation for the first time, submit the Service Agreement, Filing Form of Tax Rebate and Tax Exemption signed with the province-leveled State Administration of Taxation for filing.
Article 26 The competent State Administration of Taxation shall, after verifying and comparing the departure tax refund settlement declaration data submitted by the agency, issue Income Tax Refund Receipt to the agency according to the regulations and manages refund procedure to it. The province-leveled State Administration of Taxation shall inform the monthly departure tax refund condition to the financial administration of the same level.
