Ministry of Commerce: Will introduce optimized departure tax refund measures version 2.0

Reporter Liu Meng

On March 30, the State Council Information Office held a press conference to introduce relevant information on the 6th China International Consumer Goods Expo (hereinafter referred to as the “CICGE”).

Sun Qiu ping, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said that the 6th CICGE will be held in Hainan Province from April 13 to 18 this year. This expo is both the “first show” of major exhibitions in China in the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (the “15th Five-Year Plan” period) and the “first appearance” after the Hainan free trade port begins full island-wide customs clearance operations. Compared with previous editions, this CICGE has three main highlights: first, it stays closely aligned with the theme of “international” by bringing together globally renowned consumer brands; second, it focuses on “premium” by enriching high-quality consumer supply; third, it emphasizes “first release” by leading consumer trends and lifestyle preferences.

The 2024 Government Work Report proposes optimizing the inbound consumer environment and building the “Shop in China” brand. In this regard, Sun Qiu ping said that next steps, the Ministry of Commerce will earnestly implement the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and continue to shine the “Shop in China” brand.

More specifically, in terms of policy support, a set of measures will be introduced to optimize the departure tax refund program in a “version 2.0,” making shopping for overseas travelers more convenient and more affordable; measures will be rolled out to promote an expansion and upgrading of consumer goods demand, to expand consumption of domestic brands, international premium goods, fashion brands, and high-quality goods for export, among others. In terms of event arrangements, more than 20 key activities will be held, such as the International Consumer Season and Premium Consumption Month, and “Shop in China” city special sessions and local station events will be organized. In addition, local authorities will be guided to coordinate business, travel, culture, sports, and other resources to meet diverse consumer needs. In terms of creating consumption scenarios and integrating policies, the cultivation and development of international consumer hub cities will be deepened; pilot programs for building an internationalized consumption environment will be actively promoted; a number of international consumption clusters will be created; and efforts will be made to accelerate the building of consumer destinations with global appeal. Consumer new business formats, new models, and new scenario pilots will be carried out. These consumer pilots will form an integrated linkage with previously introduced policies such as “trade-in for upgrades,” value-added invoices with rewards, and duty-free consumption. Hainan is the region with the most concentrated duty-free shopping nationwide. Through policy integration and scenario innovation, a batch of new consumption scenarios with strong experiential appeal, broad impact, and high visibility will be created.

Sun Qiu ping said: “At this CICGE, we will launch the 2026 ‘Shop in China’ International Consumer Season, helping consumers get better deals on global premium goods. We will also simultaneously launch activities such as the 8th National Dual-Quality Online Shopping Festival.”

Yang Mu, director of the Department of Consumer Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce, said that 2026 is the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The Ministry of Commerce will deeply implement the special campaign to boost consumption, taking multiple measures to steadily promote sustained growth in consumption. Key work will include the following:

First, drive the expansion and upgrading of goods consumption. Optimize and implement the policy on trade-in for upgrades for consumer goods, highlight green and intelligent features, and provide a market for new industries and new quality productive forces. Promote reforms in automobile circulation and consumption, foster efficient circulation of used cars, and advance the development of the automobile after-sales market, expanding automobile consumption across the entire supply chain.

Second, unleash the potential of services consumption. Implement the campaign to improve services consumption and benefit people, and enhance the quality of service supply. Support eligible regions to develop leisure consumption such as cruise ships, yachts, RV camping, and outdoor camping, and actively expand low-altitude consumption.

Third, invigorate offline consumption. This past Chinese New Year, driven by the “Enjoy Shopping for the New Year” campaign, the growth rate of offline brick-and-mortar retail surpassed that of online by 3.9 percentage points, showing that offline consumption potential is still very large. The Ministry of Commerce will further invigorate offline consumption by organizing a wide range of consumer-promotion activities and creating consumption scenarios characterized by diversified integration.

Fourth, stimulate vitality in tier-2 and lower-tier markets. Tier-2 and lower-tier markets have already become an important driving force for consumption growth. The growth rate of retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas has been faster than that in urban areas for 8 consecutive months. The Ministry of Commerce will, based on conditions in different regions, tailor measures to local realities and apply differentiated policies, to accelerate the release of consumption potential in tier-2 and lower-tier markets.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Departure tax refund for overseas travelers