On July 13, 2026, the State Taxation Administration issued the Notice on Optimizing Departure Tax Refund Services and Promoting the Standardized Implementation of the Policy (Shui Zong Huo Lao Fa [2026] No. 37 (hereinafter the “STA Notice”). The STA Notice further refines the procedures for departure tax refunds in relation to paperless processing, cross-regional processing of the “refund-upon-purchase” service, pilot programs for online stores, nationwide promotion of the departure tax refund service code, and risk prevention and control.
The STA Notice is an implementing document for the Notice on Further Optimizing Departure Tax Refund Measures to Expand Inbound Consumption (Shang Xiao Fei Fa [2026] No. 74 (hereinafter the “Six-Department Notice”) [ https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202605/content_7069242.htm ] , issued on May 12, 2026 by the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments. The Six-Department Notice had previously set out an overall framework covering the expansion of tax refund store coverage, optimization of customs verification, promotion of cross-regional mutual recognition for the “refund-upon-purchase” service, implementation of paperless processing, and improvement of the internationalized consumption environment. The STA Notice further translates those policies into specific operational rules, advancing the departure tax refund regime from policy optimization to systematic implementation. Its specific provisions are summarized below.
I. Refining Paperless Processing and Restructuring the Circulation of Tax Refund Documentation The STA Notice provides that electronic departure tax refund application forms and electronic sales invoices for tax-refundable goods may be transmitted online among tax refund stores, Customs, tax refund agencies, and tax authorities.
At the point of sale, tax refund stores may issue electronic application forms and electronic invoices to overseas travelers. At the customs verification stage, where the system indicates that verification is required, Customs may conduct online verification on the basis of the traveler’s valid identity document, the tax-refundable goods, and the electronic documentation; where the system indicates that verification is exempted, no further verification will be conducted. Tax refund agencies may review the materials online and process the refund on the basis of a valid identity document and the electronic documentation, and electronic materials may also be retained at the tax settlement stage. Where an overseas traveler requests paper documents, the tax refund store must still provide them.
This arrangement implements the paperless processing requirement under the Six-Department Notice at each operational stage. It is conducive to reducing the loss of paper materials, repetitive completion of forms, and manual data-entry errors, while shortening the time required to process tax refunds. At the same time, the shift in the operational basis from paper vouchers to electronic data increases the compliance responsibilities of tax refund stores and tax refund agencies with respect to data accuracy, system security, and document retention.
II. Optimizing the “Refund-upon-Purchase” Process and Promoting Cross-Regional Coordination The Six-Department Notice called for cross-regional mutual recognition of the “refund-upon-purchase” service and uniformly extended the relevant travelers’ departure deadline to 28 days. The STA Notice further provides that, beginning September 1, 2026, when a tax refund store issues a “refund-upon-purchase” application form, it may upload the overseas traveler’s valid identity document for online review by the tax refund agency at the place of issuance. When the traveler departs China, the tax refund agency at the place of departure will verify the identity information and complete the tax refund.
This mechanism divides the “refund-upon-purchase” service into two stages: review at the place of issuance and completion at the place of departure. It better accommodates the practical needs of overseas travelers who shop in one city and depart from another, and helps reduce the impact of geographic restrictions on the consumer experience.
It should be noted that cross-regional processing is contingent upon controllable risks, compliant operations, and agreement among tax refund agencies across regions. Different tax refund agencies must still establish stable coordination mechanisms for document review, fund settlement, handling of abnormal transactions, and allocation of responsibilities. While promoting cross-regional mutual recognition, tax authorities should further unify operational interfaces, exception-handling procedures, and rules on the allocation of responsibilities.
III. Piloting Tax Refunds Through Online Stores and Expanding Online Consumption Scenarios The STA Notice calls for advancing pilot programs for departure tax refunds through online stores. It supports tax refund stores capable of connecting to the Leqi Platform in selling tax-refundable goods online to eligible overseas travelers and providing tax refund services.
Provincial-level tax authorities may, in light of local conditions, select one or two tax refund stores to participate in the pilot program. Relying on the unified system interfaces and technical specifications of the State Taxation Administration, they should enable online stores to connect with systems such as the Leqi Platform and ensure that online and offline operations are governed by uniform standards and consistent procedures.
The online-store pilot extends departure tax refunds from physical stores to online consumption scenarios, helping broaden access to tax-refundable goods and lengthen the period available to overseas travelers for purchasing decisions. However, online transactions involve multiple categories of information, including orders, payments, delivery, invoices, traveler identity, and the export of goods. Businesses must focus on ensuring consistency among the purchaser, payer, recipient, and person who actually carries the goods out of China, and must establish procedures applicable to returns, exchanges, and order cancellations.
IV. Promoting a Nationwide Service Code and Enhancing the Digitalization of Tax Refund Processing Building on the existing QR code used to enter departure tax refund information, the STA Notice establishes a nationwide departure tax refund service code. Overseas travelers may scan the code to pre-enter information and view their tax refund application forms, sales invoices, processing status, and refund payment status online.
Tax refund stores may automatically collect travelers’ pre-entered information by scanning the code, while Customs and tax refund agencies may also scan the code to retrieve the relevant application materials. Tax authorities are also required to promote the display of service-code signage at tax refund stores, Customs, tax refund agencies, and key locations such as commercial districts and tourist attractions.
The nationwide service code will help reduce repeated information entry by travelers, improve transparency in status inquiries, and provide a unified information access point for paperless processing, cross-regional processing, and online-store pilot programs.
V. Strengthening Risk Prevention and Control and Clarifying the Compliance Responsibilities of Tax Refund Stores While improving service convenience, the STA Notice further strengthens risk prevention and control for departure tax refunds. Where a tax refund store is found to have participated in or organized unlawful or non-compliant conduct, such as fraudulent bulk purchasing, purchasing on behalf of others, or smuggling goods back into China, its registration as a tax refund store will be terminated, and it will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
As paperless processing, cross-regional processing, and online tax refunds are progressively implemented, departure tax refund risks may increasingly take on cross-regional, online, and organized characteristics. Tax refund stores should strengthen end-to-end management of transaction authenticity, traveler identity, product information, invoice issuance, and return processing. Particular attention should be paid to high-frequency purchases, purchases exceeding a reasonable scope of personal use, inconsistencies between the payer and the traveler, domestic returns after a tax refund has been obtained, and unusual concentrations of application-form issuance.
Tax refund agencies must also strengthen the identification of abnormal transactions and promote cross-regional sharing of risk information. Tax, customs, commerce, and other regulatory authorities may conduct cross-checks based on data from electronic application forms, invoices, verification records, and refund payments, thereby improving their ability to identify fictitious transactions and the re-entry of goods into the domestic market.
Conclusion The Six-Department Notice established the policy direction for reform of the departure tax refund regime, focusing on expanding the number of tax refund stores, optimizing customs verification, promoting cross-regional mutual recognition, and broadening consumption scenarios. The STA Notice focuses on implementation and further clarifies requirements concerning the circulation of electronic documentation, coordination among tax refund agencies, online-store pilot programs, use of the service code, and risk response. At present, cross-regional processing of the “refund-upon-purchase” service still requires coordination among tax refund agencies, while tax refunds through online stores remain at the pilot stage. Differences may therefore arise among localities in implementation progress and operating methods. Going forward, greater consistency in policy implementation will require unified technical standards, operational guidance, and risk-handling rules.
Taken together, the two documents are mutually reinforcing and will promote a more stable operating mechanism for the departure tax refund regime, balancing greater consumer convenience, the promotion of international consumption, and the maintenance of tax administration order.
The STA Notice is an implementing document for the Notice on Further Optimizing Departure Tax Refund Measures to Expand Inbound Consumption (Shang Xiao Fei Fa [2026] No. 74 (hereinafter the “Six-Department Notice”) [ https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202605/content_7069242.htm ] , issued on May 12, 2026 by the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments. The Six-Department Notice had previously set out an overall framework covering the expansion of tax refund store coverage, optimization of customs verification, promotion of cross-regional mutual recognition for the “refund-upon-purchase” service, implementation of paperless processing, and improvement of the internationalized consumption environment. The STA Notice further translates those policies into specific operational rules, advancing the departure tax refund regime from policy optimization to systematic implementation. Its specific provisions are summarized below.
I. Refining Paperless Processing and Restructuring the Circulation of Tax Refund Documentation The STA Notice provides that electronic departure tax refund application forms and electronic sales invoices for tax-refundable goods may be transmitted online among tax refund stores, Customs, tax refund agencies, and tax authorities.
At the point of sale, tax refund stores may issue electronic application forms and electronic invoices to overseas travelers. At the customs verification stage, where the system indicates that verification is required, Customs may conduct online verification on the basis of the traveler’s valid identity document, the tax-refundable goods, and the electronic documentation; where the system indicates that verification is exempted, no further verification will be conducted. Tax refund agencies may review the materials online and process the refund on the basis of a valid identity document and the electronic documentation, and electronic materials may also be retained at the tax settlement stage. Where an overseas traveler requests paper documents, the tax refund store must still provide them.
This arrangement implements the paperless processing requirement under the Six-Department Notice at each operational stage. It is conducive to reducing the loss of paper materials, repetitive completion of forms, and manual data-entry errors, while shortening the time required to process tax refunds. At the same time, the shift in the operational basis from paper vouchers to electronic data increases the compliance responsibilities of tax refund stores and tax refund agencies with respect to data accuracy, system security, and document retention.
II. Optimizing the “Refund-upon-Purchase” Process and Promoting Cross-Regional Coordination The Six-Department Notice called for cross-regional mutual recognition of the “refund-upon-purchase” service and uniformly extended the relevant travelers’ departure deadline to 28 days. The STA Notice further provides that, beginning September 1, 2026, when a tax refund store issues a “refund-upon-purchase” application form, it may upload the overseas traveler’s valid identity document for online review by the tax refund agency at the place of issuance. When the traveler departs China, the tax refund agency at the place of departure will verify the identity information and complete the tax refund.
This mechanism divides the “refund-upon-purchase” service into two stages: review at the place of issuance and completion at the place of departure. It better accommodates the practical needs of overseas travelers who shop in one city and depart from another, and helps reduce the impact of geographic restrictions on the consumer experience.
It should be noted that cross-regional processing is contingent upon controllable risks, compliant operations, and agreement among tax refund agencies across regions. Different tax refund agencies must still establish stable coordination mechanisms for document review, fund settlement, handling of abnormal transactions, and allocation of responsibilities. While promoting cross-regional mutual recognition, tax authorities should further unify operational interfaces, exception-handling procedures, and rules on the allocation of responsibilities.
III. Piloting Tax Refunds Through Online Stores and Expanding Online Consumption Scenarios The STA Notice calls for advancing pilot programs for departure tax refunds through online stores. It supports tax refund stores capable of connecting to the Leqi Platform in selling tax-refundable goods online to eligible overseas travelers and providing tax refund services.
Provincial-level tax authorities may, in light of local conditions, select one or two tax refund stores to participate in the pilot program. Relying on the unified system interfaces and technical specifications of the State Taxation Administration, they should enable online stores to connect with systems such as the Leqi Platform and ensure that online and offline operations are governed by uniform standards and consistent procedures.
The online-store pilot extends departure tax refunds from physical stores to online consumption scenarios, helping broaden access to tax-refundable goods and lengthen the period available to overseas travelers for purchasing decisions. However, online transactions involve multiple categories of information, including orders, payments, delivery, invoices, traveler identity, and the export of goods. Businesses must focus on ensuring consistency among the purchaser, payer, recipient, and person who actually carries the goods out of China, and must establish procedures applicable to returns, exchanges, and order cancellations.
IV. Promoting a Nationwide Service Code and Enhancing the Digitalization of Tax Refund Processing Building on the existing QR code used to enter departure tax refund information, the STA Notice establishes a nationwide departure tax refund service code. Overseas travelers may scan the code to pre-enter information and view their tax refund application forms, sales invoices, processing status, and refund payment status online.
Tax refund stores may automatically collect travelers’ pre-entered information by scanning the code, while Customs and tax refund agencies may also scan the code to retrieve the relevant application materials. Tax authorities are also required to promote the display of service-code signage at tax refund stores, Customs, tax refund agencies, and key locations such as commercial districts and tourist attractions.
The nationwide service code will help reduce repeated information entry by travelers, improve transparency in status inquiries, and provide a unified information access point for paperless processing, cross-regional processing, and online-store pilot programs.
V. Strengthening Risk Prevention and Control and Clarifying the Compliance Responsibilities of Tax Refund Stores While improving service convenience, the STA Notice further strengthens risk prevention and control for departure tax refunds. Where a tax refund store is found to have participated in or organized unlawful or non-compliant conduct, such as fraudulent bulk purchasing, purchasing on behalf of others, or smuggling goods back into China, its registration as a tax refund store will be terminated, and it will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
As paperless processing, cross-regional processing, and online tax refunds are progressively implemented, departure tax refund risks may increasingly take on cross-regional, online, and organized characteristics. Tax refund stores should strengthen end-to-end management of transaction authenticity, traveler identity, product information, invoice issuance, and return processing. Particular attention should be paid to high-frequency purchases, purchases exceeding a reasonable scope of personal use, inconsistencies between the payer and the traveler, domestic returns after a tax refund has been obtained, and unusual concentrations of application-form issuance.
Tax refund agencies must also strengthen the identification of abnormal transactions and promote cross-regional sharing of risk information. Tax, customs, commerce, and other regulatory authorities may conduct cross-checks based on data from electronic application forms, invoices, verification records, and refund payments, thereby improving their ability to identify fictitious transactions and the re-entry of goods into the domestic market.
Conclusion The Six-Department Notice established the policy direction for reform of the departure tax refund regime, focusing on expanding the number of tax refund stores, optimizing customs verification, promoting cross-regional mutual recognition, and broadening consumption scenarios. The STA Notice focuses on implementation and further clarifies requirements concerning the circulation of electronic documentation, coordination among tax refund agencies, online-store pilot programs, use of the service code, and risk response. At present, cross-regional processing of the “refund-upon-purchase” service still requires coordination among tax refund agencies, while tax refunds through online stores remain at the pilot stage. Differences may therefore arise among localities in implementation progress and operating methods. Going forward, greater consistency in policy implementation will require unified technical standards, operational guidance, and risk-handling rules.
Taken together, the two documents are mutually reinforcing and will promote a more stable operating mechanism for the departure tax refund regime, balancing greater consumer convenience, the promotion of international consumption, and the maintenance of tax administration order.