Bank of China pilots cross-region plan for instant tax refunds

Bank of China held a launch event on Friday at the China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing to introduce its cross-region mutual recognition service for instant tax refunds on departure.

The State-owned commercial lender announced that it would take the lead in piloting this program within the regions where it operates tax refund services, allowing overseas visitors to enjoy instant tax refunds upon purchase and then exit the country through other ports of departure. At the same time, it unveiled a comprehensive departure tax refund service system branded "Easy Tax Refund".

Since becoming the first Chinese bank to qualify as an agent for departure tax refunds in 2015 and completing the country's first transaction, Bank of China has, with strong support from ministries and local governments, continuously expanded its service network, streamlined its processes, and strengthened promotion. To date, its departure tax refund services cover 16 provinces and municipalities nationwide, including major entry-exit hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces.

This year, to implement the national strategy of boosting consumption and expanding domestic demand, the bank actively responded to the Ministry of Commerce's "Shopping in China" campaign and accelerated innovation in tax refund services. So far, the bank has rolled out instant tax refunds upon purchase in nine locations, including Qingdao, Shandong and Shaanxi provinces, launched centralized refund centers in Beijing and Shanghai, introduced a function that allows refunded tax amounts to be credited to Alipay accounts in real time, and plans to expand these features across all its tax refund service regions within the year.

"We deeply understand that removing cross-regional service barriers and improving convenience throughout the entire consumption process are key drivers for further unleashing consumption potential. To this end, building on earlier pilot programs of mutual recognition between Beijing-Tianjin and Sichuan-Shaanxi, Bank of China has upgraded its systems for operations, accounting, and dispute resolution to create a systematic cross-region mutual recognition framework for departure tax refunds, which will now be trialed across all our tax refund service regions," the bank's Executive Vice-President Cai Zhao said in his remarks during the event.

The cross-region mutual recognition mechanism launched on Friday signifies that bank's tax refund services have broken through geographical limits, realizing "apply once, recognized nationwide"; connected previously isolated data systems, making refund procedures smoother; and enhanced customer-centric services, enabling visitors to shop freely and obtain tax refunds with ease.

"We have always believed that creating an international, convenient, and user-friendly consumption environment in China is not only an economic priority, but also an important way to showcase the nation's openness and enhance the modernization of governance," Cai said.

Using the launch of the mutual recognition mechanism as a new starting point, BOC will further expand the breadth and depth of its services, actively contribute to the development of international consumption centers, and provide sustained support for building a higher-level open economy in China.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Sheng Qiuping and Tang Wenhong, a member of the Party Leadership Group of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, attended the event on Friday.