Gansu offers tax refund to inbound tourists

The Gansu provincial government will open duty-free stores at Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport and Dunhuang Airport to boost tourism in 2016.

The two airports are the international aviation ports in Gansu. All the duty-free stores are appraised and approved by the provincial tax bureau.

The tax rebate rate is 11 percent, which means that a foreign visitor who buys a household appliance worth 2,000 yuan ($304) can apply for 220 yuan of tax refund.

Along with Gansu, several other provinces such as Liaoning, Anhui, and Sichuan also announced implementation of a tax refund policy from the beginning of 2016. Three Chinese regions – Hainan, Beijing and Shanghai -- were already providing the service.

Edited by Peter Nordlinger