Since July 1 this year, overseas visitors no longer have to hand in paper documents for departure tax refunds; customs and refund agents confirm application forms and sales invoices online, making the process faster. A Brazilian visitor named Roni completed a paperless refund at the refund-on-purchase counter in Guangzhou's Buynow mall in Tianhe, among the first travellers in the city to do so. Buynow is Guangzhou's largest market for digital and smart products, home to flagship stores for DJI drones, Insta360 cameras and Rokid AI glasses. On July 1, with the Guangzhou tax bureau, the city's commerce bureau and Agricultural Bank of China, the Buynow Guangzhou store became the city's fourth central refund point and issued Guangzhou's first paperless refund. Under a six-ministry notice, online-store refund pilots will follow, with merchants using the Leqi platform, alongside a nationwide refund service code for scanning and tracking progress.
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Guangzhou Issues Its First Paperless Departure Tax Refund
China Tax News reports that since July 1, 2026, overseas visitors no longer need paper documents for departure tax refunds; customs and refund agents confirm refund application forms and invoices online. A Brazilian visitor, Roni, completed a paperless refund at the refund-on-purchase counter in Guangzhou's Buynow mall, among the first in the city. The same day, with the Guangzhou tax bureau, commerce bureau and Agricultural Bank of China, the Buynow Guangzhou store became the city's fourth central refund point and issued Guangzhou's first paperless refund. The mall hosts flagship stores for DJI drones, Insta360 cameras and Rokid AI glasses.
2026-09-19