Shanghai has set out a new five-year plan intended to make shopping and everyday visitor services easier for international travellers. The municipal plan, issued on July 24 and published in late August, includes a target to raise departure tax-refund sales from RMB 4.28 billion in 2025 to about RMB 20 billion by 2030.
For visitors, the practical direction is clear: Shanghai plans to expand its digital tax-refund services, improve multilingual signs, broaden foreign-card payment and currency-exchange facilities, and add services such as luggage storage. The measures sit within the city’s 15th Five-Year Plan for developing its international trade centre.
What is already available
Some of the underlying tax-refund improvements are already in force. China’s national tax authorities say overseas travellers can apply for a departure tax refund after spending at least RMB 200 at the same eligible shop on the same day, provided they meet the other conditions. Since July 1, 2026, applications below RMB 10,000 are subject to random physical inspections at a set rate, while higher-value applications are checked individually.
China has also expanded its refund-upon-purchase model. At participating stores, eligible overseas visitors can receive a prepaid refund when buying goods, then complete the required customs and departure process later. The State Taxation Administration says the nationwide departure period is 28 days, and cross-region processing means a traveller can buy in one city and complete departure procedures at a qualifying port in another region.
Check the shop and your departure route
Refund-upon-purchase is not available at every retailer. In Shanghai, the service requires a participating store, a qualifying overseas visitor, unused and unconsumed goods, and a credit card that supports a pre-authorisation hold. Visitors using the Shanghai service must also depart China through a Shanghai port within 28 days of purchase. If the final procedure is not completed within the agreed conditions, the prepaid refund can be recovered through the card pre-authorisation.
Shanghai’s current official guidance lists more than 1,800 tax-refund shops and 27 instant-refund service points citywide, while the city’s 2025–27 action plan aims for more than 3,000 tax-refund shops by 2027. It also calls for self-service refund facilities after security at Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
The newly published 2030 plan is a policy target rather than a timetable for each new sign, payment terminal or luggage-storage facility. Travellers should therefore check the official Shanghai tax-refund map or ask a retailer before relying on an instant refund, foreign-card acceptance or a particular service at their destination.
Primary sources
- Shanghai Municipal Government: 15th Five-Year Plan for Accelerating International Trade Centre Development
- State Taxation Administration: Upgraded Tax Refund Policy Makes Shopping in China Easier
- Shanghai Tax Service: Action Plan for Optimising the Departure Tax-Refund Consumption Environment (2025–2027)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Eligible overseas visitors can claim a departure tax refund at participating shops after spending at least RMB 200 at the same shop on the same day and meeting the applicable conditions.
The city’s 2030 plan calls for more convenient digital tax-refund processing, multilingual signs, foreign-card payment, currency exchange and luggage-storage services. Individual locations and rollout dates have not been announced for every measure.
Some participating retailers offer refund-upon-purchase. You must meet the service conditions, including a qualifying card pre-authorisation, and complete the required customs and departure process within the stated timeframe.
