Tax Refund Service Opens at Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

A new tax refund service point has officially opened at the departure hall of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Zhuhai port, allowing overseas travelers to claim tax refunds on the spot when leaving mainland China. The launch, reported by CCTV News, coincides with the nationwide implementation of two major policy reforms that took effect on July 1, 2026: a small-amount random inspection system for tax refunds under 10,000 yuan and full paperless processing.

Context & Background

The HZMB, the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge at 55 kilometers, has become a critical gateway for cross-border travel in the Greater Bay Area since its opening in October 2018. As Xinhua News reported, cumulative passenger traffic through the bridge exceeded 100 million in January 2026, with 31.34 million crossings recorded in 2025 alone — a 140% increase compared to 2019. Foreign travelers passing through the HZMB port reached 569,000 in 2025, up 28.7% year-over-year.

The new service point is part of a broader national strategy to boost inbound tourism and cross-border consumption. In May 2026, the Ministry of Commerce and five other departments released eight tax refund optimization measures, as detailed by Workers’ Daily, including expanding tax refund store coverage, implementing the small-amount random inspection system, and extending the refund period to 28 days with cross-city, cross-port processing.

Key Developments

Under the new policies effective July 1, tax refund applications under 10,000 yuan (approximately $1,370 USD) are now subject to random sampling inspections rather than mandatory individual verification. Travelers not selected for inspection can skip customs verification entirely. Sun Yiming, Deputy Section Chief of the Customs Luggage Inspection Section at Shenzhen Customs, explained: “Most small-amount tax refund travelers no longer need to queue for just a few hundred or tens of yuan in tax refunds. For travelers selected for physical inspection, dedicated personnel will complete the verification process.”

Customs and agency processing can now be completed entirely online, eliminating the need for paper documents. Shanghai Pudong International Airport has deployed new-generation intelligent tax refund verification machines, enabling remote online verification by customs command centers and improving efficiency by 1.5 times, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

Cities across China are rolling out complementary digital innovations. In Chengdu, overseas travelers can scan QR codes to generate personal “departure tax refund service codes” for use across shopping, customs verification, and tax refund processing. Some stores in Chengdu now display both the RMB price and the post-tax-refund price on merchandise tags, making it easier for travelers to understand actual costs. Shanghai has introduced an online “palm processing” platform where travelers can generate a dedicated “申税码” (tax application code) for customs verification. Liu Min, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commerce Commission, announced: “In conjunction with the ‘Shanghai Summer’ International Consumption Season, we will also release some preferential measures for departure tax refund services. Especially in more shopping districts and ‘buy-and-refund-immediately’ service points, we will add digital service clusters.”

Shenzhen has deployed the first batch of fully automated tax refund self-service machines at ports and airports, capable of completing the entire refund process in as little as 2 minutes. Qiu Minzhao, Director of the Market Construction Division at the Shenzhen Commerce Bureau, outlined plans to “focus on Luohu Mixc International District, Huaqiangbei Pedestrian Street, Futian Central Business District, Shenzhen Bay Avenue, and Qianhai-Bao’an Central Business District to cultivate and build a batch of departure tax refund characteristic blocks, promoting tax refund services from ‘points’ to comprehensive coverage.”

Analysis & Implications

The data underscores the impact of these policy changes. In the first five months of 2026, Guangzhou saw tax refund sales grow 173% year-over-year, while Shenzhen recorded a 130% increase. Chengdu experienced a remarkable 408% surge in tax refund transactions, with merchandise sales driven by tax refunds up 51%. Shanghai processed 201,000 tax refund tickets involving 1.92 billion yuan in merchandise sales — increases of 300% and 62% respectively.

Nationally, the number of travelers claiming tax refunds increased 186% year-over-year in the first half of 2026, with tax refund merchandise sales up 94.6% and refund amounts up 93.2%. The number of tax refund stores across China exceeded 7,200 during the same period.

These figures suggest that the combination of visa facilitation measures — including the 240-hour transit visa and “Northbound Travel” policies — and tax refund optimization is creating a powerful multiplier effect for inbound tourism consumption. The HZMB service point launch is not an isolated event but part of a coordinated national strategy to create a seamless, modernized tax refund ecosystem.

What’s Next

The HZMB tax refund service point is expected to be fully integrated with the “buy-and-refund-immediately” cross-city recognition system, allowing travelers to make purchases in one city and claim refunds at the bridge port. As China continues to promote the “Shop in China” brand and develop internationally influential consumption clusters, the Greater Bay Area — with the HZMB at its center — is poised to become a key driver of inbound consumption growth. The coming quarters will reveal the specific impact on Zhuhai’s tourism and retail sectors as these policies take full effect.