China’s southern island province of Hainan recorded offshore duty-free sales of four billion yuan (about 553.52 million U.S. dollars) as of Sunday, one year after new collection policy was introduced to further stimulate shopping enthusiasm among visitors, according to data from its Haikou Customs.
The policy, which includes two methods of “guaranteed pick-up” and “buy and pick-up”, has seen shoppers purchasing 4.3 million duty-free products on the island, the data showed.
Since April 1 last year, tourists from outside Hainan have been able to opt for the “buy and pick-up” method when buying duty-free goods across 15 categories, as long as the unit price is below 20,000 yuan. This approach allows visitors to pay for their purchases and collect them on site, with no physical goods inspection required by customs during departure.
Tourists who purchase duty-free products with a unit price at and above 50,000 yuan before each departure from the island can choose the “guaranteed pick-up” method, which means that in addition to paying for the goods, customers can pick them up on site after submitting a guarantee equivalent to the import tax on imported goods to customs.
Hainan has recorded total offshore duty-free sales of 222 billion yuan (about 30.72 billion U.S. dollars) since introducing relevant policies 12 years ago, the data showed.
The shopping paradise launched the policy that allows domestic tourists to buy products on the island without taxation on April 20, 2011.