In order to further leverage the role of duty-free shop policies in supporting and boosting consumption, the Ministry of Finance and five other departments recently jointly issued the "Notice on Improving Duty Free Shop Policies to Support and Boost Consumption" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which clarifies that duty-free shop policies will be improved from November 1, 2025. The Notice aims to optimize the management of domestic commodity tax refund (exemption) policies and actively support the sale of domestic products in duty-free shops at ports and within cities; Further expand the categories of duty-free shops and enrich the shopping choices for travelers; Relax the approval authority for duty-free shops and support local integration and optimization of duty-free shop layout according to local conditions; We have improved the duty-free shop policy in four aspects, including improving the convenience and regulatory measures of duty-free shops, and continuously enhancing the duty-free shopping experience for passengers. During an interview with reporters, Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Su Shang Bank, stated that the highlights of this policy are mainly reflected in four aspects: firstly, the unprecedented support for domestic products, which clarifies that the entry of domestic products into duty-free shops is considered as export, and value-added tax and consumption tax are refunded (exempted). In addition, the operating area of duty-free shops at ports and within cities for selling domestic products should not be less than one fourth of their operating area, which helps traditional Chinese products, cultural and creative products and other characteristic domestic products to "go global"; Secondly, the expansion of product categories will be precise and pragmatic, with the addition of popular essential goods such as mobile phones, micro drones, and over-the-counter drugs. At the same time, overseas hot selling products will be accelerated to meet consumer demand; The third is to activate vitality through approval and delegation of power, and to delegate the authority to establish duty-free shops at ports to provincial departments. The operating area can be negotiated and determined to adapt to local differentiated development; Fourthly, the service experience has been comprehensively upgraded, with the first launch of omnichannel online booking, supporting local booking and port pickup, greatly improving shopping convenience. In April of this year, the Ministry of Commerce and six other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Further Optimizing the Exit Tax Refund Policy and Expanding Inbound Consumption" to better meet the demand for exit tax refunds for overseas tourists, further enrich market supply, optimize tax refund services, and expand inbound consumption. At present, the "buy and refund" service measure for departure tax refunds has been piloted in multiple regions and promoted nationwide. The tax department has introduced convenient service measures to simplify tax refund operations and further enhance the tax refund experience for overseas tourists. The latest tax data shows that since the implementation of relevant policy measures, the number of people handling departure tax refunds has significantly increased, and the amount of tax refunds has significantly increased. From January to September this year, the number of overseas tourists who processed departure tax refunds increased by 229.8% year-on-year, and the amount of tax refunds increased by 97.4% year-on-year. Speaking about the positive impact of improving the duty-free shop policy on boosting consumption, Hong Yong, an expert from the China Digital Integration 50 Person Forum think tank, told reporters that on the one hand, by expanding duty-free categories and supporting domestic products to "go global", it can effectively stimulate the two-way consumption enthusiasm of domestic consumers to "buy global products domestically" and overseas tourists to "buy domestic products upon entry", and guide overseas consumption to flow back; On the other hand, delegating approval authority and optimizing layout can help stimulate local enthusiasm, promote the formation of characteristic and themed duty-free shopping scenes, drive the coordinated development of related industries such as tourism, transportation, and catering, further amplify the multiplier effect of duty-free economy, and inject new momentum into boosting the domestic consumer market. Fu Yifu stated that from the perspective of the industry, the policy of tax refunds and exemptions for domestic products reduces operating costs, promotes the expansion of the influence of high-quality domestic products through tax exemption channels, and attracts international brands to increase their layout; For the tax-free industry, policies such as delegating approval authority and encouraging joint procurement will activate market competition, promote the transformation of tax-free formats from "policy dependence" to "service driven", and promote the healthy development of the industry. (New Society)