Departure tax refund stores stand as an important window to serve foreign travelers. Recently, with the support of the Beijing Foreign Affairs Office, the Beijing Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, officially launched a campaign to offer guidance on the standardization of foreign-language signs in departure tax refund stores in Beijing.

Standardizing foreign-language signs in public places is a significant part of Beijing’s efforts to improve its role as the center for international exchanges and build itself into an international consumption center. In light of the current conditions of departure tax refund stores, the Beijing Municipal Tax Service launched a campaign to standardize relevant signs, guiding and encouraging stores to use correct foreign-language signs as they promote the departure tax refund initiative, thereby delivering higher-quality international services.

The campaign started in Chaoyang District. Chaoyang leads the city in the number of tax refund shops, hosting a total of 339 establishments. Both demonstration malls, SKP and China World Mall, are located in the Central Business District (CBD). SKP has set up clear and correct bilingual tax refund signs at key locations, such as entrances, elevators, escalators, and the comprehensive service desk, to help foreign visitors understand the tax refund process. China World Mall has also taken various measures to enhance the tax refund experience for foreign travelers, such as distributing leaflets of tax refund brands, adding bilingual “TAX FREE” signs, and establishing brand communities.

Moving forward, the Beijing Municipal Tax Service will gradually extend the campaign to four international consumption experience zones, and provide phased training sessions in rotation to cover all departure tax refund stores in the city.