Visitors in south China’s Hainan province will soon be able to buy more kinds of duty-free items with a higher purchase limit. More kinds of products, such as beauty and health care goods, tableware, kitchenware and toys, will be included in the tax-rebate category.
Under a policy which will come into effect this November, non-residents leaving the island can make duty-free purchases twice a year if they spend no more than 8,000 yuan (1280 USD) each time, up from the current 5,000-yuan cap. The updated scheme will also lower the age threshold for duty-free purchasing from 18 years old to 16 years old.
In April 2011, to boost local tourism, Hainan piloted a duty-free policy that allows visitors to have tax rebates with a purchase limit of 5,000 yuan. Hainan has opened two duty-free stores in the city of Sanya and at the Meilan Airport of Haikou, the province's two largest cities.
