Chinese consumers will soon be able to spend 30 per cent more on tariff-free goods from outside the mainland as from January 1, Beijing will raise the annual quota on cross-border e-commerce purchases for individual buyers to 26,000 yuan ($3,750) from 20,000 yuan. The decision was taken after a meeting of the State Council, the nation’s cabinet.

The tax-free limit on single transactions would increase by 150 per cent to 5,000 yuan, the Chinese Government said.

Chinese consumers have become increasingly drawn to foreign goods available on overseas websites and the value of such transactions more than doubled last year to 56.59 billion yuan, a top Hong Kong newspaper reported quoting customs data.

Apart from increasing the personal quotas, the government would add 63 items to the list of ‘mass demand’ products covered by the tariff-free scheme.

The rules now apply only to consumers in 15 Chinese cities, although the number will also increase, by seven, from the start of 2019.

The government said it would improve its export tax rebate policy in 2019 to encourage vendors in China to sell more goods via cross-border e-commerce platforms.

Beijing will also tighten controls on the activities of daigou, people who travel outside mainland China’s borders to buy goods on their clients’ behalf. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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