China’s Digital Yuan Makes Import Tax, Commerce Breakthroughs – Are CBDCs Going Global?

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) adoption continues apace in China – where the digital yuan is breaking new ground in the worlds of import taxation and cross-border commerce.

Securities Times reported that Guangdong, China, has begun issuing digital yuan import tax refunds.

The media outlet reported that the local tax body miscalculated an import tax bill to an “incorrect calculation” for a transaction carried out by a power and electrical parts supplier named Huizhou Tianbao Chuangneng Technology.

As such, the firm was due a $1,035 refund. It received this in the form of a digital yuan payment to its corporate wallet.

The media outlet noted that Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, and “other” parts of the digital CNY pilot zone have now “launched digital yuan payment and tax refund services for domestic value-added tax, corporate income tax, and other taxes.”

It added that the developments allow local treasury departments to “receive and handle” digital yuan tax refunds in a faster and more efficient manner.

China’s “Cross-border Commerce Tax” Breakthrough

Meanwhile, in Zhuhai, a man surnamed Guan this week became the first Chinese citizen to pay parcel tax on a trade import from Macau. In China, parcel tax is a composite levy on imports – constituting customs tax, import VAT, and consumption taxation.

The man had been shopping while on holiday in Macau, which is officially Chinese, but like Hong Kong, has its own legal administration and economy.

Guan had to pay a fee of around $52 for his purchases, CCTV reported (via SouthCN.com). But he elected to do so by using the digital yuan – thus becoming the first person in the nation to do so.

Guan told the media outlet that paying had been “convenient” – and had eliminated the time he might otherwise have had to spend waiting in line to pay the tax. He claimed that he “just had to scan a QR code” using the People’s Bank of China’s digital yuan app.

Officials added that the CBDC payment system “improves the speed of transactions and expiates the passenger customs clearance process.”

“Overseas” digital yuan usage cases are on the rise – and are being piloted in extensive tests now being carried out in Macau and Hong Kong.