First week of Hainan's new duty-free policy sees big sales

South China's island province Hainan has seen sales of 450 million yuan ($64.34 million) in offshore duty-free shopping the first week after its new duty-free policy taking effect on July 1, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The average daily tax exemption stood at 9.39 million yuan during the period, up 58.2 percent from the average daily amount in the first half of the year, the administration said.

Some 65,000 visitors enjoyed the new policy, with a total tax exemption of 65.71 million yuan.

Cosmetics, perfumes and jewelry were the top 3 commodities in duty-free shopping, while cosmetics, jewelry and watches accounted for 77.2 percent of total sales.

Starting July 1, Hainan increased its tax-free quota from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person each year, and tax-free goods categories were expanded from 38 to 45, including some electronic products such as mobile phones and tablet computers.

Apple's iPhone became all the rage at the market under the new policy. An iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 gigabytes of storage was priced at 10,210 yuan in Hainan's duty-free shops, some 2,489 yuan lower than the price on Apple's official website.

To regulate the market, the customs administration said those who purchase tax-free goods for others for profit-making or to resell on the domestic market will not be allowed to enjoy the favorable policy for 3 years.