Under the plan, foreign tourists as well as visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan who have lived on the mainland for no more than 183 days are eligible for an 11 percent rebate on consumer goods purchased at designated department stores, it said.
"The expansion of the programme will spur inbound trips and boost the export of China-made commodities," it quoted Liu Shangxi, a senior Finance Ministry researcher, as saying.
The minimum purchase is 500 yuan at any one store in one day, the report said. Xinhua did not give further details.
A pilot tax refund programme was launched in Hainan Province at the start of 2011.
(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Paul Tait)
