On April 1, a tax staff member from Chongqing Endurance Gas Equipment Co entered the tax service hall of Liangjiang New Area to submit a value-added tax (VAT) credit refund application. As a local gas equipment manufacturer, the company posted poor performance due to the continuous impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The new VAT credit refund is a timely form of assistance due to declining orders and rising raw material prices," said Yang Chun, a worker at the firm, which is a micro-sized company that was not previously eligible for any refunds. "The taxation bureau also offered instructions on tax refund application procedures," Yang added.

Many such enterprises are benefiting from the revised tax refund policy for the first time. The taxation bureau of the new area also provides 24-hour intelligent consultations, and instructs firms via video to disseminate information about the tax refund policy.

Tax refunds are a significant deal to corporations. "The 260,000 yuan ($40,222) we have received will be spent on employees' salaries and research," said Yang.

In addition, tax refund procedures have been optimized, and all taxpayers need to do is sign in to the platform, make a few clicks, and check the relevant information on a computer screen, leaving all other work to tax workers and big data technology.

"Reviews of tax refunds are usually done in just one weekday, and the application will then be submitted to the national treasury, after which the tax amount will be refunded to enterprises' bank accounts," said a representative of the taxation bureau.