China's railway passenger service is set to fully adopt digital invoices, a move aimed at streamlining reimbursement processes and cutting costs for rail operators.

Starting Nov 1, passengers will be able to download digital invoices for the tickets they buy on the 12306 railway ticket booking system, according to a notice issued by the State Taxation Administration, the Ministry of Finance and China State Railway Group on Oct 18.

With the roll-out of digital invoices, passengers will no longer need to print paper tickets at train stations or self-service ticket machines for reimbursement.

The use of electronic invoices is also expected to improve the efficiency of companies in handling reimbursement, accounting and archiving, and slash the costs of printing and maintenance of self-service ticket machines of rail operators.

A transition period will run to Sept 30, 2025 during which both paper and electronic invoices will be available. Passengers will still be able to use paper tickets for reimbursement during the period.

According to the notice, railway ticket buyers will be able to apply for digital invoices within 180 days of the completion of a journey or payment of ticket refund (change) fees on the Railway 12306 app or the personal income tax app.

Source: People's Daily