A total of 35.64 billion yuan ($5.32 billion) in value-added tax (VAT) credit refunds were paid to 41,000 taxpayers in Guangzhou, Guangdong province in the first five months of this year, according to the Guangzhou Municipal Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration.

The move is part of the nationwide policy announced earlier this year for implementing such refunds on a large scale to sustain stable macroeconomic performance.

The tax service in Nansha district of Guangzhou helped design tax schemes for life service businesses and set up express passages for approving VAT credit refunds.

ZKungfu, a Chinese fast-food chain brand with its headquarters in Nansha, received more than 4 million yuan in VAT credit refunds.

The service area for handling the large-scale VAT credit refund in Nansha district. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The restaurant chain has been hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic and the refund has been very helpful for the company in overcoming this difficulty, Zhang Jianguo, ZKungfu's tax director, told the media on June 28.

This round of large-scale VAT credit refunds is targeted at sectors like small businesses and manufacturing.

Robotaxi manufacturer Pony.ai received more than 10 million yuan in VAT credit refunds.

"It allows us to invest more in research and development and helps us a lot as a technology start-up company," said Xie Wenying, finance director of Pony.ai.

The Guangdong branch of China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corp received 720 million yuan in VAT credit refunds.

The company, which operates 3,199 kilometers of natural gas pipelines in Guangdong with its headquarters in Guangzhou's Huangpu district, plans to make massive investments to add more than 2,000 km in pipelines in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), according to Lai Shaochuan, president of the company.