Hongkong has been so appealing for living and doing business as it serves many strategic , unique roles in comparison to other cities:
It serves as a strategic gateway to growing Mainland China markets, a regional financial and logistics hub for expansion across Asia and a stable, highly-efficient, business-friendly cosmopolitan. By having nearly same time zone to asia pacific countries which are only within one hour’s difference then hongkong can within good reach for business.
Hong kong still has been named of city with ‘advanced’ in digital agility which retained its 5th rank in the Digital Agility Index.
If you want to grow your business in hongkong , you should be hand on with import export regulation in Hongkong.
IMPORT/TRANSIT/EXPORT REGULATIONS
SAR is the abbreviation of: Special Administrative Region of China.
GENERAL INFORMATION
IATA Area :3
Capital :Hong Kong (HKG)
Local Time:GMT + 8
Daylight Saving Time:Hong Kong does not observe DST.
Country Code :+ 852
Local Currency:Hong Kong Dollar (HKD)
Bank Information:Closed on Saturday afternoon and
Sunday.
E-freight status of country: Green
AIRPORT INFORMATION
CUSTOMS AIRPORTS
Hong Kong International Airport – HKG
Tel.:+852 2116 4130 (Customs)
+852 2116 4106 (Customs)
+852 2188 7111 (Airport Authority)
Fax:+852 2116 4201 (Customs)
+852 2824 2786 (Airport Authority)
E-mail:cargo@hkairport.com (Airport Authority)
Website:www.hongkongairport.com (Airport Authority)
AIRPORT FACILITIES
Loading/Unloading equipment
Forklift available on request. The airline in Hong Kong must be informed by telex before despatch of heavy cargo to arrange for the necessary equipment to be available at time of landing in Hong Kong.
Storage
Available at:
- Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd., HK International Airport
- Asia Airfreight Terminal Co. Ltd., Hong Kong International Airport
Cold storage: Available.
Safe for valuables: Available.
Room for radio-active material: Available.
Terminal services are only licensed to store dangerous goods except explosives and restricted articles for 24 hours.
Clearance
At the airport by airlines, consignee or his representative.
Customs hours
Daily 24 hours.
Delivery
At airline’s airport office.
(Re)-Forwarding
Possible by air. Reforwarding by truck and river under bond to Pearl River Delta is possible.
IMPORT
GENERAL
Language on documents
English.
Other requirements
To facilitate production of full flight Air Cargo Manifest for submission to Customs in accordance to HKG Import and Export Ordinance Chapter 60 section 17, cargo agents are responsible to transmit required HAWB data both import and export electronically to computer systems specified by airlines before the agreed time.
Required HAWB data are:
a.HAWB number
b.Piece
c.Weight in kilo
d.Nature of goods
e.Origin
f.Destination
g.Shipper name and address
h.Consignee name and address
i.Import or export licence number if applicable
Agreed time
No later than one hour before schedule time of arrival.
Reprocessing fee
If cargo agents fail to do so and require airlines to reprocess the HAWB for production of full flight Air Cargo Manifest, airlines will charge cargo agents a fee. Refer to airline page under section 8.3. for schedule of fees.
DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS
Commercial consignments
- 2 Commercial Invoices stating CIF and FOB value.
- 2 Certificates of Origin, visaed by Chamber of Commerce required in certain cases.
Sample consignments
Pro Forma Invoice. Samples are duty-free, except valuable samples of dutiable goods.
Gift consignments
No documents, but total value must be mentioned on AWB.
Unaccompanied baggage
If cleared by third parties on behalf of consignee, the agent should bear the consignee’s letter of authorization, the consignee’s passport and the agent’s identity.
Other consignments
Consolidation consignments
- It is a mandatory requirement to submit the particulars of house consignments to Hong Kong Customs in the form of Standard Inbound House Manifest.
- The consolidators have to attach a minimum of five copies of the Standard Inbound House Manifest to the master air waybill when they tender the consolidation consignments to the airlines for carriage to Hong Kong.
- The specifications of the Standard Inbound House Manifest are as follows:
- The particulars of the header are:
a.Name of the agent or consolidator.
b.Master air waybill number.
c.Flight number.
d.Date.
e.Port of loading.
f.Port of unloading.
2.The particulars of the content are:
a.House air waybill number.
b.Number of pieces.
c.Weight.
d.Nature of goods.
e.Final destination.
f.For office use (left blank for use by Customs).
g.Shipper’s name and address.
h.Consignee’s name and address.
Note
Type the particulars in sequence from left to right in the above order. If there is insufficient space, start a new line for “Shipper’s name and address” and “Consignee’s name and address”.
3.Provide the following at the bottom of the last page:
a.Total number of house air waybills.
b.Total weight.
c.Total number of pages.
4.Prepare the house manifest in double spacing or separate each house shipment item by one line.
IMPORT/TRANSIT/EXPORT REGULATIONS
RESTRICTIONS
Live animals
Animals and birds (mammals, birds, or reptiles) may not be brought into Hong Kong (either to import or for transhipment/transit) unless a Special Permit to do so is obtained IN ADVANCE from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
Application may be made on a prescribed form (Form AF240).
If issued, it will normally be valid for 6 months and is good for one consignment only.
Live animals can only be imported or through Hong Kong as manifested air cargo.
1.General Terms and Conditions.
a.All pets must be transported by the fastest and most direct route to Hong Kong.
b.Dogs and cats under 2 months old are not allowed to be imported or transhipped.
c.All pets must be carried and caged in such a way as to ensure humane management at all times.
d.A veterinary health certificate from the competent veterinary authorities dated not more than 14 days before departure is required.
e.Dogs and cats destined for HKG must be implanted with an identification microchip and its number must be printed on the animal health certificate to identify the animals. Failure to comply with may result the animals be rejected and returned or quarantined for a period determined by the Senior Veterinary Officer.
2.Quarantine
a.Group I Countries
Dogs and cats imported direct from U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii are normally exempted from quarantine subject to full compliance with permit conditions.
b.Group II Countries
Dogs and cats imported from the following 40 countries / areas may be exempted from quarantine subject to full compliance with the permit conditions.
Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Cayman Island, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guam, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Norway, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, The Netherlands, U.S.A. (Continental), Vanuatu, Virgin Islands.
There is a possibility that the rabies-free status or other factors may change in these countries.
The above list is subject to ongoing review.
c.Group III Countries
Dogs and cats imported from countries other than those listed above are subject to a minimum of 4-month quarantine period.
Notes:
- If deemed necessary (for instances, animals of doubtful history; animals showing suspicious clinical signs during quarantine), the quarantine period for dogs and cats from all countries (Group I, II, III) may be extended to a minimum of 6 months.
- Quarantine of dogs and cats will be assessed upon their arrival.
Failure to comply fully with the permit terms and conditions may render the animals liable to 4-6 months quarantine, and, in some exceptional cases, even longer.
3.Enquiry
Import Control Section, Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department, 5/F., Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices,
303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon.
Tel: (852) – 21507057
Tel: (852) – 27088885 (24 hours Interactive Telephone Enquiry)
4.Oversea Application
Oversea applicant may nominate a friend or the transportation agent in Hong Kong to apply Special permit on his/her behalf.
Information required for application for a Special Permit.
a.Name, postal address and telephone/fax no. of the owner and / or agent in country of origin and / or in Hong Kong.
b.Full description of the pets: species, breed, scientific name, number, age sex, colour.
c.Details of transportation: Expected date and time of arrival, carrying Airlines/Shipping company, flight number/name of vessel.
d.Other related information.
5.Endangered Species
The Hong Kong Government is a party to the Washington Convention on the Control of Trade in Endangered Species and exercises strict control over the shipment of live specimens of “Scheduled Species”. No schedule animals should be accepted for shipment unless a valid export licence has been obtained from the country of departure and a valid import licence from the country of import, issued under CITES based local legislation.
‘Endangered Species’ includes both live and dead endangered species and their parts and derivatives.
Live endangered species must also be covered by appropriate CITES Import / Possession Licences issued by Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department separately. Fees are imposed for such licences.
Plants and plant material
In order to avoid unnecessary delay in customs clearance of plants on arrival, importers are advised to obtain a Plant Import Licence from Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), Plant & Pesticides Regulatory Division, 5/F., Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon prior to order for shipment of plants.
If the plant to be imported is subject to the control of the Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance, applicant should comply with the requirements of the Ordinance. Full details can be found at http://www.afcd.gov.hk/permit/permit_e.htm
No Plant Import Licence or Phytosanitary Certificate will be required for import of the following items:
Cut flowers
Fruit & Vegetables for consumption
Grains, pulses, seeds and spices for human or animal consumption or for industrial use
Timber and timber products including rattan and bamboo
Dried tobacco and manufactured articles incorporating dried leaves
Plants produced in and imported from China.
The import of soil (including earth, sand, clay and peat) is prohibited.
Further details can be obtained from the Plant & Pesticides Regulatory Division at the above address or by telephone 852 2150 7000, Fax. 852 2314 2622.
Arms, ammunition and explosives
Arms and ammunition (incl. any parts or limitations):
Import Licence from Trade & Industry Department
Written permission from HK Civil Aviation Dept. is required. Obtaining such permission will take approximately 14 working days.
Permission for import must be obtained from the Hong Kong Police Force (Tel: 852 25277456) before arrival of the shipment. If shipment also contains explosives, permission must also be sought from Mines and Quarries Division of Civil Engineering Dept., 6/F., Kai Tak Government Building, 5 Arrivals Road, Kowloon.
All goods must be picked up on the day of arrival.
Explosives:
Before shipment’s arrival, permission for import must be obtained from Mines and Quarries Division.
All requirements as set out under “Arms and ammunition” must also be met if the explosives are also classified as arms and ammunition.
All goods must be picked up on the day of arrival.
Narcotics and drugs
Dangerous drugs
Import licences (issued by the Department of Health, Hong Kong) must be obtained before shipment arrival. To check if a substance belongs to controlled chemicals, visit:
http://www.govtlab.gov.hk/english/glossary.htm
Human remains
Death Certificate (with cause of death) and Cremation or Embalming Certificate, to be attached to AWB. Prior Import Permit from Department of Health, Hong Kong. All documents must be written in English or Chinese.
Pharmaceutical and chemical products
Agricultural pesticides and pharmaceutical products require Import Licence from Trade and Industry Department, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Medicines and vaccines
Medicines require Import Licence from Trade and Industry Department, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Meat and meat products
Import licence from Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
Import must be covered by official certificate issued at origin, stating that the meat has been inspected ante- and post-mortem and has been properly packed under sanitary conditions and is fit for human consumption.
Foodstuffs
Food additives
Added colouring matter, food containing metals, artificial sweeteners and food containing artificial sweeteners:
Require Import Licence from Department of Health, Wu Chung House 18/F, 213 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
Radio-active materials
Radioactive substances and irradiating apparatus
Import Licence from Radiation Health Unit,
Department of Health, 3/F, Sai Wan Ho Health Centre,
28 Tai Hong Street, Hong Kong.
Others
Reserved Commodities: rice (with or without husk, and milled or unmilled) requires an import licence from Food and Environmental Hygiene Dept.)
Strategic commodities: import licence from Trade and Industry Dept. is required. Articles such as military items, chemical and biological warfare agents and precursors
(http://www.stc.tid.gov.hk/english/circular_pub/2001_stc2.html), electronic items for military use, software for the production of munitions items, nuclear materials, high speed and high density integrated circuits, high performance computers, semiconductor materials, sophisticated communication systems, single mode optical fibre, navigation systems and avionics, etc are generally considered to be strategic commodities.
Textiles: An import licence must be obtained from the Trade and Industry Department prior to the arrival of the goods. Any person who contravenes this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of HKD 500,000 and to imprisonment for two years. Airlines should not release any textile goods imported into Hong Kong to any person without the production of a valid textile import licence. The licence will be ready for collection from the Trade and Industry Department two clear working days after the date on which the application is received; late applications will be approved only on an exceptional basis, except for shipments of commercial samples of no commercial value.
Ozone depleting substances: Import licence from Trade and Industry Department is required for ozone depleting substances.
Controlled chemicals: Import authorization (issued by Customs & Excise Department) must be obtained before shipment arrival. To check if a substance belongs to controlled chemicals, visit:
http://www.info.gov.hk/customs/eng/major/licence/chemicals_e.html
Sand: Import of sand exceeding 100 kg., require Permit from Civil Engineering Dept., 101 Princess Margaret Road, Homantin, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Asbestos: import and sales of the following substances in Hong Kong are prohibited:
1.Amosite (brown asbestos);
2.Crocidolite (blue asbestos);
3.Substance or item made with or containing amosite or crocidolite.
Unless, the importer, seller, agent or distributor of asbestos can warrant the above substances would be unlikely lead to a health risk to the community, and an exemption is granted would be unlikely lead to a health risk to the community, and an exemption is granted by the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, 33/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
Pesticides: Import Licence from Trade and Industry Department is required.
Smokeless tobacco products: import permit from Department of Health is required.
Waste import licence from Environmental Protection Department is required.
Dutiable Commodities: import permit from Customs & Excise Department is required.
Rough Diamonds: Kimberly Process Certificate (Import) from Trade & Industry Department is required.
Infectious substances: No person shall knowingly import into Hong Kong any living noxious insect, living pest, any living germ or microbe of disease or any bacterial culture without a permit in writing from the Director of the Department of Health.
Optical disc mastering and replication equipment: Import licence from Customs & Excise Department is required.
Radio transmitting equipment: Import permit from Telecommunications Authority is required with an exemption granted to holders of Radio Dealers Licence.
PROHIBITIONS
Counterfeit money: lottery tickets and obscene literature.
Equines from Asian countries.
CHARGES
Refer to airline page under section 8.3. for schedule of fees.
Live animals
Including birds: Transhipment also requires an Import/Transhipment Permit and Health Certificate from the country of origin as specified in 2.3.2., unless the animals remain on the aircraft during transit. The Permit is issued at a fee which varies depending on species. Enquire with applicable Hong Kong office for the charges in advance of shipment.
Failure to obtain Permit results in fine to airline. Maximum fine
HKD 2000.00 and/or 6 months imprisonment.
Cats and Dogs must transit Hong Kong within 24 hours or they will be placed in a government kennel. To ensure shipments will transit within 24 hours, the forwarding station must advise Hong Kong 24 hours before dispatch information on arrival details and confirmed onward reservation.
Transhipment also requires Permit as specified above and can only be shipped as manifested cargo.
Plants and plant material
Including soil: Only permitted provided:
They are packed (and remain packed) in containers which are sealed or wrapped, so that no plant pests may escape.
The containers remain on board the aircraft or in case of transhipment are not removed from the place of unloading other than for reloading.
CITES licence is required if the plant is classified as endangered species.
Arms, ammunition and explosives
as previous
Permission from Hong kong Police Force is not required.
Narcotics and drugs
Dangerous drugs
as previous
Others
Human remains and infectious substances: Permission for import must be obtained from Department of Health.
Strategic commodities: Articles specified under schedule 1 of the Strategic Commodities Regulations are normally exempted from import/export control provided that the carrier concerned is registered under the Air Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme. For articles specified under schedule 2, 3 and 4, (such as military materials, munitions, nuclear-related materials facilities and equipment, encryption equipment, and their related documents containing technological information and articles for a use relating to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons) licensing control is still imposed.
Controlled chemicals:
as previous
Rough Diamonds:
a.No person shall import / export rough diamonds from / to a place other than the specified countries. Full details of the specified countries can be found at: http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/publications/nontextiles/nontextiles.html
b.The requirement of import / export certificates are normally exempted provided that the carrier concerned is registered with Trade and Industry Department as a rough diamond trader.
Waste: Import licence from Environmental & Protection Department is required.
Air Cargo Transhipment (Facilitation) Ordinance:
The Air Cargo Transhipment (Facilitation) Ordinance, which comes into operation on 26 May 2000, aims to facilitate HongKong to be further developed into the international regional air cargo hub.
Under this ordinance, “Air Transhipment Cargo” of articles mentioned below are to be exempted from import and export licensing requirement:
a.Dutiable commodities such as an alcoholic liquor and tobacco
b.Radiocommunication transmitting apparatus
c.Pharmaceutical products and medicines
d.Optical disc mastering and replication equipment
e.Rice
f.Left hand drive vehicles
g.Outboard engines
h.Pesticides
i.Food materials such as colouring matter and preservatives
j.Meat and animal products.
k.Marine fish
l.Smokeless tobacco products
m.Ozone depleting substances
“Air Transhipment Cargo” means transhipment cargo that is both imported and consigned for export in an aircraft and which, during the period between its import and export, remains within the cargo transhipment area of Hong Kong International Airport. Cargo Transhipment area of Hong Kong International Airport means:
a.any part of Hong Kong International Airport that is designated under section 35 of the Aviation Security Ordinance (Cap.494) as a restricted area; and
b.any area approved by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise .
EXPORT
GENERAL
General cargo:
no later than two hours before the schedule time of departure.
Express cargo:
no later than one hour before the schedule time of departure.
RESTRICTIONS
General
1.Under the Import and Export Ordinance (chapter 60), the Reserved Commodities Ordinance (chapter 296), the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance 9 (chapter 403) and their subsidiary legislation, exports of certain articles are subject to licensing control by the Director – General of Trade and Industry Department.
2.The following articles are subject to export licensing by the Trade and Industry Department:
a.Strategic commodities (include arms and ammunition and explosives): see 2.3.4. and 2.3.15.
b.Reserved commodities: see 2.3.15.
c.Pesticides.
d.Pharmaceutical products and medicine.
e.Textiles include any products.
f.Ozone depleting substances.
Enquiries:
Should be made to Trade and Industry Department, Trade Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Tel: (852)-23985337
Live animals
Including birds:
a.All exported live animals and birds should be properly crated during transportation. There are no other restrictions imposed on exportation of live animals and birds from Hong Kong except:
protected wild animals, birds and live endangered species.
pet dogs and cats still under quarantine control in Hong Kong.
b.Shippers are advised to obtain, well in advance, details of requirements in writing, from the government authority of the destination country to which the animals are to be sent and from the airline which will carry them.
c.For details on requirements for each country and carrier’s restrictions, please refer to IATA Live Animals regulations – Government Regulations and Carrier Regulations – Container Requirements.
d.Do not arrange for actual transportation of your animals unless all relevant documents (both port of origin and destination) has been obtained.
eLive dogs and cats under 2 months old are not allowed to be exported.
Salam Sehat Semangat Sukses
Bambang Purnomo , SS-BA, CSCA, CAVM Solution Consultant
By Bams – September 07, 2022
