Customs
Regulations
HOUSEHOLD GOODS Personal and household effects are
subject to customs clearance and examination upon arrival in Hong Kong.
Ordinary personal and household effects (new or used) are exempted from
import tax and duty. The following are required documents.
- Photocopy of shipper�s passport
- Authorization letter
- Inventory list
- Dutiable items include liquors, cigarettes and tobacco
- Normally, the owner does not have to be present during customs
clearance and inspection.
- Nonperishable food items, packed in cans, or other durable
packaging, may be imported in small amounts.
Guidelines for Importation and Registration of Motor
Vehicle
There are three government departments which are involved in the
importation and registration of motor vehicles to Hong Kong, they are
namely the Customs and Excise Department, Environmental Protection
Department and Transport department. The following guidelines help to
explain the procedures that were required by respective departments.
Step 1 : Compliance with the Exhaust and Noise Emissions
Standard
You are advised to obtain approval / exemption from the
Environmental Protection Department before shipping your vehicle into
Hong Kong.
You are required to prove your vehicle is fully comply with the
emission standards in the Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design
Standards)(Emission) Regulation and Noise Control (Motor Vehicles)
Regulation. Proof of emission compliance can be documents issued by
vehicle manufacturers or emission testing report issued by an approved
test laboratory. You should submit application form to the Environmental
Protection Department for approval together with all original supporting
documents.
Subject to the fulfillment of exemption criteria, certain catergories
of vehicles may be exempted from complying the exhaust emission
standard. You may apply to the Environmental Protection Department for
the exemption. Enquiries on approved test laboratories, emission
standards and exemption criteria can be made to telephone numbers:
(852)2594 6383 (Exhaust emission); (852)2594 6040 (Noise emission) or
fax number: (852)2824 9361.
Step 2 : Importation
Vehicles, no matter whether it is a company car or not, imported into
Hong Kong are not subject to any Customs tax, but in general, an
importer is required to lodge with the Customs and Excise Department an
accurate and complete declaration within 14 days of importation. For
importer already registered with Tradelink Electronic Commerce Ltd
(Tradelink) as EDI customer, he can lodge import declaration to the
Government directly from his personal computer. For occasional importer
and individual, they can lodge import declarations at Tradelink's
service centres to convert paper declarations for EDI transmission.
Please call (852) 2399 0430 for the current locations of the centres.
For further information about electronic lodgement service, or to
register for using the service, please call Tradelink's Hotline at (852)
2599 1700.
Also, within 30 days of the importation of your
vehicle, you should submit an Import Return (Form No.: CED336) enclosing
with a Declaration Form (Form No.: CED336A) to the Customs and Excise
Department. Enquiries on the submission of CED336 and CED336A can be
made at Tel No.: (852) 2231 4390.
Following the submission of
your Import Return, you will receive a "Notification of Motor Vehicle
Provisional Taxable Value" of your vehicle from the Customs and Excise
Department. The Notification should be produced on first registration of
your vehicle in the Transport Department.
Step 3 : Vehicle Examination
You should approach To Kwa Wan Vehicle Examination Centre for
inspection of your private car and produce either the original
certificate or original letter of exemption to prove that your car had
complied with the vehicle emissions standard. Vehicle examination should
be subject to payment of vehicle examination fee. If your vehicle can
pass the vehicle examination, you will receive a Certificate of
Roadworthiness from the Examination Centre. Enquiries on vehicle
examination can be made on Tel No.: (852) 2333 3112.
Step 4 : Vehicle Registration and Licensing
When applying for first registration of your vehicle, you should
submit a completed application form (Form No.: TD22 ) to the Hong Kong
Licensing Office of Transport Department (Tel No.: (852) 2804 2637 or
Fax No.: 2804 2599) together with the supporting documents as prescribed
in the application form. Upon the verification of your submitted
document, you are required to pay first registration tax and
registration fee for the registration of your vehicle, and pay vehicle
licence fee and levy for Traffic Accident Victim Assistance Fund for
licensing of the vehicle.
Step 5 : Calculation of First Registration Tax
The first registration tax will be derived from the taxable value of
your vehicle times the appropriate tax rate. The rate is as shown below
:-
Class of Motor Vehicle |
Rate of Tax |
Private cars
- the first $150,000 of taxable value
- on the next $150,000
- on the next $200,000
- on the remainder
|
|
Motor cycles and motor tricycles |
|
- Goods vehicles, other than van-type light goods vehicles
(LGV)
- Van-type LGV not exceeding 1.9 tonnes permitted gross
vehicle weight:
- on the first $150,000
- on the next $150,000
- on the remainder
- Van-type LGV exceeding 1.9 tonnes permitted gross vehicle
weight 15%
|
|
Taxis, Light buses, Buses and Special purpose vehicles |
|
In the case where the price of your vehicle is expressed in foreign
currency, in calculating the taxable value, the opening indicative
counter exchange selling rate published by the Hong Kong Association of
Banks on the date of importation of your vehicle will be taken as the
exchange rate of the foreign currency.
Application for the registration and licensing of a left hand drive
vehicle will not be accepted unless there are special circumstances.
Last updated in October 2003 by Transport Department
PETS
Import of Dogs and Cats IMPORT
PERMITS Dogs and cats should 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 this Department.
THE RELEVANT ORDINANCE Public Health
(Animals and Birds) Ordinance Cap. 139, and the Rabies Ordinance Cap. 421
enforced by this department provide for the prevention and introduction of
animal disease and rabies through regulating the import of animals and
birds into Hong Kong.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES The applicant
should submit the application in a prescribed form (Form
AF240). Downloading of the forms for viewing and printing can be
done through the use of the Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) Reader software which is
available free at the Adobe Systems
Incorporated website. Facsimile copies are also obtainable from
the interactive telephone No. 2708 8885.
PAYMENT OF PERMIT FEES Fees must be paid
at the time of the application. The fee for one animal is HK$432 and
HK$102 for every additional animal. Crossed local cheques are acceptable
for local applications. For overseas applications, the fees should be paid
by a bank draft in Hong Kong currency payable to "The Government of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". The bankdraft must be drawn upon
a licensed bank in Hong Kong.
WHERE TO APPLY Either in person or by post
to: Permit issuing Desk (Counter No. 10), 5th Floor, Agriculture,
Fisheries and Conservation Department, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices,
303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Office hours: Monday to
Friday: 9 a.m. - 12:30 noon, 1:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m. -
11:45 a.m. (Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.)
PROCESS TIME 5 working days from the date
of receipt of permit fee to the date of issue, subject to provision of all
required information. Please apply well in advance and make allowances
for mailing time, and meeting of health requirements such as vaccinations
and/or blood tests .
DISPATCH OF PERMITS By ordinary mail
(local) or airmail (overseas) to the address as indicated in the
application form. Please enclose a self-addressed envelope together with
the application. To avoid postal delay, the applicant may choose to pick
up the permit at the licensing office in person or by an appointed agent.
The permit will not be dispatched by fax.
OVERSEAS APPLICATION To minimise
inconvenience and to expedite urgent applications, overseas applicants may
nominate a person or agent in Hong Kong to apply for the permit on their
behalf.
VALIDITY OF THE PERMIT Valid for 6
months and for one consignment only. New: Find
out if your pet is eligible for import into Hong Kong (You need to
use browsers I.D. version 4 or Netscape version 6 or above to read.)
IMPORT REQUIREMENTS for 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 the permit conditions.
For dogs and cats of origin from that country, the animals must be
accompanied by the certificates stipulated in Table 1
.
IMPORT REQUIREMENTS -GROUP II
COUNTRIES Dogs and cats imported from the following 39
countries or areas may be exempted from quarantine provided the animals
comply fully with the permit conditions. As the rabies status or other
factors may change in these countries, the list is subject to ongoing
review.
Austria
|
Bahamas |
Bahrain |
Belgium |
Bermuda |
Brunei |
Canada |
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 |
Taiwan |
The Netherlands |
USA (Continental) |
Vanuatu |
Virgin Islands |
Dogs and cats imported from Group II Countries may be exempted from
quarantine when all the permit terms and conditions are fully met.
For dogs and cats of a Group II country origin, the animals must be
accompanied by the certificates stipulated in Table 2
.
IMPORT REQUIREMENTS - GROUP III
COUNTRIES Dogs and cats imported from countries other
than Group I and II are subject to a minimum 4-month quarantine period.
For dogs and cats of a Group III country origin, the animals must
be accompanied with certificates as stipulated in Table 3
.
DOGS AND CATS IN TRANSIT
Import permits are required for animal transhipments
(involving change of aircraft or mode of transport in Hong Kong). Import
requirements are stipulated in Table
4. However if the animals remain in the same aircraft or vessel,
an Import Permit/Special Permit is not required. However, importers must
comply with the requirements imposed by the destination country. If in
doubt, please contact your transportation company or airline.
REMINDER
- Two sets of carbonised permits will be sent to the applicant. Please
retain the top (white) copy for the
retrieval of pets on arrival. The carrying airline and shipping
company may require the shipper to produce the second copy before
accepting the carriage of pets in the exporting country.
- Do not arrange for the transportation of your pets unless a Special
Permit has been obtained from this department.
- Pets which have left Hong Kong are subject to the importation and
quarantine restrictions as outlined above on their return to Hong Kong.
Special Permits to bring back pets which have left Hong Kong need to be
obtained from this department in advance .
- If deemed necessary (for instance, animals of doubtful history;
animals showing clinical signs of diseases), the quarantine period for
dogs and cats from all countries (Group I, II and III) may be extended.
Dogs and cats without proper documentation may be required to undertake
a minimum of 6 months quarantine at the owner's expense or returned to
the country of origin.
Prohibited/Restricted Articles
- Drugs of various kinds
- Firearms, ammunition, explosives, and flick knives
- A valid license for possession/dealer�s license from the Royal Hong
Kong Police Force must be obtained for importing and exporting firearms
and ammunition. To obtain such a license, the shipper must submit an
application for an import/export license.
- Applications for imports and exports of explosives must have the
prior endorsement of the Mines Division, Civil Engineering Department
before submission to the Trade Department for Processing.
- Obscene or pornographic materials, including books and photographs
- Plants, trees and vegetables
- No person shall import any plants (ex: timber, trees, shrubs, or any
kind of plants which may be grown, planted or propagated) unless it is:
- Accompanied by a plant import license;
- Fumigated or disinfected in the country of its origin;
- Accompanied by a valid Phytosanitary Certificate;
- Subject to post-entry quarantine observation.
- No Plant Import License or Phytosanitary Certificate is required for
the import of:
- Cut flowers
- Fruit and vegetables for consumption
- Grains, pulses, seeds and spices for human or animal consumption
- Timber and timber products including rattan and bamboo
- Dried tobacco and manufactured articles incorporating dried leaves
- Plants produced in and imported from China
Other Useful Information
HKSAR is a free port. There is no tariff on general imports. However,
there is duty on liquors, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol.
This is prepaid by the seller and included in the price, so it often goes
unnoticed. Duties on these goods raise revenue for the general
administration and for development projects, while at the same time help
to keep general tax levels low.
The Customs and Excise Department is responsible for enforcing the law
for collection of duties and protection of revenue.
For tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol, duties are charged at
specific rates per unit quantity. For liquors, duty is assessed at
different percentages of their values on the basis of three different
categories defined broadly according to alcoholic strength. The duty rates
prescribed in the Schedule to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap.
109) are extracted as below :
Duty on Liquor
Duty shall be payable on the
following types of liquor at the rates, expressed as a percentage of
the value (calculated in accordance with section 26A of the
Dutiable Commodities Ordinance), set out opposite each type of liquor
:
Type of Liquor : Ra
Type of Liquor : |
Rate |
Liquor with an alcoholic strength of more than 30% by volume
measured at a temperature of 20oC |
100% |
Liquor, other than wine, with an alcoholic strength of not more
than 30% by volume measured at a temperature of 20oC |
40% |
Wine |
80% |
Where there is no or insufficient information available from which the
Commissioner of Customs and Excise (or any officer authorized by him in
that behalf) is able to determine the value of any quantity of liquor of
less than 12 litres, imported at any time in one consignment, he may
assess the duty payable on such liquor at the rate of HK$160 per litre.
Duty on Tobacco
Duty shall be payable on
tobacco at the following rates -
- for each 1 000 cigarettes HK$804
- cigars HK$1035/kg
- Chinese prepared tobacco HK$197/kg
- all other manufactured tobacco except tobacco intended for the
manufacture of cigarettes HK$974/kg
For the purpose of
applying the duty under paragraph 1(a) a cigarette more than 90 mm long,
excluding any filter or mouthpiece, shall be treated as if each additional
90 mm or portion of 90 mm were a separate cigarette.
PLEASE
NOTE: Customs regulations and requirements; applicable duties, taxes and
other Government fees levied against the owner�s effects are subject to
change without notice. Every effort is made to maintain current country by
country customs information; however, due to constantly changing
conditions, we recommend you contact the country�s nearest consulate
office for the most current information. |