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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city

Press Release

Implementation of Paperless Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
Monday, April 18, 2016

With effect from May 1, Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CO(CEPA)) will be paperless on a trial basis. Electronic CO(CEPA)s will be issued by the Trade and Industry Department (TID) and five Government Approved Certification Organisations (GACOs). The maximum number of product items covered by each CO(CEPA) will also be increased from the present five items to 20 items.

A spokesperson for the TID said today (April 18), "Going paperless is in line with the business trend of being eco-friendly, and can also facilitate business. In terms of business facilitation, given that CO(CEPA)s will be issued electronically and Mainland customs no longer requires importers to submit paper CO(CEPA)s at the ports, traders will no longer be required to go to the TID or GACOs to collect CO(CEPA)s. It also facilitates trading by allowing more product line items in each CO(CEPA) application."

When CO(CEPA)s become paperless, the application procedures for traders in general will remain unchanged. Depending on the Certificate of Origin Electronic Service Providers (Electronic Service Providers) and the software being used, traders may be requested by the respective Electronic Service Provider to update the software. Upon successful application, traders will receive an electronic CO(CEPA) from the Electronic Service Provider concerned.

For the small number of traders who are yet to submit CO(CEPA) applications electronically, the Electronic Service Providers will continue to operate the Electronic Trading Access Service (ETAS) centres. The ETAS centres will provide the printout of the electronic CO(CEPA)s for traders' retention.

Other application requirements, approval procedures, the certificate validity period, etc for CO(CEPA) will remain unchanged.

For further enquiries on the above arrangements, traders should contact the Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch (Tel: 3403 6432 or email: cepaco@tid.gov.hk). The TID has also informed traders of the details through a circular. Existing traders may also contact relevant Electronic Service Providers and GACOs (if not using the TID's services) for questions on individual cases. Their enquiry numbers are as follows:


Government appointed Certificate of Origin Electronic Service Providers

  • Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (Enquiry No.: 2599 1700 (Electronic CO Service user registration); 2917 8888 (Customer service))
  • Brio Electronic Commerce Limited (Enquiry No.: 2111 1288)


GACOs

  • Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (Enquiry No.: 2395 5515)
  • The Federation of Hong Kong Industries (Enquiry No.: 2396 3318)
  • The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (Enquiry No.: 2542 8613)
  • The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (Enquiry No.: 2526 0623)
  • The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong (Enquiry No.: 2525 0138)

Ends