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Introduction

The claim for CEPA zero tariff preference must be supported by a CO(CEPA) issued by the Trade and Industry Department (TID) or any one of the Government Approved Certification Organisations (GACOs)¹ . All CO(CEPA) applications (including fresh submissions, re-submissions and amendment requests) must be lodged through electronic submission. Traders can register with the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited ("Tradelink") in order to use the electronic submission. Traders who are not yet registered with Tradelink can make use of the five designated Tradelink Service Centres for lodging of CO(CEPA) applications. This Note highlights the specific requirements for CO(CEPA) applications lodged through the electronic submission.. TID has made every effort to ensure the information provided is correct at the time of publication.

Completion of CO(CEPA) Application

1. General

1. Certificate of Origin (CO) Type and Declaration

   CO(CEPA) belongs to the Certificate Type "Certificate of Hong Kong Origin (CHKO)" in the electronic submission. The service provider will provide the type "CEPA CO" to facilitate the trade in making CO(CEPA) application. The exporter, manufacturer and subcontractor (if applicable) have to individually make the following declaration:

CO applications without the above declaration will be processed as applications for CHKO. CHKOs cannot be used for claiming CEPA zero tariff preference.

2. Unique Certificate of Origin Reference (UCR) Number

Each fresh application will be assigned a UCR number of 14 characters/digits. Traders should quote this number as a reference in all future correspondence, such as sending message to manufacturer/subcontractor, and making enquiries. 

3. Lodging of information in Traditional Chinese

Applicants have to input the following fields using Traditional Chinese through the electronic submission ² . 

• exporter's name and address;
  

• consignee's name and address;
  

• notifying party's name and address (if applicable); 
  

• vessel/flight/train/vehicle number (if applicable);
  

• marks, numbers and container number (if applicable);
  

• description of goods (both the exporter and the manufacturer should ensure that the same description has been used in their respective messages else applications submitted may be rejected); and
  

• brand names or labels (if applicable)
  

4. CO Approval Number

If the CO(CEPA) application is approved, an electronic approval message will be sent by the issuing organization to the traders via the electronic submission. The message includes the response date and an approval number of 11 characters/digits.

2. Exporter Section

The information required in a CO(CEPA) application is basically the same as that in a CHKO application EXCEPT that the following information must be provided in the manner specified in parts 5 to 11 below.

5. Consignee's Information

Full name and Mainland address of the consignee must be provided. Besides, special request for hiding information of consignee to be printed on the certificate (i.e. Special Request Code: "502") will not be accepted.

6. Departure Date

Under normal circumstances, the departure date should be at least 2 clear working days after the date of lodging of the application. Also, it should not be later than the last day of the CO(CEPA)'s validity period of 120 days (i.e. date of issue + 119 days). Request for retrospective issuance of CO(CEPA) will not be entertained.

7. Mode of Transport

One of the codes regarding mode of transport should be inputted, please refer to the TID’s webpage <http://www.tid.gov.hk/service/co/jsp/COEnq_CepaAreaMain_e.jsp> for the input codes, the corresponding mode of transport will be printed in Chinese on the CO(CEPA).

8. Port of Loading

"Hong Kong" should be input as the port of loading. "Hong Kong" as the port of loading will be printed on the CO(CEPA) in Chinese.

9. Port of Discharge

Traders should input the customs port code according to the port of discharging the goods (i.e. the customs port to which the Mainland importer will submit the claim for tariff preference). Please refer to the web portal of the Mainland Customs at
 <http://www.customs.gov.cn> or TID's webpage <http://www.tid.gov.hk/service/co/jsp/COEnq_CepaAreaMain_e.jsp> for the Mainland customs port codes. The corresponding port of discharge will be printed on the CO(CEPA) in Chinese.

10. Destination Country

“CN” (China) should be input as the destination country.

11. Goods Information

Information provided in the "Line Items" section must be identical to that in the "Product Descriptions for CO" section. Each CO(CEPA) application may contain up to a maximum of 5 product items (i.e. 5 Mainland 8-digit Harmonised System (HS) codes).

Traders should also note the following requirements for specific fields:

In the "Product Descriptions for CO" section:

• No. and Type of Package field

No. and type of package should be provided for each individual product item. Please refer to codes provided in the electronic submission, the corresponding Chinese descriptions of type of package will be printed on the CO(CEPA).

• Mainland HS Code

Traders should input the Mainland 8-digit HS code in the mandatory field "Mainland HS code" for each individual product item. The Mainland HS code provided in this field should correspond to the Hong Kong HS code provided in the field "HS code".

In the "Line Items" section:

• FOB Value field

FOB (not CIF) value in HK$ should be provided for each individual product item.

In both the "Line Items" and "Product Descriptions for CO" sections:

• Quantity and Quantity Unit fields

Quantity and quantity unit should be provided for each individual product item in both sections. Please refer to the TID’s webpage <http://www.tid.gov.hk/service/co/jsp/COEnq_CepaAreaMain_e.jsp> for the input codes. The corresponding Chinese descriptions of quantity unit will be printed on the CO(CEPA). While the applicable quantity unit as used in the actual transaction can be declared in the application, exporters are advised to check the Mainland official quantity unit with reference to the applicable "Customs Import and Export Tariff of the People's Republic of China". This publication is available for reference in the Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs on M/F, Trade and Industry Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon.

3. Manufacturer Section

The information required in a CO(CEPA) application is basically the same as that in a CHKO application EXCEPT that the following information must be provided in the manner specified in parts 12 and 13 below.

If a subcontractor is employed to carry out the principal manufacturing processes or the entire production of the goods concerned under the Local Subcontracting Arrangement (LSA), the manufacturer should provide the subcontractor's information, including the subcontractor’s name and address, the LSA approval number and the principal processes undertaken by the subcontractor. The manufacturer should also engage the subcontractor to endorse the information provided in the CO(CEPA) application.

12. Manufacturer's Information

Manufacturers should clearly state the principal manufacturing processes performed in the field "Principal Process(es) Done by Manufacturer and Outworker in HK". Where "change in tariff heading" or "value-added content requirement" is the origin criterion, it should be so stated.

If product development cost is included
in the Hong Kong value-added content of the CO(CEPA) application:

In addition to lodging to the issuing organisation a proforma cost statement showing how the 30% Hong Kong value-added content requirement has been met, the manufacturer should make the following declaration under "Manufacturer's Declaration":

Code	Declaration
M16	I declare that the goods described in this manufacturer declaration have fulfilled the 30% Hong Kong value-added content requirement under CEPA and that product development costs are included in the Hong Kong value-added content.

13. Line Items

Information provided in the "Line Items" section should be identical to that in the "Product Descriptions for CO" section provided by the exporter.

Enquiry

Traders may approach the Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch of Trade and Industry Department (tel. no.: 3403 6432/ 2398 5525) for more information on lodging CO(CEPA) applications, or the Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (tel. no.: 2917 8888) if the query is related to the electronic submission.

 December 2008 

¹The GACOs are the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; the Federation of Hong Kong Industries; the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong.

²Separately, to facilitate the trade, the electronic submission also support input of Traditional Chinese in respect of the following fields:
(a) "Supporting Document Remarks" and "Special Declaration/Statement" in CO(CEPA) applications; and
(b) "Request Reason Remarks" and "Supporting Document Remarks" in CO(CEPA) cancellation requests