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

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref: FRCP 1000/20/7

26 April 2019

Dear Sirs,

Certificate of Origin Circular No. 3/2019

Commercial Information Circular No. 311/2019

Certificate of Preference Circular No. 3/2019

Notice to Exporters :

Series 1 (USA) No. 3/2019

Series 2 (EU) No. 4/2019

Series 3 (Countries other than USA & EU) No. 3/2019

Textiles Trader Registration Circular No. 4/2019

Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)
Agreement on Trade in Goods (The Agreement)
Request for Revisions to CEPA Rules of Origin (ROOs) (Arrangements for Making Requests in 2019)

Introduction

This circular outlines the arrangements for conducting Rules of Origin (ROOs) Consultations between the Mainland and Hong Kong and the application procedures for Hong Kong manufacturers to submit requests for revisions to CEPA ROOs under the Agreement on Trade in Goods (the Agreement) of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA).

Details

Arrangements for Conducting ROOs Consultations between the Mainland and Hong Kong under the Agreement

2.As stipulated in Certificate of Origin Circular No. 4/2018 issued by the Trade and Industry Department (TID) on 14 December 2018, the Mainland and Hong Kong have signed the Agreement on 14 December 2018, consolidating and updating the commitments on liberalization and facilitation of trade in goods under CEPA. The Agreement reaffirms that under CEPA, all goods of Hong Kong origin can enjoy zero tariff preference when importing into the Mainland1. The Agreement was implemented from 1 January 2019. According to the Agreement, a good will qualify as an originating good if it meets other applicable provisions, as well as2:

  1. the good is wholly obtained or produced in Hong Kong; or
  2. the good is produced in Hong Kong exclusively from originating materials; or
  3. the good is produced using non-originating materials in Hong Kong and
    1. the good falls within the scope of the Annex of the Agreement ("Product Specific Rules of Origin", where details can be found in TID's webpage at: https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa/tradegoods/rules_origin.html), and complies with the corresponding change in tariff classification, regional value content (RVC), manufacturing or processing operations or other requirements;
    2. the good does not fall within the scope of the Annex of the Agreement (Product Specific Rules of Origin), but complies with the requirement that the RVC is greater than or equal to 30% when calculated by the build-up method, or the RVC is greater than or equal to 40% when calculated by the build-down method ("General Rule").

A product shall not be considered as originating, if it has only undergone one or more of the minimal operations or processes.

3.If manufacturers need to request revisions to the CEPA ROOs due to improvement in production technology or other reasons, they can submit their proposed revisions according to their needs and provide relevant information. The Working Group on Rules of Origin established under the Agreement will conduct consultations on the proposed revisions to the ROOs in accordance with the mechanism and time frame as agreed between the Mainland and Hong Kong. The detailed implementation procedures for the ROOs Consultations in 2019 are as follows:

(1) Submission

Hong Kong manufacturers may submit requests for revisions to CEPA ROOs to TID. TID should, prior to 1 July, 1 October and 1 December in 2019 respectively, submit the verified and certified requests to the Mainland.

(2) Consultation and Promulgation

The Working Group on Rules of Origin shall complete the consultations on the CEPA ROOs before 1 October 2019, 1 January 2020 and 1 March 2020 respectively. Upon the completion of the consultations, the two sides will include the revised CEPA ROOs in the Annex of the Agreement (Product Specific Rules of Origin), and promulgate them.

(3) Implementation

The revised CEPA ROOs shall be implemented no later than 1 November 2019, 1 February 2020 and 1 April of 2020 respectively.

Submission of Applications by Hong Kong Manufacturers for Requesting Revisions to CEPA ROOs

4.Hong Kong manufacturers may wish to request revisions to CEPA ROOs for specific goods of Hong Kong origin pursuant to the procedures stated in paragraph 3 above. They are invited to provide information of the relevant goods and production details to TID by completing the application form attached to Annex (pdf format) of this circular. If manufacturers are not familiar or not sure about the Hong Kong Harmonized System (HKHS) codes for the goods covered by the applications, they are encouraged to complete the Census and Statistics Department's "Commodity Code Enquiry Form" (the form can be downloaded from the website of the Census and Statistics Department at http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/trader/hscode/index.jsp) and forward it to the Census and Statistics Department. In such cases, manufacturers should submit the application forms together with the replies by the Census and Statistics Department to TID. Manufacturers can send in their forms by fax or by email to the Certificate of Origin – CEPA Section (fax number : 2787 6048 / e-mail address : cepaco@tid.gov.hk), or return the forms in person or by post to the Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch, 14/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City, Hong Kong.

5.According to the time frame agreed by the Mainland and Hong Kong, TID will conduct ROOs consultations with the Mainland in respect of the goods requested by Hong Kong manufacturers 3 times in 2019 according to the date of receipt of the applications concerned. Applications received on or before 17 May 2019 will be included in the first round of consultations in 2019; while applications received from 18 May 2019 to 17 August 2019 will be included in the second round of consultations in 2019 and applications received from 18 August 2019 to 17 October 2019 will be included in the third round of consultations in 2019. Applications received after 17 October 2019 will be included in the next phase of consultations (in 2020).

Important Note

6.TID will keep the data provided by manufacturers in strict confidence. However, TID may under certain circumstances disclose such data to the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) or other government departments, or to third parties within or outside Hong Kong. These circumstances include the following: the disclosure is necessary to facilitate the verification, certification, or consultation procedures; the disclosure is authorised or required by the laws; or an explicit consent to the disclosure is given by the manufacturers concerned.

7.When filling in the application form (s), manufacturers should ensure that the information provided is accurate and complete. If there is any change in the information provided, manufacturers should immediately notify TID in writing. Furthermore, according to the arrangements for ROOs Consultations agreed by the Mainland and Hong Kong, TID should verify and certify the information provided by manufacturers. Therefore, for the purpose of verification and certification of the information provided by individual manufacturers, TID may require the manufacturers concerned to provide further information. TID may also request C&ED to seek entry into the office and factory premises of the manufacturers concerned in order to understand more about the applications. It is the responsibility of the manufacturers to provide necessary assistance when they are so required or requested.

8.Applicants/data subjects whose personal data are collected by TID may request access to such data under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, Cap. 486. Such requests should be made on the Data Access Request Form (No. OPS003) issued by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, which is available at TID's Information Counter on 1/F of the Trade and Industry Tower, or may be downloaded from TID's webpage. The completed form should be forwarded to the Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch of TID. A charge will be made to cover the cost of photocopying the data supplied. In addition, if the data subject considers that the data supplied to TID is inaccurate after a data access request has been complied with, a request for correction of the personal data may be made in writing.

Enquiries

9. For enquires on the content of this circular, please contact us through the following channels -

Address: Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch
14/F, Trade and Industry Tower
3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City
Hong Kong
Telephone No.: 3403 6432
Fax No.: 2787 6048
E-mail Address: cepaco@tid.gov.hk

Yours faithfully,




(Miss Relena KONG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

1 Imported goods do not include those prohibited by the Mainland's rules and regulations and those prohibited as a result of the implementation of international treaties by the Mainland, as well as products that the Mainland has made special commitments in relevant international agreements.
2 For definition of originating goods and related information, please refer to the Certificate of Origin Circular No. 4/2018 issued by TID on 14 December 2018 at https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/all_in_one/2018/as022018.html.