Certificate of Origin Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

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

Ref :FRCP 515

24 December 2008

Dear Sirs,

Certificate of Origin Circular No. 18/2008

Introduction of On-line Application for
Amendment of Factory Registration Particulars Service

Introduction

This circular informs manufacturers registered with the Trade and Industry Department ("the Department") for Factory Registration (FR) that the Department will launch an On-line Application for Amendment of Factory Registration Particulars Service ("the Service") as from 31 December 2008.

The Service

2. The Service provides an alternative channel for registered manufacturers to apply for amendment of their registration particulars. Apart from making applications by email, by fax, by post or in person, registered manufacturers intending to amend their registration particulars may from 31 December 2008 do so through the "E-Services" webpage of the Department.
   
   
3. To use the Service, registered manufacturers can visit the "E-Services" webpage (http://www.tid.gov.hk/eservice) and follow the online instructions. The major steps are as follows:

1. Create a User Login Account (ULA).
   
   
2. Select "Application for Amendment of Registration Particulars". For added security, the registered manufacturer is required to choose a "FR Signatory Password".
   
   
3. Select the type of FR particulars to be amended and enter the revised particulars, which can be saved for further editing before the application is lodged with the Department.
   
   
4. Registered manufacturers may send the requisite supporting documents to the Department by using the on-line upload or fax functions.
   

Upon receipt of the on-line application and all the requisite supporting documents, the Department will process the application. For amendment of material registration particulars, factory inspection(s) will be conducted by officers of the Customs and Excise Department before the Department can consider approval of the application.

4. Apart from lodgment of applications to amend FR particulars, registered manufacturers can also use the Service to provide up-to-date Product Particulars and Production Capacity (PPPC) Information to the Department. The major steps are as follows:

1. The Department will notify registered manufacturers by post, and also by email if they are holders of ULA, when provision of PPPC information is required.
   
   
2. Create a ULA through the "E-Services" webpage if necessary.
   
   
3. Select "Lodgment of Product Particulars and Production Capacity Information". Input the "FR Signatory Password".
   
   
4. The registered products of the manufacturer will be shown. Enter the requisite information including number of workers employed and quantity of products produced during the specified production period. The information can be saved for further editing before it is lodged with the Department.
   

5. Notwithstanding the launch of the Service on 31 December 2008, the existing channels of lodging applications to amend FR particulars or providing PPPC information will continue to be accepted.

Benefit of the Service

6. Parallel to the launch of the Service, the Department will introduce a performance target with shorter turnaround time for on-line applications for amendment of FR particulars which does not require factory inspection. The relevant performance targets will be:

Conditions and Requirements for FR

7. The prevailing registration conditions and requirements for FR will remain unchanged with the introduction of the Service. Registered manufacturers may wish to refer to the relevant trade circulars issued by the Director-General of Trade and Industry from time to time, which can be downloaded from the homepage (http://www.tid.gov.hk) of the Department.

Warning

8. Registered manufacturers are reminded that approval of Factory Registration and the continuation of registration are conditional upon compliance with the conditions of registration set out under the Import and Export Ordinance, in the application for FR, or in the relevant Notices of Exporters/Certificate of Origin Circulars issued by the Department from time to time.
   
   
9. Failure by registered manufacturers to comply with any condition of registration or breach of undertaking constitutes an offence under the Import and Export (General) Regulations and Export (Certificates of Origin) Regulations and is liable on conviction to a fine of HK$500,000 and 2 years' imprisonment. The Department may, in addition to legal actions, take administrative actions against the parties concerned. Such administrative actions may include, but shall not necessarily be confined to, any or all of the following: refusal to issue a Certificate of Origin, suspension of certification services or cancellation of Factory Registration.
   

Enquiries

10. Enquires on the Service should be directed to the following office:

Yours faithfully,

(Herman KWAN)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry