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Notice to Exporters 24-hour hotline : 23 922 922
e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk
Ref : SR 45/5
27 June 2003
Dear Sirs,
Notice to Exporters
Series 1 (USA) No. 44/2003
Series 2 (EU) No. 35/2003
Series 3 (Countries other than USA & EU) No. 39/2003
Expeditious Issue and Amendment of Textiles Export Licences
The Department is operating a service for the expeditious issue and amendment of textiles export licences(note1). Under this service, the concerned textiles export licence applications or amendments can be processed and be ready for issue within 24 hours, barring any intervening holidays. This notice sets out the procedures for traders who may wish to avail themselves of this service.
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Traders may wish to know that instant service for the issue of textiles export licences in respect of exports of samples, unaccompanied personal effects and gifts to all markets has already been operated by the Department. For details of the licensing arrangements, please refer to the relevant Notices to Exporters.
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Notice to Exporters (All Series) entitled "Expeditious Issue and Amendment of Restrained Textiles Export Licences By Electronic Data Interchange Service" and the one entitled "Expeditious Issue and Amendment of Export Licences", both dated 1 March 2002, are hereby superseded.
How requests should be made
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In order not to affect the Department's normal licensing services, requests for expeditious issue and amendment of textiles export licence would be entertained only in special circumstances where the applicant, for acceptable reasons, cannot wait for the normal turnaround time. All such requests have to be made on a Request Form (specimen at Appendix I (pdf format)) and supported by documents evidencing unforeseen urgency. Examples of circumstances in which a request may be entertained include cases where there are last minute changes to the shipment date required by the buyer; where a textiles export licence previously taken out has been lost in a natural disaster (e.g. a fire); or where there has been unforeseen delay in the departure date of the carrying vessel (e.g. due to engine trouble or typhoon) beyond the validity period of a textiles export licence previously taken out.
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The Request Form, together with supporting documents (e.g. correspondence with overseas buyer/shipping company, shipping order and revised shipping schedule, etc.) and the textiles export licence application, if applicable, (or textiles export licence plus the duly completed amendment form, where amendment is required), should be forwarded by hand to the following locations of the Department at Trade and Industry Department Tower :
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Floor
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Location
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Export |
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Canada, the EU and the USA |
2 |
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Markets other than above |
1 |
Rm 101A, Textiles Import/Export Licensing Unit |
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Re-export |
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All markets |
1 |
Rm 101A, Textiles Import/Export Licensing Unit |
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To request for expeditious issue and amendment of Restrained Textiles Export Licence (RTEL), traders should send in the corresponding EDI messages in the normal way first before making the request as stated in paragraph 5 above. To facilitate the processing of such a request, traders are reminded to ensure that the Unique Application Reference (UAR) or textiles export licence number quoted on the Request Form is correct. Unclear or wrong UAR or textiles export licence number quoted may cause delay in processing of the concerned RTEL application or amendment. It would facilitate the processing of the application if traders can also provide a printed copy of the EDI message or a copy of the application form endorsed by a Tradelink Service Centre.
Receipt of request
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Requests for expeditious issue and amendment of textiles export licence will be considered immediately upon receipt at the above locations. If the request is in order, prima facie, a receipt bearing a receipt number will be issued to the applicant. The applicant will also be informed of the approximate time when the textiles export licence should be ready for collection. However, acceptance of such an expeditious request does not imply automatic approval of the concerned textiles export licence application or amendment, which will be processed according to normal criteria. The Director-General of Trade and Industry at all times reserves the right to refuse an expeditious request.
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If the expeditious request cannot be entertained, the entire set of documents including the licence application and/or the textiles export licence, if any, will be returned to the applicant immediately and the applicant will be informed of the reason by a Rejection Form (specimen at Appendix II (pdf format)). The Request Form will be retained by the Department for record purpose. However, rejection of any expeditious requests does not have any implication on the concerned textiles export licence applications or amendments. Such applications or amendments will continue to be accepted for processing by the Department when lodged in the normal way.
Important note
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Requests for expeditious issue and amendment of textiles export licence will generally be entertained if there are acceptable reasons. However, since the need for expeditious issue is expected to be the exception rather than the rule, this service may be suspended in respect of applicants who have been found to have made use of the service more frequently than is considered reasonable. As a general rule, not more than 5 requests (RTELs and Form 4 textiles export licences included) from each company will be entertained during any one month. The Director-General of Trade and Industry at all times reserves the right to determine whether, in any case, the reasons given to support for an expeditious request are acceptable and the frequency involved is reasonable.
Enquiries
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Should you require further information, please contact the following units of the Department :
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Unit
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Telephone No. |
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Export |
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Canada, the EU and the USA |
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Customer Service Centre,
Textiles Controls Branch |
2398 5288 |
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Markets other than above |
Textiles Import/Export Licensing Unit |
2398 5464 |
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Re-export |
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All markets |
Textiles Import/Export Licensing Unit |
2398 5464 |
Yours faithfully,
(Ms Fanny WONG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry
note 1 : For the USA market, this service for expeditious issue and amendment of textiles export licence is not available for certain types of Form 4 export licence applications which require specific supporting documents. For enquiries, please contact the Non-restrained Section (USA) of Textiles Controls Branch (Americas) at 2398 5440.
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Electronic services for Restrained Textiles Export Licence, Production Notification and Certificate of Origin enable traders to make the relevant applications directly through their office computer faster and easier. Electronic service has now been extended to the submission of Cargo Manifests and Textiles Notifications. For details and enquiries, please call Tradelink at 2599 1700. |
For enquiries and complaints about factory audit check, factory inspection, production verification and consignment checks, please contact the Customs and Excise Department at the following telephone numbers :
| Factory Audit Check Division |
2398 5218 |
| Consignment and Factory Inspection Division 1 |
2398 5240 |
| Consignment and Factory Inspection Division 2 |
2417 6011 |
| Complaint Hotline |
8100 3553 | |
Note : The Chinese text of this Notice to Exporters is for reference only. In case of discrepancies between the English and Chinese texts, the English text shall for all purposes be conclusive. |
