Subject to paragraph 4 below, the TTRS covers the following :

(a) imports of textiles from any country or place;

(b) exports of textiles which are not of Hong Kong origin to any country or place;

(c) transhipments of textiles from any country or place to any other country or place;

(d) exports of textiles of Hong Kong origin to countries or places which do not maintain quantitative restrictions on textiles exports from Hong Kong. These are countries and places other than the EU (note 1), the USA, Canada and Norway; and

(e) exports of textiles samples of Hong Kong origin to the USA which satisfy the conditions referred to in paragraph 21 below.

The TTRS does not cover:

(a) imports and exports of textiles falling within the scope of the Special Export and Import Licensing (Textiles) Scheme for export to the USA, i.e. piece-knitted garments assembled outside Hong Kong from knit-to-shape panels of Hong Kong origin;

(b) exports to the USA of piece-knitted garments assembled in Hong Kong from knit-to-shape panels of non-Hong Kong origin; and

(c) imports and exports of textiles from/to any country or place which is subject to trade sanctions imposed by the United Nations.

Traders, including importers, exporters, manufacturers, carriers and freight forwarders, who are carrying on the business of importing or exporting textiles or handling transhipment cargo of textiles referred to in paragraph 3 above may apply for registration as a textiles trader under the TTRS.

Traders interested in the TTRS can complete an Application for Registration as a Textiles Trader, which is available from Counters No. 1 and 2 of the Textiles Trader Registration Office (TTR Office) on 1/F of the Trade Department, and return it together with the green copy of the machine-printed pay-in slip (evidencing payment of the registration fee at any branch of the Hongkong Bank), and other supporting documents specified in the Application, either by hand or by registered mail to the TTR Office, 1/F, Trade Department, Trade Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon. On approval, a Certificate of Registration as a Textiles Trader, valid for one year, will be issued and sent to the applicant by registered mail.

About two months before the expiry of their registration, the Trade Department will send to registered traders a letter advising them of the upcoming expiry and the procedure for the renewal of their registration. Enclosed to the letter will be an Application for Renewal of Registration as a Textiles Trader and a payment slip. If they wish to renew their registration, they should complete and return the application, either by hand or by registered mail, together with the green copy of the machine-printed pay-in slip (evidencing payment of the registration fee at any branch of the Hongkong Bank) and other supporting documents specified in the Application to the TTR Office. On approval, their registration will be renewed for 12 months. If traders do not receive the letter one month before the expiry of their registration, they should contact the TTR Office. It is in traders'own interests to make sure that their application for renewal is submitted well before the expiry of their registration.

A breach of any of the conditions of exemption by a registered textiles trader renders the registration and exemption granted to him liable to be revoked or suspended by the Director-General of Trade without refund of the registration fee, irrespective of whether legal and/or other administrative actions are taken against him.

The information provided and the declarations made by a trader on the Application for Registration as a Textiles Trader and Application for Renewal of Registration as a Textiles Trader must be true and correct. Registration obtained on the basis of false material particulars in an application is void from the start. Notifications issued by the purported Registrant' are likewise void from the beginning, since no exemption should ever have been granted in the absence of valid registration.

A registered textiles trader is required to immediately inform the Director-General of Trade in writing of any change of particulars in the Application for Registration as a Textiles Trader and Application for Renewal of Registration as a Textiles Trader.

When a registered textiles trader relies on the exemption granted to him under the TTRS to import or export textiles, he must complete an appropriate notification form purchased from (note 2 ) the Trade Department and deliver it to the carrier for onward delivery to the Trade Department.

Notification forms, purchased from the Trade Department by a registered textiles trader, must be kept in safe custody and must not be transferred for use by others, irrespective of whether they are registered under the TTRS.

Any person who signs a notification on behalf of a registered textiles trader must be duly authorized by him for that purpose. Since notifications are printed on No-Carbon-Required (NCR) paper, a signatory should sign only on the Trade Department' Copy of a notification.

Information provided and declarations made in a notification must be true and correct and in accordance with all relevant specifications made by the Director-General of Trade. In this connection, notifications must be completed in the manner and in accordance with the requirements specified in Textiles Trader Registration Circular No.7/98 dated 21 August 1998.

Textiles exported under the cover of an Export Notification I (Textiles) must be of Hong Kong origin in accordance with specifications laid down by the Director-General of Trade in Certificate of Origin circulars.

Subject to paragraph 19 below, an Export Notification I (Textiles) must contain the particulars and declaration of the manufacturer of the goods in respect of which the Notification is made. The manufacturer, who must be a registered textiles trader under the TTRS, must keep accurate and up-to-date books and records (note 3) relating to the manufacture of the goods covered by the Export Notification I (Textiles), together with a photocopy of the Notification duly signed by him. Any books and records and photocopies of Notifications required to be kept under this paragraph must be kept by the manufacturer at his registered premises for a two-year period from the date of exportation of the goods, and must be produced for inspection upon request by officers of the Customs and Excise Department or the Trade Department, irrespective of whether his registration under the TTRS has been cancelled, revoked, suspended or has expired. The Director-General of Trade reserves the right to specify the format of the documentation required to be kept.

Textiles covered by an Export Notification II (Textiles) must be textiles which are not of Hong Kong origin, having regard to specifications laid down by the Director-General of Trade in Certificate of Origin circulars.

Textiles covered by an Export Notification III (Textiles) must be properly marked samples of Hong Kong origin not exceeding US$250 in f.o.b. value for export to the USA and satisfy the conditions set out at Annex II. Textiles covered by an Export Notification IV (Textiles) must be mutilated or stamped samples of Hong Kong origin having no commercial value for export to the USA and satisfy the conditions set out at Annex III. (Remark : Please see TTRC Circular No.3/01 on the revised conditions for the use of Export Notification III)

The registered textiles trader must deliver :

(a) in respect of imports, the Trade Department's Copy of the Import Notification (Textiles) to the carrier at the time of the importation of the goods concerned. There is no objection for the document to be delivered to the carrier before the importation.

(b) in respect of exports, the Trade Department's Copy of the Export Notification I (Textiles), Export Notification II (Textiles), Export Notification III (Textiles) or Export Notification IV (Textiles), as appropriate, to the carrier before the exportation of the goods concerned. Where the textiles to be exported were previously imported into Hong Kong and are not entitled to a Certificate of Hong Kong Origin, the Trade Department's Copy of the Export Notification II (Textiles) should be accompanied by a photocopy of the Import Notification (Textiles) or Import Licence (Textiles) under which the textiles were previously imported. The name and address of the foreign exporter, name and address of the importer (including importer’s declaration), and C.I.F. value of the goods in the photocopy may be blotted out.

These documents will be delivered by the carrier to the Director-General of Trade in the manner specified in paragraphs 40 and 41 below.

An importer/exporter registered under the TTRS must keep the Importer's/Exporter's Copy of a notification and other relevant documents including :

(a) for imports, the order, the bill of lading/air waybill, the packing list, the invoice and records on the disposal (including sales) of the goods imported; and

(b) for exports, the order, the bill of lading/air waybill, the packing list, the invoice and the shipping order or shipper's instruction,

pertaining to the goods covered by the notification. They should be kept at his registered premises for a two-year period from the date the consignment is imported or exported, irrespective of whether the registration has been cancelled, revoked, suspended, or has expired. Such documents must be produced for inspection upon request by officers of the Customs and Excise Department or the Trade Department.

Transhipment Notifications (Textiles) can be used only by carriers and freight forwarders registered under the TTRS for, among others, the purpose of handling transhipment cargo. To be able to make use of Transhipment Notifications (Textiles), a freight forwarder registered under the TTRS must remain appointed, as an agent for the purpose of handling transhipment cargo, by at least one of the local shipping or airline companies named in his Application for Registration as a Textiles Trader. If the agency agreement between the freight forwarder and any one of the shipping or airline companies is terminated, the freight forwarder must immediately inform the Director-General of Trade in writing of the termination of that agency agreement. Where all agency agreements (i.e. with all the shipping or airline companies named in his Application) have been terminated, he must immediately so inform the Director-General of Trade in writing and surrender his Certificate of Registration as a Textiles Trader to the Trade Department for cancellation.

Where a single carrier or freight forwarder is responsible for arranging both the in-bound journey and the out-bound journey of the transhipment cargo and hence completing the full set of a Transhipment Notification, particulars relating to the cargo, other than those stated below, may be omitted from the Transhipment Notification (Textiles), if they are clearly shown on the through bill of lading/through air waybill attached to the notification :

1. particulars of the carrier/freight forwarder (name, address, Business Registration number, telephone number, fax number, Textiles Trader Registration Number and validity period of registration);

2. date of arrival, name of in-bound carrier, name of vessel and voyage/flight/vehicle number;

3. date of departure, name of out-bound carrier, name of vessel and voyage/flight/vehicle number (These particulars can be omitted from the In-Bound copy of the notification if they are not available at the time of importation but must be provided on the Out-Bound copy);

4. country of final destination; and

5. particulars required in the Carrier's/Freight Forwarder's Declaration box (country of first loading, through bill of lading/through air waybill number etc.).

Particulars relating to (a) to (e) above must be provided on the Transhipment Notification (Textiles).

A carrier/freight forwarder who makes use of a through bill of lading/through air waybill to supplement the particulars of the transhipment cargo on the Transhipment Notification (Textiles) in accordance with paragraph 28 above must make the following declaration on the through bill of lading/through air waybill attached to the notification:

"his is the through bill of lading/through air waybill referred to in Transhipment Notification (Textiles) Number: ________________

(Signature)
(Business Chop)


(Name of Signatory in Block Letters)
(Date)

While the Transhipment Notification (Textiles) is printed on Non-Carbon-Required (NCR) paper, the Trade Department’s Copy (In-Bound) should be signed separately from the Trade Department’s Copy (Out-Bound), i.e. they should each bear an original signature.

The Transhipment Notification (In-bound) and the Transhipment Notification (Out-bound) respectively covering the import and subsequent re-export of a textiles transhipment must come from one and the same set of Transhipment Notification, i.e. they should bear the same Notification Number.

The freight forwarder making use of a Transhipment Notification (Textiles) must deliver :

(a) in respect of the in-bound journey, the Trade Department's Copy (In-Bound) of the notification and a copy of the relevant through bill of lading/through air waybill issued at the original port of loading indicating Hong Kong as a transhipment port to the carrier at the time of importation of the goods concerned. There is no objection for the documents to be delivered to the carrier before the importation.

(b) in respect of the out-bound journey, the Trade Department's Copy (Out-Bound) of the notification and a copy of the relevant through bill of lading/through air waybill issued at the original port of loading indicating Hong Kong as a transhipment port to the carrier before the exportation of the goods concerned.

These documents will be delivered by the carrier to the Director-General of Trade in the manner specified in paragraphs 40 and 41 below.

Unless an Import/Transhipment Notification (Textiles) is produced to a carrier at the time of importation of the textiles concerned, the carrier shall retain possession of the textiles (other than those specifically exempted by the law from import licensing requirement) imported into Hong Kong until there is produced to him an Import Licence covering the textiles under importation.

A carrier must not accept any textiles for export until there is produced to him an Export/Transhipment Notification (Textiles) or an Export Licence (Textiles), as the case may be, prior to the exportation of the textiles concerned.

Upon receipt of an Import/Export Notification (Textiles) from the importer/exporter who is registered under the TTRS, the carrier must clearly state :

(a) the relevant Textiles Trader Registration Number and notification number in the manifest concerned; and

(b) the date of arrival/departure of the textiles, the name of vessel where appropriate, and the relevant voyage/flight/vehicle number in the notification.

In respect of a Transhipment Notification (Textiles), the carrier must similarly provide the information mentioned in paragraph 37 above in the manifest and notification concerned.

In respect of exports of textiles samples to the USA covered by Export Notifications III (Textiles), a carrier must make sure that each consignment must not be exported in or on the same vessel, aircraft or vehicle together with any other marked commercial sample or samples exported by the same textiles trader to the same consignee.

For importation, exportation and transhipment of textiles, irrespective of the mode of transportation, the carrier is required under the Import and Export (General) Regulations to deliver the notification/licence and the relevant manifest covering the textiles concerned to the Director-General of Trade within 14 days after the day on which the textiles are imported/exported.

The Trade Department works closely with the Customs and Excise Department to ensure the integrity of the TTRS. Documentation checks on notifications and manifests, physical checks on textiles consignments and visits to the registered premises of traders will be carried out by officers of the two Departments to ensure that the provisions of the TTRS are complied with.

The Trade Department takes a serious view on textiles traders breaching any of the conditions of exemption under the TTRS. A registered textiles trader who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the conditions of exemption commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 2 years under the Import and Export Ordinance. Furthermore, the Director-General of Trade may take administrative actions against him independent and irrespective of any prosecution action which may be instituted against him. Such administrative actions may involve but shall not necessarily be confined to the revocation and suspension of any exemption and/or registration granted without refund of the registration fee, and the refusal to renew any exemption and/or registration granted.

Enquiries relating to the contents of this circular can be directed to the following officers :