Registration and Certification Publications

HOW TO APPLY FOR A CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN FORM A

What is a Certificate of Origin Form A

A Certificate of Origin Form A, also known as Generalised Preference Certificate or, simply, as a 'Form A', is used to support certain Hong Kong products for claim to preferential tariff entry into a number of countries under the generalised systems of preferences (GSP) they operate. Hong Kong is a beneficiary under the schemes operated by Canada and the Russian Federation.

A Certificate of Origin Form A is issued only when it has been established that the goods concerned are manufactured by factories registered with the Trade and Industry Department and have met both the origin criteria of Hong Kong and the relevant origin criteria as stipulated under the respective donor country's generalised system of preferences. The Trade and Industry Department is responsible for the issue of Certificates of Origin Form A to all the aforementioned GSP donating countries. The five Government Approved Certification Organizations (see section on 'Other issuing organizations') are also authorised to issue preference certificates for GSP exports to Canada and the Russian Federation. The latest information on the product coverage, rules of origin and other aspects of the different schemes is regularly announced to the trade by way of circulars issued by the Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch of the Trade and Industry Department.

Submission of Application and Certificate of Origin Form A

The products eligible for GSP benefit differ from one generalised system of preferences to another, and so do the required origin criteria. Therefore, before submitting application for a Certificate of Origin Form A, the exporter or manufacturer should first find out from the Trade and Industry Department whether the products to be exported are eligible for preferences and whether they meet the applicable origin criteria.

An application for a Certificate of Origin Form A issued by the Department must be made on a prescribed form - TIC 185B (Rev.). The form can be purchased at the following office:

Trade and Industry Department
Collection Office
Room 104
1/F, Trade and Industry Department Tower
700 Nathan Road
Kowloon

Certificates of Origin Form A are available for sale at the following stationers:

  1. Ying Wah Offset Printing Press
    Room 12, 2/F, Block A
    Wah Tat Industrial Centre
    8-10 Wah Sing Street
    Kwai Hing
    New Territories
    (Enquiry : 2401 1080)

  2. Swindon Book Co. Ltd.
    13 - 15, Lock Road
    Tsim Sha Tsui
    Kowloon
    (Enquiry : 2366 8001)

  3. Cheung Lee Printing Co.
    Room I, 10/F, Block 1,
    Golden Dragon Industrial Center
    152-160 Tai Lin Pai Road,
    Kwai Chung,
    New Territories
    (Enquiry : 2543 8069)

Both the application form and the certificate should be completed by typewriting. Identical information for copies of the application form and of the certificate should be reproduced by using carbon papers. Notes advising on how to complete the application form and the certificate are at Appendices One and Two respectively. Further guidance can be obtained from the Customer Service Centre, Textiles Licensing Branch of the Trade and Industry Department (see section on 'Enquiries').

For each consignment, a Form A application form (TIC 185B (Rev.)) in duplicate together with a Certificate of Origin Form A in triplicate should be submitted to the Customer Service Centre of Textiles Licensing Branch on the second floor of Trade and Industry Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon. The submission should be made at least two clear working days before the departure date of the carrying vessel (this does not include the day of submission, the departure day and intervening public holidays and Sundays). Upon submission, a fee currently at $324 by means of postage stamps affixed to or franked on the original copy of the application form (in yellow) is charged. A numbered receipt will then be issued to the applicant, together with the duplicate of the application form (in light pink) which is retained by the applicant for record purposes.

If everything is in order, the Certificate of Origin Form A will be approved by the Department. The original plus the duplicate of the certificate will be issued to the applicant against the relevant receipt through the Customer Service Centre of Textiles Licensing Branch on the second floor of Trade and Industry Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon. The triplicate and the application form will be retained by the Department. Normally, a certificate is issued in 1.5 clear working days after submission. However, it may take a longer time if the preferential eligibility of the products under application is in doubt and physical verification is required.

If the Certificate of Origin Form A application is to be refused, a refusal letter will be issued to the applicant, stating the reasons for the refusal. The full set of application form and Certificate of Origin Form A will then be retained by the Department. The Department reserves the right to issue, refuse or cancel any application. After submission of an application, the application fee is not refundable in any circumstances.

Amendment of the Certificate of Origin Form A and the Application

When amendments are required on the Certificate of Origin Form A and the application form after the documents have been submitted to the Department or after the Certificate of Origin Form A has been issued, the amendment procedure in force has to be followed. Details of the amendment procedure can be obtained from the Customer Service Centre, Textiles Licensing Branch of the Department.

Late Submission of Application for Certificate of Origin Form A

Applications for Certificates of Origin Form A are required to be submitted at least two clear working days in advance of the departure date of the carrying vessel. If the application is not submitted in accordance with this condition, the Department reserves the right not to accept such late submissions.

Application for Retrospective Issue of Certificate of Origin Form A

As a general rule, the Department will not accept applications for Certificates of Origin Form A after the goods have been shipped. However, in very special cases (e.g. where the failure to apply before shipment was caused by external circumstances which were not controlled by the applicant), late applications may be accepted. In such circumstances, the exporter has to submit the whole set of application forms and certificates together with the following supporting documents:

  1. a covering letter explaining the reasons for the late application;

  2. a copy of the commercial invoice and the bill of lading/air waybill/postal receipt in respect of the consignments covered by the certificate;

  3. a cost statement of the goods concerned if applicable; and

  4. packing list.

This request should be submitted to the Certificate of Origin/Form A Section of the Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch for approval. The Department may request the exporter to produce samples of the goods covered by the certificate for inspection. Further guidance can be obtained from the Customer Service Centre, Textiles Licensing Branch of the Department (see section on 'Enquiries').

Other Issuing Organizations

Apart from the Trade and Industry Department, the following five Government Approved Certification Organizations are also authorised to issue Certificates of Origin Form A for GSP exports to Canada and the Russian Federation:

  1. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
    3/F, Silvercorp International Tower
    707-713 Nathan Road
    Kowloon
    (Enquiry: 2398 6024)

  2. The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong
    2/F, 69 Wyndham Street
    Hong Kong
    (Enquiry : 2525 0138)

  3. Federation of Hong Kong Industries
    Suite 1701, Wai Fung Plaza
    664 Nathan Road
    Kowloon
    (Enquiry : 2396 3318)

  4. The Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong
    1/F, CMA Building
    64 Connaught Road Central
    Hong Kong
    (Enquiry : 2545 6166)

  5. The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce
    4/F, 24-25 Connaught Road Central
    Hong Kong
    (Enquiry : 2526 0623)

Enquiries regarding the issue of certificates by these organizations should be made to the Certification Offices of these organizations.

Penalties for Malpractice

Certificates of Origin Form A issued by the Trade and Industry Department and the five Government Approved Certification Organizations are legally protected. Furnishing false information on a Certificate of Origin Form A application/certificate or misuse of the certificate may result in a maximum fine of $500,000 and two years' imprisonment.

Enquiries

All enquiries about issue of Certificates of Origin Form A by the Trade and Industry Department should be directed to :

Certificate of Origin/Form A Section
Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch
Trade and Industry Department
3/F, Trade and Industry Department Tower
700 Nathan Road
Kowloon
(Tel. 2398 5545)




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Last revision date: 12 November 2010