Full Migration to Electronic Submission of Production Notification
Wednesday, December 22, 1999

The Trade Department announced today (Wednesday) that the full electronic data interchange (EDI) service for Production Notification (PN) will be implemented as from 28 February 2000.

All registered manufacturers producing cut-and-sewn garments destined for restrained markets are required to notify Trade Department regarding the production details by submitting a PN within three working days before they start the principal assembly process in Hong Kong. EDI service for PN commenced operation on 23 July 1999. EDI service enables traders to save time and costs as the whole process of lodging and validation of PN has become paperless. Turnaround time in obtaining a response to the PN lodgement is much shortened with electronic processing.

"Five months following the introduction of EDI service for PN, the average EDI take-up rate reached 70%, with the highest daily take-up rate recorded at 75%," said a Trade Department spokesman. "For the benefits of traders and for improved efficiency and increased competitiveness of the Hong Kong business community as a whole, we wish to achieve full EDI service for PN as soon as possible. With the enthusiastic response of traders to the paperless mode of operation of PN and the full support and endorsement of the Textiles Advisory Board, we have decided to introduce full migration to EDI service for PN as from 28 February 2000.

"The majority of the PN applicants have already switched to EDI. For those who have, for one reason or another, yet to get ready to make use of EDI service, they may patronise the electronic trading access service provided by Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (Tradelink)," the spokesman said.

From mid-January 2000 onwards, service centres for PN will start operation. They will be responsible for data input and message generation at a service charge of $25 per PN.

PN is the second statutory document processed by Trade Department to go on full EDI service following the successful full migration of EDI service for Restrained Textiles Export Licence (RTEL) on January 1, 1999. EDI service for Certificate of Origin (CO) has also been introduced from August 1999. Full migration to EDI service for CO is targeted in the second half of 2000.