Press Release

TID's five-day week to have little impact on businesses
Thursday, June 22, 2006

The Trade and Industry Department (TID) is ready for a smooth migration to a five-day working week on July 1.

The Director of Trade and Industry, Mr Raymond Young, said the department had taken extra steps to inform customers its new work pattern and had worked out detailed plans to ensure that quality service would be maintained.

In response to concerns that the implementation of the five-day week in the TID could affect traders who have urgent needs for services like Certificates of Origin (CO) or Production Notifications (PN) on Saturdays, the department assures the business community that the impact on traders would be minimal.

"Our clients are mostly business entities or their couriers who should have no problem using the TID's services during our opening hours on weekdays. Other than coming to our office in Mong Kok in person, our customers can obtain most of our services through alternative means," Mr Young added. 

For example, applications for COs and lodgement of PNs are already 100% electronic and can be submitted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Applications for COs can also be made through the five Government Approved Certification Organisations (GACOs), which are already handling over 99% of all our CO applications. The GACOs and inspection teams of Customs and Excise Department will continue to work on Saturdays after July 1.

With the global elimination of textile quotas last year, the licensing requirement for textile trade has also been streamlined. At present, 99% of textile shipments are covered by textiles notifications or Comprehensive Licences. They can either be lodged electronically or downloaded by the licence holder through the department's designated online service round - the clock without the need to visit the TID office. "As always, the department will exercise flexibility and expedite the processing for genuinely urgent cases as far as practicable," Mr Young said.

"The TID carefully assessed the needs of traders and the impact on Hong Kong businesses when formulating the implementation plan for the five-day week. Major stakeholders were consulted before the plan was finalised.

"The service hours on weekdays will be extended to compensate for the service hours on Saturdays. Some sections, including those providing textiles-related services, have longer business hours on Mondays and Fridays when our counters are busier. A full range of business and consultation services will be provided throughout lunch hours at the Support and Consultation Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises (SUCCESS) to cater for the needs of SMEs," he said.

Traders can also download over 80 application forms from the TID website. "In line with the Government's general policy, we will continue to explore measures to help traders to access our services through electronic means. An enhanced SUCCESS website will be launched shortly and an on-line system for lodging factory registration applications is scheduled for early next year," he added.

The TID has reached out to inform its clients of the new opening hours. Apart from displaying and distributing posters, fliers and a list of TID hotlines at our service counters and uploading the new service hours onto the dedicated webpage of the departmental website, e-mail notifications, letters, e-newsletters, trade circulars and information notes are being sent to customers on its mailing lists. Information leaflets have been distributed over the counter since early last month.

To obtain more information about the new service hours of the TID on-line, visit web page www.tid.gov.hk or call the hotline, 2392 2922.

Ends