Ref. : GL 201
31 December 2003
To : All shipping companies, airlines and
freight forwarders registered under
the Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme; and
Trade and Industrial Associations
Dear Sirs,
Unified Road Cargo Manifest for Cross-boundary
Truck Drivers Crossing at Land Boundary Control Points
Introduction
This circular informs the industry that with effect from 1 January 2004, the Customs General Administration of the People's Republic of China and the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department will implement unified road cargo manifest to facilitate customs clearance. To enable the industry to adapt to the change, there will be a transitional period of six months during which both the existing and the new road cargo manifests are accepted.
Background
2.According to the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60), the person in charge of a vehicle, on entering or leaving Hong Kong, shall furnish a manifest on demand in respect of the cargo on board. To speed up cargo and vehicle flows at the land boundary control points and to facilitate the trade, the Customs on both sides have reached consensus on the content and format of the unified road cargo manifest.
3.Starting from 1 January 2004, drivers or carriers need to compile just one instead of two sets of road cargo manifest for submission to both Customs while crossing at the land boundary control points at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok.
4.Each set of the unified road cargo manifest (Annex (pdf format)) comprises six copies. The first two copies are for submission to the Mainland Customs, the third copy for Hong Kong Customs, the fourth and the fifth copies for Trade and Industry Department and Census and Statistics Department respectively (to be collected by the Hong Kong Customs on behalf of these departments at the land boundary control points) and the sixth copy is for the driver's retention.
5.To enable the industry to adapt to the change, both Customs will give a transitional period of six months during which both the existing and new road cargo manifests are accepted.
Enquiries
6.If you have any enquiries about the implementation of the unified road cargo manifest, please contact the Lok Ma Chau Control Point of the Hong Kong Customs at telephone number 2482 8812 between 7 am and 10 pm from Mondays to Fridays or visit their website at http://www.customs.gov.hk/.
Yours faithfully,
(Miss Judy TING)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry