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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
MY COLOUR

Certificate of Origin Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref. : TID CL CO/200

25 March 2022

Dear Sirs,

Certificate of Origin Circular No. 2/2022

Certificate of Hong Kong Origin (CHKO) and
Certificate of Origin - Processing (COP)

Issuance of Certificate in Electronic File Format and
Introduction of Online Verification Service

I. Introduction

This Certificate of Origin Circular (CoC) informs the trade of the arrangement for Trade and Industry Department (TID) and Government Approved Certification Organizations (GACO)s1 (hereafter collectively referred to as "Issuing Organizations") to issue non-preferential Certificate of Hong Kong Origin (CHKO)2 and Certificate of Origin - Processing (COP) in electronic file format and the introduction of online verification service for CHKO/COP with effect from 1 April 2022.

Background and the New Services

2.Currently, traders can make use of the electronic platforms provided by the service providers (SPs) under the Government Electronic Trading Services (GETS)3 to apply for CHKO/COP from the Issuing Organizations. Upon receipt of the approval message, the exporter will collect the certificate in paper format from the relevant Issuing Organization.

3.In order to facilitate e-commerce and paperless trading, and to ensure uninterrupted certification service in the event of special work arrangement including work-from-home and suspension of counter services during the pandemic, the Issuing Organizations will commence to issue CHKO/COP in electronic file format at the request of the exporter. In tandem with the new arrangement, an online service for verification of CHKO/COP will also be introduced. Both new services will be launched on 1 April 2022.

II. Issuance of CHKO/COP

Application Procedures for CHKO/COP in Electronic File Format

4.With the introduction of the new service, exporters may opt for issuance of CHKO/COP in either paper format or electronic file format subject to business needs.

5.An email address is required for the exporter to receive a verification code if the CHKO/COP application is approved. At the discretion of the exporter, the verification code may be provided to the importer, importing customs authority and other relevant users to facilitate the online verification process, details of which are set out in paragraphs 14 to 19.

6.Exporters should note that amendment requests to switch from paper format to electronic file format or vice versa will not be entertained after issuance of the certificate. In this connection, traders are strongly advised to confirm with the importers, importing customs authorities and other relevant users that the electronic file format is acceptable for importing customs clearance and other relevant purposes before making an application.

Issuance of Certificate

7.For the sake of consistency, all Issuing Organizations will issue CHKO/COP on single-sided A4 page with white background starting from 1 April 2022 onwards, regardless of whether paper format or electronic file format is required by the exporter. There will be an internet address and QR code on the CHKO/COP for verification purpose. It will link to an official website where users will be able to check the authenticity and validity of a certificate.

8.For a CHKO/COP issued in paper format, the exporter may continue to collect the certificate from the Issuing Organization with the "CO Collection Slip" printed from the electronic platform of the GETS SP under established arrangement.

9.For a CHKO/COP issued in electronic file format, the certificate will be made available as an electronic file in Portable Document Format (PDF) for the exporter to download from the electronic platform of the GETS SP.

Declaration to be made on CHKO/COP application

10.The following new declarations are introduced for the exporter to indicate consent to the Issuing Organizations for disclosure of information on the certificate for purposes including but not limited to verification of its authenticity and validity. Corresponding declaration codes should be inserted by the exporter when submitting CHKO/COP application.

  1. For electronic CHKO/COP applications made through GETS SP's platforms, the new exporter's declaration (Declaration Code: E08) is required -

    "By appending my electronic signature to this application, I hereby declare that (1) I am duly authorized by the exporter to make this declaration on its behalf; (2) all the information given herein has been checked by me on behalf of the exporter and is true; (3) the merchandise described in this application consists exclusively of the goods manufactured / processed / produced by the manufacturer / processor / producer / subcontractor described in the application and will be exported by the exporter in the manner described in this application; and (4) the exporter has not applied to any other Certificate Issuing Organization for a Certificate of Origin in respect of the consignment described in this application. The exporter also authorizes the Director-General of Trade and Industry or the Government Approved Certification Organization with which this application is filed to disclose all or any of the information provided herein to any third parties in Hong Kong or elsewhere including overseas customs authorities and traders, for purposes including but not limited to verification of the authenticity and validity of the Certificate of Origin."

  2. For CHKO/COP applications made through GETS SP's Electronic Trading Access Service (ETAS)4 centres, of which ETAS would convert exporter's paper submissions into electronic submissions, the following new exporter's declaration (Exporter's Declaration Code: T05) is required -

    "I hereby declare that (1) I am duly authorized by the exporter to make this declaration on its behalf; (2) all the information given herein has been checked by me on behalf of the exporter and is true; (3) the merchandise described in this application consists exclusively of the goods manufactured / processed / produced by the manufacturer / processor / producer / subcontractor described in the application and will be exported by the exporter in the manner described in this application; and (4) the exporter has not applied to any other Certificate Issuing Organization for a Certificate of Origin in respect of the consignment described in this application. The exporter also authorizes the Director-General of Trade and Industry or the Government Approved Certification Organization with which this application is filed to disclose all or any of the information provided herein to any third parties in Hong Kong or elsewhere including overseas customs authorities and traders, for purposes including but not limited to verification of the authenticity and validity of the Certificate of Origin."

11.For the avoidance of doubt, the declaration requirements remain unchanged for preferential Certificates of Hong Kong Origin namely Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - CEPA (CO(CEPA)), Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - New Zealand (CO(NZ)), Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - Georgia (CO(Georgia)) and Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - Form AHK (CO(Form AHK)).

Amendment/Cancellation

12.The procedures for amendment and cancellation of CHKO/COP will remain mostly unchanged.

13.Exporters are reminded that they need to provide the importers, importing customs authorities and other relevant users with the latest approved version of the certificate if amendments have been made, including amendments that do not involved particulars on the certificate. The latest approved version of the certificate should be collected from the Issuing Organization if in paper format or downloaded from the GETS SP's electronic platform if in electronic file format.

III. Online Verification of CHKO/COP

14.A new website (https://www.verifyco.tid.gov.hk/) will be launched on 1 April 2022 to facilitate online verification of CHKO/COP issued by all Issuing Organizations in both paper format and electronic file format.

Online Verification Procedures

15.For CHKO/COP issued on or after 1 April 2022, an internet address and a QR code will be printed in the box at the top right-hand corner of the certificate. A user who has received the certificate from the exporter may input the internet address to a web browser5 or scan the QR code to perform online verification of the authenticity and validity of the certificate.

16.If the user accesses the verification website by inputting the internet address to a web browser, the correct combination of Certificate No., Date of Issue, UCR and Date of Receipt on the certificate should also be filled in the relevant fields. On the other hand, if the user accesses the verification website by scanning the QR code, the above information will be filled in automatically.

17.For a valid certificate, the name of the Issuing Organization, Departure Date, Transport Mode and Destination Country/Place will be displayed for the user's verification. In case the certificate is invalid, or has been cancelled, suspended or revoked, the user will be informed that the certificate is invalid and cannot be used.

18.If the user wishes to gain access to other details on the certificate for further verification, the system will require the input of the verification code obtainable from the exporter.

Verification Code

19.The verification code is a system-generated unique passcode provided to the exporter by email when a CHKO/COP is approved by the Issuing Organization. Subject to business needs, it is at the exporter's discretion to provide the verification code to the importer, importing customs authority and other relevant users for verification of the full details on the certificate using the online service.

IV. Important Reminder

20.Issuance of certificates of origin in electronic file format has become an international trend and is being widely adopted by many of Hong Kong's trading partners. Besides, the online verification service would enable instant and round-the-clock verification of the authenticity and validity of CHKO/COP, thus enhancing the credibility and acceptability of CHKO/COP issued in both paper format and electronic file format. TID has notified our trading partners of the arrangement to issue CHKO/COP in electronic file format in addition to paper format and the introduction of online verification service to ensure that they continue to recognize CHKO/COP for customs clearance and other relevant purposes.

21.Notwithstanding the above, exporters are strongly advised to ascertain the document requirements with the importers, importing customs authorities and other relevant users of CHKO/COP before making an application. Whilst the Issuing Organizations endeavour to offer assistance in the verification of CHKO/COP issued in both paper format or electronic file format when needed, it is in the exporter's best interest to confirm with the relevant parties that the opted format is acceptable in order to ensure smooth customs clearance procedures and fulfillment of other business requirements.

V. Handling of Information

22.The Issuing Organizations will keep the data provided by traders in strict confidence. Under certain circumstances the Issuing Organizations may disclose such data to the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) or other government departments, or to third parties within or outside Hong Kong. These circumstances include the following: the disclosure is necessary to facilitate the consideration or verification of the CHKO/COP in question; the disclosure is authorized or required by the laws; or an explicit consent to the disclosure is given by the traders concerned.

23.Under the online verification service, only non-sensitive information on the certificate (namely the name of the Issuing Organization, Departure Date, Transport Mode and Destination Country/Place) will be displayed for verification if the importers, importing customs authorities and other relevant users could provide matching combination of Certificate No., Date of Issue, UCR and Date of Receipt on the certificate. To access additional information for verification, they will be required to input the verification code obtainable from the exporter, thereby ensuring that the access to most of the information on the certificate using the online verification service remains under the control of the exporter.

VI. Enquiries

24.For enquiries, please contact us through the following channels:

Trade and Industry Department
(Factory Registration and Origin Certification Branch)
Address: 14/F, Trade and Industry Tower
3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City, Hong Kong
Tel: 2398 5545
Fax: 2787 6048
E-mail: co_enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Yours faithfully,

(Jessica FUNG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

1 The five GACOs are the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; the Federation of Hong Kong Industries; the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong; the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.
2 For the avoidance of doubt, "non-preferential Certificate of Hong Kong Origin (CHKO)" mentioned here refers to the non-preferential CHKO issued to traders to facilitate export of Hong Kong products to external markets, excluding preferential Certificates of Hong Kong Origin namely Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - CEPA (CO(CEPA)), Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - New Zealand (CO(NZ)), Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - Georgia (CO(Georgia)) and Certificate of Hong Kong Origin - Form AHK (CO(Form AHK)).
3 The GETS SPs are Brio Electronic Commerce Limited (Brio), Global e-Trading Services Limited (Ge-TS) and Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (Tradelink).
4 The Electronic Service Providers are operating ETAS centres for traders who do not subscribe to electronic services to convert paper submissions into electronic submissions of certificates.
5 The website has been tested for the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome. The website does not support browsing with Microsoft Internet Explorer.