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Ref.: TID PF 1

24 May 2013

Powdered Formula Licensing Circular No. 4/2013

Export Control on Powdered Formula in Hong Kong
through Land Boundary Control Points

I. Introduction

With effect from 1 March 2013, export of powdered formula¹ must be in accordance with a valid licence issued by the Director-General of Trade and Industry (DGTI), unless otherwise exempted by the law. Further to the Powdered Formula Licensing Circular No. 1/2013 dated 22 February 2013 and Powdered Formula Licensing Circular No. 2/2013 dated 28 February 2013, this circular sets out new licence conditions for the export of powdered formula under powdered formula export licences which are issued on or after the date of this circular.

II. Details

2.Applications for powdered formula export licences are currently made on Export Licence Form 6 (TRA 394) in triplicate. Where powdered formula is exported on a vessel, aircraft or vehicle, the exporter shall, as required under section 11 of the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60, Laws of Hong Kong), deliver the triplicate copy of the export licence² issued by the DGTI to the owner of the vessel, aircraft or vehicle (i.e. the carrier) in or on which the powdered formula is exported before the export of the powdered formula; and the carrier shall, within 14 days after the day on which the powdered formula is exported, return the triplicate copy of the export licence together with the relevant manifest to the Trade and Industry Department (TID).

New conditions of licence applicable to export of powdered formula by land transport via any land boundary control point

3.With immediate effect from the day of this circular, persons who use land transport for exporting powdered formula out of Hong Kong³ and leave Hong Kong through the passenger channel of any of the land boundary control points⁴ are required to deliver the triplicate copy of the export licence to a member of the Customs and Excise Service at the land boundary control point concerned for return to TID.

4. Where a person (i) uses land transport for exporting powdered formula out of Hong Kong and is doing so on behalf of an exporter and (ii) leaves Hong Kong through the passenger channel of any of the land boundary control point, he/she shall produce to a member of Customs and Excise Service upon his/her request a letter of authorization duly issued by the exporter attesting to this effect, apart from the export licence⁵ for the powdered formula being exported.

5. Accordingly, for powdered formula (as stated in a powdered formula export licence) which is to be exported out of Hong Kong by a person leaving Hong Kong via a passenger channel of a land boundary control point, the following new conditions of licence shall apply with immediate effect:

6. To signify knowledge of the new conditions of licence, applicants are required to make the following declaration in the 'Full Description of Goods' column when applying for a powdered formula export licence:

7. The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) has displayed notices in the respective land boundary control points to indicate the places where exporters or authorized persons can tender the powdered formula export licences before they leave Hong Kong with the powder formula.

8. Please refer to the specimen of a completed Export Licence Form 6 containing the new declaration and an exporter's authorization letter specified by DGTI at Annex 1 and Annex 2 respectively.

9. A powdered formula export licence issued by DGTI for export of powdered formula can only be used for export of powdered formula by the exporter (specified in the export licence) or a person authorized by the exporter, in the manner as declared in the licence application. Exporters are reminded that (i) all export licences are NOT TRANSFERRABLE, and (ii) each export licence only permits the export of powdered formula specified on the licence on one occasion.

III. Important Notes and Warning

10. TID works closely with the C&ED to enforce the export control licensing system for powdered formula in Hong Kong. Authorized officers of C&ED may conduct inspections on the export of any powdered formula as they consider necessary.

11. Unless otherwise exempted under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60, Laws of Hong Kong), any person who exports powdered formula to any places outside Hong Kong without a valid licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 2 years. Likewise, the owner of a vessel, aircraft or vehicle shall not accept any powdered formula for export until there is produced to him an export licence issued by the DGTI. Any person who contravenes this requirement shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 1 year.

12. In addition to prosecution, TID may take appropriate actions against the persons who have breached the conditions of a powdered formula export licence. Such actions include but are not limited to, cancellation/suspension/revocation of the licence and refusal to issue a licence.

13. The data collected in the application will be kept in confidence. They may however be disclosed to other government departments, or to third parties in Hong Kong or elsewhere, if such disclosure is necessary to facilitate consideration or processing of the application, is in the interest of the trade in Hong Kong, is authorized or required by the law; or if explicit consent to such disclosure is given by the applicant/data subject. The Privacy Policy Statement of TID is available at https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/privacy/policy.html.

IV. Enquiries

14.For enquiries on this circular, please contact the Powdered Formula Licensing Unit at 3403 6220.

 

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Mandy WONG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note1 :	As provided in regulation 2 of the Import and Export (General) Regulations (Cap. 60 sub. leg A, Laws of Hong Kong), "powdered formula" means "a substance in powder form that - (i) is or appears to be for consumption by a person aged under 36 months; and (ii) is or appears to be milk or milk-like substance in powder form to satisfy wholly or partly the nutritional requirement of a person aged under 36 months".
Note2 :	The Powdered Formula Export Licence form consists of 3 copies. The original copy and the triplicate copy will be issued to the exporter. The duplicate copy will be retained by TID. The original copy is for the exporter's retention. The triplicate copy should be provided to the carrier before export of the powdered formula.
Note3 :	Persons who use land transport for exporting powdered formula out of Hong Kong in the context refer to those travelling by land transport, including for examples, coach, train, etc. and alighting at the land boundary control points where they hand-carry the powdered formula for export.
Note4 :	The Land Boundary Control Points are Lowu Control Point, Lok Ma Chau Spurline Control Point, Passenger Terminal of Lok Ma Chau Control Point, Passenger Terminal of Shenzhen Bay Control Point, Passenger Terminal of Mankamto Control Point and Passenger Terminal of Shatau Kok Control Point.
Note5 :	The identity of the exporter is specified on the licence.