Hong Kong Financial Secretary John C. Tsang (center), Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau (third from left), Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry and Tourism) Yvonne Choi (second left) and officials from the Mainland witness the signing of the cooperation agreement on wine customs facilitation measures by Hong Kong Commissioner of Customs and Excise Richard Yuen (front row, left) and China’s Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs Sun Yibiao (front row, right).

On February 9, Hong Kong and the Mainland signed a cooperation agreement on customs facilitation measures for wine entering the Mainland market through Hong Kong.           

Hong Kong Financial Secretary John C. Tsang, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau and Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Commerce, Industry and Tourism) Yvonne Choi witnessed the signing of the agreement by Hong Kong Commissioner of Customs and Excise Richard Yuen and China’s Vice Minister of the General Administration of Customs Sun Yibiao.           

Against the backdrop of growing demand for wine on the Mainland, Hong Kong’s zero wine duty policy and favorable business environment helped create room for wine traders in the territory to tap the Mainland market, Mrs. Lau said. She also referenced the large number of Mainland tourists visiting the city who might buy in Hong Kong fine wines from different parts of the world.           

She said the agreement will enhance customs cooperation on wine-related matters and fortify Hong Kong’s position as a regional wine trading and distribution hub.           

“We are very grateful to the General Administration of Customs for their support,” Mrs. Lau said. “The measures to be put in place will help enhance transparency and certainty in doing business, thus facilitating Hong Kong's wine traders who wish to expand their operations on the Mainland.”           

The facilitation measures will be open to registered traders. The Trade and Industry Department (TID) will handle registration for Hong Kong traders, and Mainland Customs will deal with the registration of Mainland traders. Participation will be voluntary.           

Companies that have been set up in Hong Kong at least six months and are engaged in wine-related businesses (such as trading, storage and logistics) are eligible to seek registration.           

The facilitation measures include:

1. Pre-valuation of wine duty: Registered wine traders may request Mainland Customs to do valuation of wine duty 10 working days before the shipment is exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland.  When the shipment arrives at a Mainland boundary point, Mainland Customs will normally complete the procedure within one working day.
2. Expediting the clearance process at Mainland ports: For registered wine traders who do not choose to make use of the wine duty pre-valuation service, Mainland Customs will strive to shorten the clearance time at the Mainland boundary points. For wines that have been imported into the Mainland before, with the submission of all the necessary documents, the clearance procedure will normally take no more than three working days. For wines that are new to the Mainland market, the clearance procedures will usually be completed within seven working days. If customs clearance cannot be completed within the said timeframe, the goods may still be released for sale on payment of a guarantee deposit.  This will enable traders to sell their wines as soon as possible.

Both governments will publish a list of registered traders on their Web sites. Both the TID and Mainland Customs will also set up their own hotlines to answer inquiries from wine traders about the facilitation measures. Registered traders may also directly contact Mainland Customs through its hotline if their wine shipments encounter customs clearance problems on the Mainland.            

The TID will announce registration details later through circulars and briefings.           

The facilitation measures will be piloted in Shenzhen in the second quarter of this year. Six to nine months later, the two sides will review the process and consider extending the program in phases to such other major Mainland cities as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing.