Hong Kong Customs today (March 15) announced that the Single E-lock Scheme, which aims at enhancing the clearance efficiency of intermodal transshipment cargo across the boundary and facilitating trade through the application of advanced technology, would be formally launched on March 28.
Under the Scheme, Hong Kong Customs' Intermodal Transshipment Facilitation Scheme (ITFS) is interconnected with the Speedy Customs Clearance (SCC) of the Customs administrations of Guangdong Province to build a "green lane" for facilitating logistics flow through seamless clearance service. One single electronic lock and global positioning system (GPS) technology are applied to monitor and safeguard the security of the transshipment cargo by the two Customs authorities on the principle of "Across the Boundary with One Single E-lock under Separate Monitoring". By using a single e-lock, duplicate inspection on the same shipment by both Customs authorities will be reduced at the boundary, which helps to streamline the clearance process and expedite the flow of transshipment cargo.
Currently, 80 per cent of air-land intermodal transshipment cargo enjoys the seamless clearance facilitation provided by Hong Kong Customs. The clearance points in Guangdong Province have also been increased under the Scheme from three at the beginning of the trial run to 22 now. Both Customs authorities have reached a consensus to formally launch the Scheme to enhance trade facilitation measures to cope with the rapid development of the cross-boundary e-commerce logistics.
Participation in the Scheme is voluntary. Shippers or carriers who wish to join the Scheme are required to register with the ITFS of Hong Kong Customs and the SCC of the Customs administrations of Guangdong Province as well as to install the e-lock and GPS equipment accredited by both Customs authorities on their vehicles.
For more information, please visit the website www.rocars.gov.hk/en/ITFS.html or call 3669 0000.
Ends/Tuesday, March 15, 2016
