Starting from 1 September 2023, the scope of service of the Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Scheme (FTA Scheme) will be extended to cover the Early Harvest Arrangement of China-Nicaragua Free Trade Agreement (Early Harvest Arrangement).
Under the new arrangement, traders in Hong Kong who wish to enjoy preferential tariff treatment under the Early Harvest Arrangement can apply for Certificates of Non-manipulation for cargoes transhipped from Nicaragua through Hong Kong to the Mainland of China. For details, please refer to the principle of application.
Upon the extension, the service of the FTA Scheme will cover the following transhipment cargoes in Hong Kong under trade agreements entered between the Mainland of China and other countries / region:
Transhipment cargoes in Hong Kong heading for the Mainland of China from the following places:
Taiwan, Korea, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Iceland, Switzerland, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Georgia, Japan, Mauritius, Nicaragua and the beneficiary countries under the Special Preferential Tariff Treatment to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)(Note 1).
Note 1: The beneficiary countries under the Special Preferential Tariff Treatment to the LDCs include Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda , Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen and Zambia.
Transhipment cargoes in Hong Kong heading for the following places from the Mainland of China:
Taiwan, Korea(Note 2) and Australia.
Note 2: Korea Customs Service accepts traders to use the Certificate of Non-manipulation issued by Hong Kong Customs to apply for preferential tariff under the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, the China-Korea Free Trade Agreement or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
For details of the FTA Scheme, please refer to the following documents:
Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Scheme (FTA Scheme) Briefing Notes
Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Scheme (FTA Scheme) Leaflet
For enquiries, please contact the Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Unit of Hong Kong Customs at 3152 0233 or email to fta_enquiry@customs.gov.hk.