Full migration to electronic submission of air and rail cargo manifests

The Import and Export Ordinance (Specification of Ending Date under Section 42) Notice 2004 and the Import and Export (Registration) Regulations (Specification of Ending Date under Regulation 15) Notice 2004 to end the transition period for electronic submission of air and rail cargo manifests were gazetted today (May 14).

"Subject to the completion of the legislative process, all manifests for air and rail cargoes must be submitted through electronic means from July 17, 2004," a government spokesman said.

To promote electronic commerce, improve efficiency and reduce the use of paper, the government has, since 1997, introduced electronic services for the submission of a number of trade documents.

The services for electronic submission of cargo manifests in the air, rail, river and ocean modes of transport (EMAN services) were launched on April 11, 2003. In order to allow time for the affected parties to get ready for electronic submission, the Import and Export (Electronic Transactions) Ordinance 2002 and related regulations provide for a transitional period during which the concerned cargo manifests may be submitted in either paper or electronic form.

The transitional period began on April 11, 2003, and would end at midnight on a day to be specified by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise (the Commissioner) by notices in the Gazette. Different end dates for the transitional period may be specified for different modes of transport.

"In view of the smooth run-in of services and satisfactory take-up rates in the air and rail sector, we have proposed to end the transitional period for the electronic submission of air and rail cargo manifests at midnight on 16 July, 2004. All air carriers and the rail cargo operators are aware of the proposed full migration," the spokesman said.

"The full migration to electronic submission of air and rail cargo manifest will help the transport industry enhance efficiency and promote the wider use of e-commerce, thereby maintaining Hong Kong's position as a leading international trading centre," the spokesman added.

In line with the arrangements for other trade documents (e.g. trade declarations and dutiable commodities permits) which have to be submitted electronically, air carriers and rail cargo operators will have the option of using the electronic trading access service provided by Tradelink to convert paper submissions into electronic ones if they so wish.

"On the submission of ocean and river cargo manifests, we do not think time is ripe to bring an end to the transitional period," the spokesman said. "We will continue to monitor the service take-up rate and address some outstanding technical issues before proposing when to end the transitional period for submitting ocean and river cargo manifests."

Friday, May 14, 2004

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