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Introduction

 

Hong Kong implements a comprehensive and stringent control over the import and export of strategic commodities to prevent Hong Kong from being used as a conduit for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, while at the same time to ensure the free flow of advanced technology for legitimate commercial, industrial and research use which is essential for maintaining Hong Kong's status as a regional finance, banking, telecommunications and trade centre. The Customs and Excise Department is the sole enforcement agency for strategic trade controls which comprise also an import and export licensing system administered by the Trade and Industry Department.


 

Legal Framework

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The legal basis for strategic trade controls in Hong Kong is the Import and Export Ordinance, Chapter 60, Laws of Hong Kong. The Ordinance lists strategic commodities as one of a few categories of goods the import or export of which is prohibited unless licensed by the Director-General of Trade and Industry. Re-export and transhipment of such commodities are treated as import and export and therefore are subject to the licensing requirement. Strategic commodities subject to licensing control are specified in the Schedules to the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations, a subsidiary legislation made under the Import and Export Ordinance. Sensitive strategic commodities such as nuclear-related articles and munitions specified in Schedule 2 to the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations are also subject to licensing control when shipping in-transit through Hong Kong. Any person who imports or exports any article specified in the Schedules to the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations not under and in accordance with an import or export licence issued by the Director-General of Trade and Industry commits an offence and is liable:

  • on summary conviction, to a fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 2 years;
  • on conviction on indictment, to an unlimited fine and to imprisonment for 7 years; and
  • to mandatory forfeiture of all offending strategic commodities seized.


 

Enforcement Actions and Results

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Dedicated units in the Customs and Excise Department are deployed on a wide range of enforcement actions for the implementation of strategic trade controls. These include physical examination of inbound and outbound cargoes, checking of import and export licences to verify the authenticity of information given therein, collection and collation of information and intelligence, and investigation and prosecution of contravention of controls.

In 2009, the Customs and Excise Department examined 118 598 packages of imported and exported cargo, checked 4 427 import and export licences and completed 233 investigation cases. Strategic commodities worth $14.7 million including integrated circuits, information security equipment and Tantalite were seized in the operations. In 41 cases, a total of 53 companies/persons were prosecuted resulting in total fine of $2.22 million. Strategic commodities involved in these cases included the following items:

Liquid Crystal Polymer

(Category 1C008)

Carbon Fiber

(Category 1C010)

Di-isopropylamine
Numerical Control Machine
Integrated Circuit
Systems/Equipment/
Integrated Circuits for Information Security

For details of these items, please see the control list through the above links.

 
 

Information Hotline

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The Customs and Excise Department welcomes all intelligence against strategic trade related offence. Please send your information to the Customs Hotline on 2545 6182. All information will be treated in strict confidence.
 
  General Investigation and Systems Bureau
Customs and Excise Department
January 2010









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