Starting from 1 May 2026, the scope of service of the Free Trade Agreement Transhipment Facilitation Scheme (FTA Scheme) will be extended to cover transhipment cargo from the Republic of the Congo to the Chinese Mainland via Hong Kong.
Upon the extension, local traders can apply to Hong Kong Customs for Certificates of Non-manipulation for cargoes transhipped from the Republic of the Congo through Hong Kong to the Chinese Mainland, thereby enjoying preferential tariff provided under the Early Harvest Arrangement for the Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Development between China and the Republic of the Congo. For details, please refer to the principle of application.
The service of the FTA Scheme currently covers the following transhipment cargoes in Hong Kong under trade agreements entered between the Chinese Mainland and other countries / region:
Transhipment cargoes in Hong Kong heading for the Chinese Mainland from the following places:
Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Georgia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen and Zambia.
Transhipment cargoes in Hong Kong heading for the following places from the Chinese Mainland:
Australia, Korea(Note 1), Myanmar(Note 2), Nicaragua, Peru, Singapore(Note 3), Taiwan and Vietnam(Note 2).
Note 1: 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 RCEP.
Note 2: Vietnam Customs and Myanmar Customs accept traders to use the Certificate of Non-manipulation issued by Hong Kong Customs to apply for preferential tariff under the ASEAN-China FTA or the RCEP.
Note 3: Singapore Customs accepts traders to use the Certificate of Non-manipulation issued by Hong Kong Customs to apply for preferential tariff under the ASEAN-China FTA, the China-Singapore FTA or the RCEP.
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.