Official launch of Mainland-Hong Kong "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme on cargo
The General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) and Hong Kong Customs have been promoting the development of cargo clearance facilitation between the two places, working together to extend their areas of cross-border co-operation. The two Customs administrations today (November 29) officially launched the Mainland-Hong Kong "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme on cargo, extending the coverage of the existing "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme on cargo to all land boundary control points connecting the Mainland and Hong Kong, enabling more enterprises to benefit from the completion of Customs declarations for both the Mainland and Hong Kong sides by making a single submission of road cargo information.
In November 2023, the two Customs administrations signed the Co-operative Arrangement on Smart Customs Development between the GACC and Hong Kong Customs, designating the "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme on cargo as one of the key co-operation projects. Subsequently, the two sides launched the Guangdong-Hong Kong "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme on cargo and its extended coverage in February and October 2024 respectively, covering cargo passing between the Mainland and Hong Kong through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Port.
With a view to extending the scheme, the two Customs administrations recently launched a trial run of the Mainland-Hong Kong "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme on cargo, involving three participating enterprises, at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point and the Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point. These enterprises submitted cargo information to the China International Trade Single Window. The cargo information was then encrypted and automatically sent to the Hong Kong Road Cargo System, from which the enterprises retrieved relevant cargo information for completing a local Customs declaration. The participating enterprises noted that the function of the scheme not only ensured the accuracy of cargo information declared for both the Mainland and Hong Kong sides but also helped them save time and manpower required for declarations and minimise operating costs.
Currently, the scheme applies to cargo imported from the Mainland to Hong Kong through all land boundary control points. Hong Kong Customs will continue to work closely with the GACC to further extend the coverage of the scheme to cargo exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland, thereby providing comprehensive coverage of road cargo clearance between both places.
