The Hong Kong Special Administration Region of the People’s Republic of China is a free port and does not levy customs tariffs on import, impose tariff quotas or surcharges and there is no system of value added tax or equivalent. This makes Hong Kong a popular trading hub for the Asia Pacific region and it is frequently used as a gateway to southern China. Consequently, many of the customs and trade challenges faced by companies are to do with managing transit, transshipment and temporary importation.
Excise duties are levied on four types of goods, irrespective of whether they are imported or locally manufactured. These goods are liquors, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. For tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol, duties are charged at specific rates per unit quantity. For liquors, duty is assessed at different percentages of their values on the basis of three different categories defined broadly according to alcoholic strength.
Traders usually interact with the following three major authorities when undertaking import or export activities:
Hong Kong services include
Being a major gateway to Southern China and the base of a vast number of regional headquarters of MNCs, our Customs and international trade practice provides a wide range of tailored solutions in Hong Kong and through leveraging our local China specialists within our network.
Regional management of the customs and trade function
As many organisations house their regional management of the customs and trade function in Hong Kong, our team focuses on offer assistance in the requirements of this role, such as:
Creating value
Ensuring compliance
Managing risk
WMS assisted the Hong Kong principal to approach the audit case strategically in order to avoid suspension of manufacturing activities at the processing trade entity.
How we helped
Benefit for the client
WMS assisted the client to capture and materialise cost saving opportunities through utilising and implementing the following:
First Sale for Export (FSFE) for sales made to United States and European Union
ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) for sales made to China
Location study for hub establishment
Ryan Wu
South China (incl. Hong Kong SAR), PwC Asia Pacific Customs and Trade
Tel: +86 0755 8261 8891