(15 OCTOBER 2002, HONG KONG) Tradelink announced that it
has been offered by the Hong Kong SAR Government (the "Government")
to provide the electronic service for the delivery and processing
of notifications under the Textiles Trader Registration
Scheme (TTRS).
TTRS was introduced in 1993 to facilitate the trade by
allowing registered textiles traders to be exempted from
applying for a licence in respect of the import and export
of textiles falling within the scope of the scheme and substitute
with a notification. Under the agreement with Government,
Tradelink will provide an electronic service for the submission
of all notifications under the TTRS which include Import
of Textiles (Import Notification), Export of HK Origin Textiles
to Non-restrained Markets (Export Notification I), Export
of Non-HK Origin Textiles (Export Notification II), Export
of certain Textile Samples to the USA (Export Notification
III & IV) and Transhipment of Textiles (Transhipment
Notification), in a one-stop fashion.
The electronic TTRS service will provide greater facilitation
to traders in completing their Notifications, and to carriers
in checking that the notifications are duly completed. The
paperless submission will save efforts in handling the notifications
and related documents. The requirements of supporting documents
for notifications will be streamlined as a result of the
introduction of the electronic service.
The service charge for the electronic TTRS service will
be HK$0.50 on a per notification basis, which is the same
as the current cost for a paper Notification. The new service
is the latest addition to the bundle of government-related
document services already provided by Tradelink. These include
the Restrained Textiles Export Licence, Certificate of Origin,
Trade Declaration, Production Notification and Dutiable
Commodities Permit.
Mr Justin Yue, CEO of Tradelink, said, "Tradelink
undertakes to constantly develop, maintain and support electronic
commerce services for government-related as well as commercial
documentation to help Hong Kong traders increase operational
efficiency and competitiveness."
To assist traders who do not have the capability to submit
notifications electronically on their own, Tradelink will
provide a service for converting paper TTRS notifications
into electronic form at its service centres for onward submission
to the Government.
As in the case of other EDI services, there will be a transitional
period whereby traders and carriers may choose to submit
Textiles Notifications in paper or electronic form. In deciding
when to end the transitional period, the Government will
have due regard to the readiness of traders and the smooth
operation of the computer system. It is expected that the
electronic TTRS service will be launched early next year.
