Hong Kong is a free port with no general customs tariff, but that does not mean goods move without paperwork. Under the Import and Export (Registration) Regulations (Cap. 60E), anyone who imports or exports articles that are not exempt must lodge an accurate and complete Trade Declaration (TDEC) with the Customs and Excise Department within 14 days after the importation or exportation. Separately, a short list of goods needs a licence first, and strategic commodities (dual-use and military-type items) need a Trade and Industry Department (TID) licence before they are imported, exported or, for the more sensitive items, even transited. This guide covers the declaration, the controls behind it and the current filing channels, as of 4 November 2026.
If you are looking for a forwarder or broker in the territory first, see our list of the best logistics companies in Hong Kong. For the general sequence of customs clearance anywhere, start with the customs clearance guide.
What is a TDEC in Hong Kong?
A TDEC is the import or export declaration that the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) calls simply an "import and export declaration". It exists mainly to collect trade statistics and a small declaration charge, and to give Customs a record of what crossed the border. It is not a duty assessment, because there is almost no duty to assess.
Customs describes six declaration forms:
- Form 1: import, non-food items.
- Form 1A: import of food items listed in Appendix I of the Hong Kong Imports and Exports Classification List.
- Form 2: export or re-export, other than Hong Kong manufactured clothing and footwear.
- Form 2A: export of Hong Kong manufactured clothing and footwear listed in Schedule 1 to Cap. 318.
- Form 1B and Form 2B: import, and export or re-export, of articles on the exempted list, which carry no declaration charge.
There is no separate form for re-exports: they go on the export forms. Customs also states that a declaration lodged on the wrong form is treated as not lodged. You must re-lodge on the correct form and notify the Government in writing, and late penalties or the declaration charge may then apply.
The 14-day rule, late penalties and fines
The deadline is 14 days after the goods are imported or exported. The charge for each declaration is capped at HK$200 for goods moved on or after 1 August 2018 (Customs publishes the rate formula on its declaration pages). A late filing attracts a flat penalty, which Customs sets out in tiers:
| When lodged | Declaration value HK$20,000 or less | Declaration value over HK$20,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Within 1 month and 14 days of the movement | HK$20 | HK$40 |
| Within 2 months and 14 days | HK$40 | HK$80 |
| After that | HK$100 | HK$200 |
These are modest sums, so do not mistake them for the whole risk. Customs states that knowingly or recklessly lodging a declaration that is inaccurate in any material particular can lead to prosecution, and it may impose a penalty of up to 20 times a short-paid declaration charge, capped at HK$10,000 per declaration. A 2016 Government press release reminding traders of the 14-day rule put the maximum fine for an inaccurate declaration at HK$10,000 for each count of the offence; check the current figure with Customs before quoting it in a contract. The practical exposure for a forwarder is less the flat late fee than the record of a wrong value, a wrong description or a wrong country on a document Customs holds.
How and where to lodge: GETS today, Trade Single Window next
This is the part most older guides get wrong, so read it carefully. TDECs are lodged electronically, and Customs lists three Government-appointed service providers: Brio Electronic Commerce Limited, Global e-Trading Services Limited and Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited. That is the Government Electronic Trading Services (GETS) arrangement. A TDEC is not lodged through the Road Cargo System, which handled something different (advance road cargo information).
The channels are changing. The Import and Export (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, gazetted on 11 July 2025, replaces GETS with the Trade Single Window (TSW) as the electronic platform for specified trade documents once TSW Phase 3 is rolled out. The Government's own summary says Phase 3 covers cargo information by different transport modes (advance cargo information, cargo manifests and cargo reports), that the two systems can run in parallel for a period, and that trade members may submit pre-shipment TDECs and cargo manifests through the TSW voluntarily. Provisions removing GETS take effect on a day the Commissioner designates by gazette notice, which we have not seen announced. Until then, confirm which channel your declaration must use on the Customs website before you file.
Is Hong Kong really a free port? What is dutiable
Yes, with narrow exceptions. Customs says that in general imports into Hong Kong are tax-free, and that there is no tax or excise duty on exports. The exceptions are:
- Four dutiable commodities subject to excise duty, whether imported or made locally: liquor, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. Dealing in them is also controlled by licence and removal permit under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109).
- Road vehicles, which pay First Registration Tax.
Be careful with the shorthand "no duty means no formalities". A free port still requires a declaration, and it still enforces licensing and prohibitions. The classification question also remains: the Hong Kong list is built on the Harmonized System, so a correct code still matters for the TDEC and for the destination country's duty. Our import documentation checklist lists the supporting documents most clearances ask for.
Which goods need a licence or permit
Licensing is administered by several bodies. Check the exact issuer for your commodity on the TID's import and export licensing pages; the table below shows the pattern, not a complete list.
| Control | Typical goods | Who administers (as of Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Strategic commodities licence (Cap. 60G) | Dual-use, military and other controlled items | Trade and Industry Department |
| Textiles and reserved commodities | Textile licensing; rice is a reserved commodity | Trade and Industry Department |
| Pharmaceutical products | Medicines, dangerous drugs | Department of Health, under delegated authority; wholesaler licence first |
| Dutiable commodities | Liquor, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil, methyl alcohol | Customs and Excise Department |
| Dangerous goods (land-based storage, manufacture, road conveyance) | Flammables, explosives and similar | Fire Services Department, under Cap. 295 |
For pharmaceuticals, the Government has said since 31 December 2021 that import and export licence applications go through the Drug Office's online system, and the products themselves must generally be registered. Sea and air carriage of dangerous goods also follows the international codes (IMDG, IATA), which sit alongside the Fire Services licences. We have not confirmed the sea and air regulator names for this post, so check them with your carrier or forwarder.
Strategic commodities: licence before shipment
The Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Cap. 60G), made under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60), require a TID licence to import, export or tranship strategic commodities. TID's trading-firms guidance sets out the practice:
- An importer must present a valid import licence to the carrier before taking delivery; an exporter must give the carrier a valid export licence before shipment, and the goods must match what the licence declares.
- Application forms are TID 501 (import) and TID 502 (export).
- Goods in transit that stay on the same vessel or aircraft are normally outside the licensing requirement, but TID says the transit of "more sensitive" items still needs import and export licences.
- Firms are expected to ask what is being shipped, where it goes, who receives it and whether the end-use is plausible.
Penalties are serious. A TID circular states that importing or exporting without a licence is an offence on summary conviction, with a fine of HK$500,000 and imprisonment of 2 years; carriers face parallel duties not to accept strategic commodities for export without a licence. We read that from a circular summary, so check the Ordinance for the current maximum and for indictable penalties.
Common misconception: a US ECCN is not a Hong Kong classification. Hong Kong controls its own schedules, so an item classified EAR99 in the United States can still need a Hong Kong licence, and a Hong Kong licence does not remove US re-export controls on US-origin items. Our explainer on ECCN and EAR99 covers the US side, and restricted party screening covers the end-user checks that Hong Kong's own due-diligence guidance asks for.
Manifests, ROCARS and the Trade Single Window
Cargo information is a different obligation from the TDEC. For sea cargo, Customs asks carriers to submit electronic manifests, through its EMAN service, before the shipment arrives. For air cargo it points to the Air Cargo Clearance System for advance cargo information. For road cargo, the Road Cargo System (ROCARS) was the platform for advance cargo information at land boundary control points. ROCARS was replaced on 1 May 2026 by the Trade Single Window for the advance cargo information (road) service. Customs and the Government said existing ROCARS user data would move across automatically and that the first of three Phase 3 batches covers the road service; the Government's release does not say what the later batches cover. The 2025 Ordinance summary suggests they include cargo manifests and cargo reports, but plan on the basis of announced dates, not assumptions.
Certificates of origin from Hong Kong
TID states that the Hong Kong rules of origin follow the internationally accepted criterion of substantial transformation, consistent with the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin. A Certificate of Hong Kong Origin (CHKO) certifies that the goods are of Hong Kong origin; a separate Certificate of Origin - Processing certifies that certain manufacturing was done in Hong Kong but not enough to confer Hong Kong origin. Product-specific criteria are published in TID Certificate of Origin circulars, the latest we found being Circular No. 1/2022.
Applications are made electronically, and TID says that from 1 April 2022 it and the Government Approved Certification Organisations issue certificates in electronic file format. For goods moving under the Mainland-Hong Kong CEPA, a separate CO(CEPA) is needed, issued by TID or one of the approved organisations; the CEPA product rules differ from the general rules.
Common misconception: shipping through Hong Kong does not make goods Hong Kong-origin. Goods made in another country and merely handled, repacked or re-exported through the territory generally keep their original origin under a substantial-transformation test, so ask TID before promising a buyer a Hong Kong certificate. For how preferential claims work in general, see our guides to rules of origin and preferential duty and origin marking.
Transhipment and cross-boundary cargo
Hong Kong is a separate customs territory under the Basic Law, so goods crossing to or from the Mainland are import or export movements and need a declaration unless exempt. Transhipment cargo (brought in on a through bill of lading or air waybill for another overseas destination) has historically been treated differently. A government presentation describes it as exempt from declaration, and TID runs a Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme for registered operators handling licence-controlled goods, with conditions on custody, records and Customs inspection. Those sources are dated, so confirm the current exemption wording before relying on it. The type of bill of lading issued matters, because a through bill is part of what distinguishes transhipment from an import followed by an export.
What to do next
- Classify the goods and check controls before booking. Confirm the HS code, then check whether the goods are on a TID, Department of Health, Customs or Fire Services control list.
- Get licences first where required. Strategic commodities need a TID 501 or 502 licence in hand before the carrier will accept or release them.
- Diary the 14 days and the right form. Lodge the TDEC through a GETS provider or, if your forwarder uses it, the Trade Single Window. Check Form 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 1B or 2B.
- Keep records and screen the parties. Hold the licence, invoice, bill of lading and end-user checks together so a later Customs enquiry is answerable.
If you need a broker or forwarder with Hong Kong experience, you can search more than 29,300 logistics companies by country and service in the CargoLinked directory. If you have a shipment to quote, the public requests board lists freight that shippers have posted for forwarders to quote on directly.
This article is general information as of 4 November 2026 and is not legal, tax or customs advice. Hong Kong rules, forms, fees and filing channels change, particularly while the Trade Single Window is being rolled out. Confirm requirements with the Customs and Excise Department, the Trade and Industry Department or a licensed customs professional before you ship.
