CEPA Rules of Origin for Hong Kong-Mainland Trade in Goods

April 24, 2012 Posted by China Briefing Reading Time: 4 minutes

Apr. 24 – In order to enjoy zero tariffs under the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), goods exported from Hong Kong to Mainland China must fulfill the rules of origin and show evidence of being “made in Hong Kong.”

The execution of the rules of origin is detailed in the “Customs Provisions of the People’s Republic of China on Executing the Rules of Origin for Trade in Goods under the Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (haiguanshuling No.106, hereinafter refers as ‘Provisions’),” which was promulgated in December 2003 and came in effect from January 1, 2004.

Under the Provisions, “Hong Kong” as the origin of goods shall be determined according to the following principles:

Goods entirely obtained in Hong Kong
Goods “substantially manufactured” in Hong Kong if not entirely obtained in Hong Kong

Goods entirely obtained in Hong Kong
According to the Provisions, goods entirely obtained in Hong Kong include:

Minerals exploited or extracted in Hong Kong
Plants or related products collected in Hong Kong
Animals born and raised up in Hong Kong and their related products
Animals hunted in Hong Kong
Fish and other sea products caught by ships with Hong Kong licenses and regional flags and their related products
Waste disposal for recycling from and collected in Hong Kong
Waste and scrap for recycling resulting from manufacturing in Hong Kong
Products made out of waste disposal or waste and scrap mentioned above

Substantial processing, transformation, or manufacturing
The criteria of determining whether the products are “substantially manufactured, transformed, or processed” in Hong Kong should include the following:

Manufacturing or processing operations
The goods should be endowed with essential characteristics after principal manufacturing or processing operations in Hong Kong.

Change of tariff number
Change of tariff number refers to a change of the four-digit tariff numbers and taxation categories after the manufacturing or processing operation of non-Hong Kong materials in Hong Kong. Moreover, no further manufacturing or processing should happen outside Hong Kong.

Ad valorem percentage
Ad valorem percentage is the ratio between the total value of raw materials, components, labor and product development that are fully acquired in Hong Kong, and the FOB value of the finished product for export.

Ad valorem percentage = (Value of raw materials + value of components + labor costs + product development costs) ÷ (FOB value of finished product for export)

Products with an ad valorem percentage equal to or greater than 30 percent, and with the last manufacturing or processing procedures completed in Hong Kong, shall be regarded as “substantial processing.” The following stipulations apply:

Calculation of the above “ad valorem percentage” should be consistent with generally accepted accounting standards and with the “Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.”
“Product development” refers to product development conducted in Hong Kong for the purposes of producing or processing the exporting goods. Incurred expenses for development shall be related to the exporting goods, including the costs for self-developing of the producers and processors, as well as the costs for the developing of consigned natural or legal person. The expenses also includes fees for purchasing designs, patents, patented technologies, trademarks or copyrights processed by a natural or legal person in Hong Kong. The concerned value should be clearly identifiable under generally accepted accounting standards and the provisions of “Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.”
If raw materials or components originating from Mainland China are used and they constitute part of the export products in Hong Kong, when calculating the ad valorem percentage of the export product, the raw materials or components from Mainland China should be deemed to be originating from Hong Kong. The ad valorem percentage of the export product should be greater than or equal to 30 percent, and greater than or equal to 15 percent excluding the price of the raw materials or components from mainland.

Other criteria
The “other criteria” refer to other criteria agreed by authorities of both Mainland China and Hong Kong in determining the origin of the products, besides the three above-mentioned criteria.

Mixed criteria
The “mixed criteria” means that two or more of the above-mentioned criteria are used in determining the origin of the products.

Important notes
Manufacturing or processing for the purpose of transporting or storing the goods, facilitating the packaging of the goods, or better packaging and displaying the goods is not considered as “substantial processing, transformation, or manufacturing.”

Simple diluting, blending, packaging, bottling, desiccation, assembling, sorting or decorating will not be regarded as “substantial processing, transformation, or manufacturing.”

Package, packaging materials, containers and accessories, spare parts, tools and explanatory materials accompanying the goods should be ignored in determining the origin of the goods.

Dezan Shira & Associates is a boutique professional services firm providing foreign direct investment business advisory, tax, accounting, payroll and due diligence services for multinational clients in China. For further advice, please email china@dezshira.com, visit www.dezshira.com, or download the firm’s brochure here.

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