New Regulations for Electronic Cigarette Transportation in Hong Kong

On April 12th, the official website of the Hong Kong Legislative Council published the "On-Site Record of Meeting Proceedings". The record primarily contains the proceedings of the Legislative Council meeting that took place on March 29th at 11AM.

The Hong Kong Transport and Logistics Bureau has proposed changes to the 2023 Import and Export Ordinance to address the issue of electronic cigarette transportation through Hong Kong. The director, Franklyn Y.S. Lam, has urged the chairman to consider the draft bill during the second reading. In order to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness as an international aviation hub and a trading center in China's "14th Five-Year Plan," prompt legislative revisions are necessary. The new legislation aims to optimize exemption and regulatory measures regarding new tobacco products while preventing their unauthorized distribution in the local market. This will enable effective management of the shipment of new tobacco products from mainland China through Hong Kong International Airport to overseas destinations.

Lin Shixiong proposed to establish a new regulatory system, which would be managed, supervised, and enforced by the customs authorities. The regulatory system comprises four key elements.

Pre-registration:

Anyone who wishes to obtain exemption to transit or transfer new tobacco products through Hong Kong must register with the Customs Chief in advance. The new tobacco products must be shipped from a location outside of Hong Kong and delivered to another location outside of Hong Kong using a pre-approved sea-air or land-air transportation method, with a full itinerary, to be eligible for exemption.

Security Measures:

To effectively strengthen customs supervision of new tobacco products, companies and individuals involved in sea, air, or land transportation must install appropriate security equipment on ships or vehicles, such as designated electronic locks on containers or closed-circuit television/global positioning system devices to facilitate customs tracking. These monitoring measures will be enforced through administrative guidelines and updated as necessary to adapt to technological advancements and other changes. Customs will also provide the public with related guidance.

Advance notice:

Related companies or individuals are required to provide the Commissioner of Customs with advance information on goods and declare the situation of each shipment of new tobacco products upon arrival in Hong Kong, in accordance with current laws and regulations.

Real-time monitoring:

Goods must be transported in a secure manner that is accepted by the customs chief, and monitored in real-time throughout the entire transportation process. New tobacco products are being transported along designated routes to the Hong Kong International Airport for transfer. The goods will remain on the vessel/vehicle upon entry into the port and will be immediately transported to the restricted/supervised area of the airport under real-time monitoring upon arrival. They will remain there until they are transported by air to their overseas destination.

The full text of the relevant legislative proposal is as follows:

Related Reading:

Hong Kong, China is set to resume the transportation of electronic cigarettes by air and sea. The draft regulation will be reviewed on March 29th.

Hong Kong lawmakers question government's choice to transport e-cigarettes to Dongguan instead of Shenzhen.

Starting in early 2023, Hong Kong will resume e-cigarette transit, but only through sea or air transportation.

Hong Kong plans to submit suggestions for the revision of e-cigarette transportation regulations in early next year.

References:

The meeting proceedings are officially recorded.