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An import licence is required to import frozen or chilled meat or poultry. A company must be registered as a food importer with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) before applying for an import licence. As of December 2015, advance written permission from the FEHD and a health certificate from the place of origin are required for the import of poultry eggs. The Environmental Protection Department is responsible for administering the import permit/licensing scheme for non-pesticide hazardous chemicals, as well as the permits required for the import of waste. Between 2014 and 2018, amendments were made to the Hazardous Chemicals Control Ordinance (Cap. 595) to include eight more non-pesticide hazardous chemicals, in order to reflect changes in the Rotterdam Convention and the Stockholm Convention. These amendments have all come into effect. In 2016, amendments were also made to the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354) to cover e-waste and container waste; these amendments are expected to come into effect in December 2018. In order to protect beaches and the seabed, the import of sand is subject to a permit issued by the Civil Engineering and Development Department.

HKC prohibits exports of rough diamonds to non-participants of the Kimberly Process, and exports of ozone-depleting substances to countries outside the Montreal Protocol. (…)

Certain goods are subject to export controls, such as export licences/permits, removal permits or certificates for reasons of public health, safety, security and environmental protection, as well as to comply with international obligations and collect excise duties. Export controls essentially mirror those applied to imports, with the exception of powdered formula, frozen and chilled meat and poultry, live animals and plants (Table 3.7). During the review period, the export control regime remained largely unchanged, except for a few amendments made to the lists of controlled items in order to reflect changes in international export control regimes. [40]

[40] The list of strategic commodities was amended in 2017; amendments were made to local legislation to bring it in line with CITES in 2014 and 2018; and the list of waste materials requiring export licensing was updated to add e-waste and container waste in 2016.

Table 3.7 Export licensing schemes, 2017
Goods Licensing authority Rationale
(…)
Ozone-depleting substances TID International obligations
(…)
Genetically modified organisms (intended for release into environment) AFCD Biosafety; international obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity
Endangered species of animals and plants AFCD International obligations
Non-pesticide hazardous chemicalsb Environmental Protection Department To protect human health and the environment in accordance with, inter alia, the principles of the Stockholm Convention and the Rotterdam Convention
Waste Environmental Protection Department To fulfil international obligations under the Basel Convention and to ensure the environmentally sound management of waste

A number of tax exemptions and concessions are granted to businesses and individuals. Exemptions from profits tax apply to dividends and capital gains, and on interest and profits arising from sovereign bonds issued in HKC by the Central People's Government. (...) There is also a 100% profits tax deduction for the first year of the purchase of environmentally-friendly commercial vehicles, machinery and equipment.

Other tax incentives include (…) a first registration tax (FRT) concession for electrical vehicles and environmentally-friendly commercial vehicles. [51]

[51] Until fiscal year 2016/17, the FRT was waived altogether for electric vehicles, and the concession on environmental-friendly vehicles applied to both private and commercial vehicles.

Since its last Review, HKC has submitted seven notifications to the TBT Committee. (…) four referred to conformity assessment procedures (voluntary water-efficiency labelling on flow controllers and water closets, and energy labelling on various types of electrical appliances) (...) whose draft had been notified in 2012.

Technical regulations (i.e. mandatory standards) currently in force include products such as motor vehicles, ocean-going vessels, household electrical appliances, portable air compressors, boilers and pressure vessels, building materials, toys and children's products, consumer goods, food, firefighting equipment, lifts and escalators, and telecommunications apparatus and equipment, among others. These technical regulations are applied on environmental, safety and health grounds (Table A3.3).

The HKAS is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (PAC), and the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC). It is also a signatory to the multilateral mutually recognition agreement (MRAs) administered by these organizations. Since January 2014, the HKAS has expanded the scope of its MRAs to cover energy management system certification, food safety management system certification, greenhouse gas validation and verification, and proficiency testing providers. As of April 2018, the HKAS had concluded MRAs with over 90 economies worldwide

Food labelling requirements are administered by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) under the FEHD, and are stipulated in Schedule 3 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W). (…) Genetically-modified (GM) food is not subject to labelling requirements, rather a voluntary "positive labelling" approach is used, whereby any food product containing 5% or more of an individual GM ingredient should be labelled as GM food. The authorities do not recommend negative labelling (i.e. "GM free"), as they consider this might mislead consumers.