*********************************************************
The Government today (February 16) announced a new fee structure for the Textiles Trader Registration Scheme (TTRS) with a price differential between lodging paper and electronic textile notifications.
The fee structure will be implemented in mid-2007 subject to the completion of legislative amendments to the relevant regulation.
A Government spokesman said the legislative process had begun and the exact date of implementation would be announced after the proposed legislative amendments were approved by the Legislative Council.
Under the new fee structure, the annual registration fee payable by the textile traders registered under TTRS to the Trade and Industry Department will be reduced from $2,825 to $718. The department will charge traders registering under the new fee structure a new fee of $3.80 for each paper notification lodged, in addition to the existing $0.50 for each paper form. The department will not charge any fee for electronic notifications, and the service provider will continue to charge a message fee of $0.50 for each electronic notification.
"Through the introduction of a price differential between paper and electronic submissions, we hope to encourage textile traders to make more use of the electronic mode in submitting notifications under TTRS. Textile traders who switch to electronic mode will, apart from gaining greater efficiency in lodging and processing trade documentation arising from the use of electronic services, stand to benefit in terms of paying less under the new fee structure," the spokesman said.
To promote electronic commerce, improve efficiency and reduce the use of paper, the Government has, since 1997, introduced electronic services for the submission of a number of trade documents, including textile notifications under TTRS. The service for lodging electronic textile notifications was launched in May 2003, upon the coming into effect of the Import and Export (General) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 2003.
The Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2007, which seeks to reduce the annual TTRS registration fee and to add a new fee of $3.80 for each notification lodged on paper, is gazetted today.
Ends/Friday, February 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:01
NNNN
