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The Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 2012 will come into effect on July 9. Under the amendment regulation, a new type of trade licence for left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles to be re-exported will be introduced and the control mechanism to prevent abuse of the use of trade licences will be improved.
"The new trade licence for LHD vehicles to be re-exported will be subject to certain restrictions on use. For example, LHD vehicles bearing the new trade licence cannot be driven for presale demonstration to potential customers or mechanical tests, and the new trade licence cannot be used on a LHD vehicle which has been imported to Hong Kong for more than 12 months," said the Government spokesman today (July 5).
Unlike the current trade licence plate which bears red letters and numerals on a white background, the new plate designated for use by LHD vehicles to be re-exported will have blue letters and numerals on a white background.
The application requirements and procedures for the new trade licence for LHD vehicles to be re-exported will be similar to that of the existing trade licence, except that provision of documentary proof of business in LHD vehicle re-export trade (e.g. copies of invoices/manifests/import or export returns or declarations, etc) will be required.
With effect from July 9, the improved control mechanism of trade licences will also come into operation. All holders of trade licences (both the existing and the new trade licence) are required to complete, maintain and produce authorisation documents and a register of journeys in strict compliance with the legal requirements. Contravention of any of these requirements will be an offence liable to punishment in court and may also result in cancellation of a trade licence.
In line with the improved control mechanism, applicants for new or additional trade licences will also be required to produce additional supporting documents for their applications with effect from July 9 as set out in the revised application documents.
For details on application for a trade licence, please refer to the website of the Transport Department (www.td.gov.hk). The requirements for application for a closed road permit for use in conjunction with a trade licence for driving unregistered vehicles for export out of and import into Hong Kong via land can also be found in the website.
Ends/Thursday, July 5, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:26
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