The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau and the General Administration of Customs (GACC) today signed the Cooperation Arrangement on Single Window - a trade facilitation measure between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

The co-operation arrangement was signed by Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau and Minister of the GACC Sun Meijun.

Noting that the Mainland is Hong Kong's largest partner in trade in goods with frequent cross-boundary trade, Mr Yau said the Single Window provides a one-stop electronic platform for the trade to lodge various types of documents for trade declaration and cargo clearance.

The arrangement will allow collaboration and interconnectivity of the systems of the two places to reach new heights, enhancing the existing mechanism of exchange and co-operation as well as exploring different areas of collaboration, he added.

The bureau has been implementing the Single Window in three phases, with the first two phases in full service since 2020 and 2023 respectively, covering 42 types of trade documents. Phase 3 services will be rolled out in batches from 2026 onwards.

The GACC and the Customs & Excise Department launched the Mainland-Hong Kong "Single Submission for Dual Declaration" Scheme in 2024, covering all cargo imported from the Mainland through land boundary control points. The scheme spares enterprises the time and manpower required for declaration and minimises operating costs.

It covers all cargo passing through land boundary control points between the two places starting today, enabling industry stakeholders to reuse road cargo information when submitting to the systems of both sides. The scheme will be reprovisioned in Phase 3 of the Single Window.