Press Releases
Amendment Regulation to regulate export of powdered formula gazetted
The Government gazetted today (February 22) the Import and Export (General)(Amendment)
Regulation 2013 (the Amendment Regulation) to prohibit the export of
powdered formula (including milk powder and soya milk powder) for
infants and young children under 36 months (powdered formula) from
Hong Kong except with a licence issued by the Director-General of
Trade and Industry (DGTI).
A Government spokesman said, "The Government considers that the recent
supply chain failure in relation to powdered formula is closely
related to parallel trading activities. The huge demand of parallel
traders often leads to serious shortage in certain brands of powdered
formula for local mothers. The Amendment Regulation aims to combat the
problem of parallel traders diverting large quantities of powdered
formula away from the supply chain in Hong Kong."
The Amendment Regulation amends the Import and Export (General)
Regulations (Cap. 60, sub. leg. A) by including powdered formula as an
item of specified articles in the second column of Schedule 2 so that
an export licence must be obtained from the DGTI issued under section
3 of the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60) to export such articles
(unless otherwise provided for in the legislation).
Any person who contravenes the relevant provision shall be guilty of
an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of $500,000 and to
imprisonment for two years.
"The Trade and Industry Department would in general issue export
licences only to importers of 'infant/follow-up/growing-up formula
(for baby up to 36 months)' who have registered under the Food Safety
Ordinance or those importers exempted under section 4(3)(a) of the
Food Safety Ordinance from the registration requirement. On
application, applicants are required to submit import documents to
prove that the batch of powdered formula concerned is directly
imported from other places.
"Since the existing Food Safety Ordinance has stipulated that a person
who imports food in the course of business must keep records of
acquisition of imported food, we believe that this requirement would
not impose an additional burden on importers. Also, Hong Kong has been
exercising export control over a range of commodities for different
policy reasons. In general, the introduction of an export licensing
system on powdered formula will not have an impact on Hong Kong's free
trade status," the spokesman added.
Having regard to the need of those leaving Hong Kong for powdered
formula for personal use, the Government proposes that not more than a
total net weight of 1.8 kilograms of powdered formula may be carried
by each person aged 16 (the statutory minimum age for getting married
in Hong Kong) or above. In general, the maximum net weight of a can of
powdered formula is 0.9kg. This means that each person may take two
cans under the Amendment Regulation. The purpose of inserting the age
limit is to prevent children from being used to carry such powdered
formula in parallel trading activities. The spokesman pointed out that
the 1.8kg exemption should only be applicable to a person on his or
her first departure from Hong Kong within a 24-hour period.
The Government is mindful that the 24-hour period restriction may
cause inconvenience in some exceptional cases. As such, the Amendment
Regulation provides an exception to allow a person (aged 16 or above),
who left Hong Kong one or more times in the last 24 hours, to carry
powdered formula, provided that (i) he or she travels with an infant
or young child aged under 36 months; (ii) the powdered formula is in
an unsealed container; and (iii) the quantity does not exceed a
reasonable quantity for consumption by the infant or child during the
travelling time from the Hong Kong point of exit to the next point of
entry in a place outside Hong Kong.
The Amendment Regulation will be tabled at the Legislative Council on
February 27 for negative vetting. The Amendment Regulation will
commence on March 1, 2013.
Ends/Friday, February 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:14
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