Guidance Notes on Submitting Production Notification (PN) by using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

Transcription

1 24-hour hotline : Guidance Notes on Submitting Production Notification (PN) by using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) (A) Introduction This Guidance Notes serves to provide essential information to traders in preparing EDI PN applications. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided herein is correct at the time of publication. For up-to-date information and specific requirements, please contact PN section at telephone numbers set out in Part (H). (B) General Traders could now submit PN via EDI by using services provided by Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (Tradelink). Traders can make use of the Customer Software provided by Tradelink in completing a PN application. The particulars required to be declared on EDI PN applications are essentially the same as that required on paper. Please refer to the following paragraphs for details. (C) Completion of EDI PN Application Part (1) Unique Production Notification Reference (UPR) Number Each fresh application will be assigned with a Unique Production Notification Reference (UPR) number of 14 characters/digits by the Customer Software. Traders should use this number as a reference for all future correspondence, such as sending message to manufacturer/subcontractor, submitting supporting documents to Trade Department, etc.

2 - 2 - Part (2) (i) Particulars of the Manufacturer Company Details The Factory Registration (FR) Number, name of the company, etc. should be provided. Traders may input details for every PN lodged or retrieve the relevant company profile stored in the Customer Software. In the latter case, only the "Company Code" needs to be inputted. For the purpose of lodging PN, particulars in the company profile should tally with that registered and maintained by the Factory Registration (FR) section of Trade Department. (ii) Address Code All registered factories are required to register its production premises with the Trade Department. For the purpose of EDI submission, the Trade Department will provide each factory with a list of premises registered with Trade Department for production of goods and assign each factory premise with an "Address Code", e.g. "M01" for main factory address, "B01" and "B02" for branch addresses. In submitting EDI PN applications, traders should provide information on the factory premises at which the production of cut and sewn garments is to be conducted by inputting an appropriate "Address Code". Part (3) Particulars of the Subcontractor (if applicable) In case authorised local subcontractor is involved in production of goods, particulars including "Company Code" and "Address Code" of the subcontractor and the Local Subcontracting Arrangement No. should be provided as appropriate. Part (4) (i) Details of the Consignment of Cut-and-Sewn Garments Description of Finished Goods Traders are required to declare the gender, fibre contents, construction and garment types for the finished garments. Following are some typical examples - Ladies 65% polyester 35% cotton woven blouses Men s 20% rayon 80% polyester woven shirts Girls 100% cotton knitted jackets

3 - 3 - Traders should note that the PN requirements for cut-and-sewn garments only apply to cut-and-sewn garment products classified under HS headings and Traders normally are not required to submit PNs for products classified outside these HS headings. In case traders have doubts as to whether their products are subject to PN requirements, they can make use of the classification enquiry service provided by the Certification Branch. For co-ordinated garment sets, manufacturers are required to submit separate PNs for individual component garments and are required to specify that the garments are components of a co-ordinated garment set. For example, traders should submit separate PN applications for the following two component garments of pyjamas - (i) (ii) Men's 100% cotton nightshirt (upper part of pyjamas) Men's 100% cotton woven trousers (lower part of pyjamas) (ii) Destination Country The 'Destination Country' refers to the country to which goods are finally consigned. Only those cut-and-sewn garments for export to the restrained markets (i.e. USA, European Union (EU) and Canada) are required to lodge PN. The EU is formed by 15 member states (note 1 ), separate PNs should be submitted to each country respectively. PN application to countries other than the above will be rejected by the Department. (iii) Agreement Category Traders are also required to declare the quota category no. of the cut and sewn garments for export to the abovementioned destination countries. In case the information pertaining to quota category no. is not available (e.g. those integrated products), traders are required to input category code "999". Note : The European Union (EU) comprises 15 Member States which are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.

4 - 4 - Validated PN(s) may be used as supporting document for Certificate of Origin (CO) and/or Export Licence (EL) application. Traders should ensure that the category no. declared on PN application(s) tallies with that declared on the corresponding CO/EL application(s). With regards to the appropriate category no. for the consignment in question, traders may approach the respective Textiles Control Branches of Trade Department. Enquiry telephone numbers are listed below : Market Telephone No. Canada EU US Separate PN applications are required for each consignment of cut and sewn garments. A consignment which is destined for different countries and classifiable under different category no. should be covered by different PNs. (iv) Production Order No./Buyer s Order No./Article No. Information on Production Order No., Buyer s Order No., and Article No. must be provided. However, if manufacturers cannot provide information on Buyer s Order No. at the time of submitting PNs, they are allowed to declare Nil in this item. Part ( 5) (i) Description of Component Parts of Finished Goods Garment Group The Director-General of Trade has promulgated a list of component parts for eight types of garments that are allowable to be conducted outside Hong Kong without affecting the origin status of the finished garment. The eight garment types are categorised under eight "Garment Groups". Traders are allowed to select only one out of the eight "Garment Groups", viz. "A" to "H". For cut-and-sewn garments not classifiable under the eight garment types, traders should select Not Applicable under the "Garment Group".

5 - 5 - (ii) Component Parts Upon selecting one of the eight "Garment Groups", the corresponding component parts will be displayed on screen. Traders should select the appropriate "Component Part Code(s)" and indicate the source where it is obtained, i.e. own production (O), locally sourced (L) and/or imported (I). For cut-and-sewn garments belonging to the eight garment types but no component parts are applicable for the making up of the finished garment, please select "Component Part Code" - Not applicable after selecting the respective "Garment Group". Where component parts are imported (I) or sourced locally (L), the name and address of the local supplier and/or the importer should be declared in Local Supplier/Importer of Component Parts. Details are discussed in Part (6) below. Extra space is provided under the code "99 - Others to be specified" for filling in information relating to additional component part(s) not elsewhere specified under the "Garment Group". Unless the Department has given prior approval to include additional component parts, traders should not select this code under normal circumstances. The manufacturing processes for making up of certain component parts are not allowed to be conducted simultaneously, eg. traders could either subcontract the making up of complete lining or individual lining outside Hong Kong for the garment type - trousers/shorts. Traders should therefore ensure that they will not infringe this requirement in the course of manufacture, otherwise, the finished products will not be eligible for a Hong Kong origin status and no validated PN will be issued. For cut-and-sewn garments not classifiable under the eight garment types, traders should select Not Applicable under the "Garment Group". If it is selected, no component parts are allowed to be made outside Hong Kong.

6 - 6 - Due to limited space, only key words are provided in the Customer Software. Full explanations and descriptions are set out in the Explanatory Note on the List of Component Parts of Products Specified which is enclosed at Appendix II to Certificate of Origin Circular No. 8/98 issued on 9 July Part (6) Local Supplier/Importer of Component Parts The name and address of the local supplier and/or the importer should be declared. Traders could declare up to 3 companies for each EDI PN application. Please note that they should be companies located in Hong Kong. Part (7) Period of Assembly Work PNs should be submitted within 3 working days prior to the commencement of the major assembly work. If the commencement date is earlier than the date of lodgement, traders are required to provide supporting documents for its retrospective PN application. Manufacturers may refer to Part (9) for details in submitting supporting documents to the Department. If the consignment is jointly manufactured by the manufacturer and the subcontractor, and the production period of the subcontractor differs from that of the manufacturer, traders are required to declare the earlier date as the commencement date and the later date as the completion date no matter whether the commencement/completion of assembly work is performed by the manufacturer or the subcontractor. For the purpose of lodgement of PN, traders should always indicate the earlier commencement date. EDI PN applications lodged by traders on Sundays or public holidays will be regarded by the Trade Department as being received on the immediate following working day. In other words, traders should lodge PNs at least one working day prior to the day of commencement of the assembly work if it falls on Sundays or public holidays. Otherwise, it will still be regarded as a retrospective PN application even though the submission date is the same as the commencement date of assembly work.

7 - 7 - Part (8) Quantity and Quantity Unit of the Finished Goods Traders are required to indicate clearly the quantity of the finished goods to be manufactured by themselves, their authorised local subcontractor, or their outworkers respectively. The sum of these quantities should be equal to the total quantity on the PN application. In addition, if the quantity unit is dozen and the quantity of the consignment concerned is only part of a dozen, the following correlation table should be used to describe the exact quantity : 1 pc = 0.08 dozen 7 pc = 0.58 dozen 2 pc = 0.17 dozen 8 pc = 0.67 dozen 3 pc = 0.25 dozen 9 pc = 0.75 dozen 4 pc = 0.33 dozen 10 pc = 0.83 dozen 5 pc = 0.42 dozen 11 pc = 0.92 dozen 6 pc = 0.50 dozen 12 pc = 1.00 dozen As PN is a supporting document for application of EL for the USA market and CO for other markets, the product description, category no., quantity unit for the PN should be the same as that in EL and CO. Otherwise, the corresponding EL/CO may be rejected. In general, the quota control unit specified in the relevant Notice to Exporters for the USA market should be used for the purpose of lodgement of PN. However, for some USA categories which are controlled in kg, the commercial unit, dozen, should be used. Part (9) Supporting Documents Traders could select the appropriate supporting document code(s) set out in the Customer Software. In case the list does not contain the desired one, manufacturers may choose "HD3-Others" and provide details in the "Supporting Document Remarks". App. I The Department will only process the EDI PN applications/ requests upon receipt of all supporting documents from the applicant. The supporting documents, together with the duly completed Supporting Document form (Copy at Appendix I) for EDI PN, should be submitted in person to the Receiving Counter No. 5 of the Certification Branch, 3/F Trade Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Mongkok.

8 - 8 - Part (10) Declaration by the Manufacturer and/or Subcontractor Manufacturers and/or subcontractors are required to input declaration codes for the purpose of making declarations. Manufacturers should input "P01" and subcontractors should input "P02" as appropriate. In each case, the content of the declaration will be displayed on screen. Traders are strongly advised to read the full content of the declaration. The declaration would in fact constitute an agreement by the manufacturer or subcontractor to abide by the requirements and conditions contained in the declaration. Part (11) Special Declaration/Statement In case traders need to provide details which are not elsewhere covered in the EDI PN application, traders can provide additional information using the space provided herein. In normal cases, traders need not to declare anything. Part (12) Additional information required for export to USA only Traders may from time to time be required to indicate whether they consent to HK/US Customs Joint Visit for consignment destined for USA. Part (13) PN Approval No. Provided no complications, an electronic approval message will be issued by the Trade Department via EDI. The message will contain, inter alia, an approval number and date of issue of the validated PN. The approval message will take the place of the validated paper PN and traders are not required to collect copy of the validated paper PN. The approval number is of 10 characters/digits and may be used for supporting application of CO and EL. Traders are also reminded to read carefully the information detailed in the approval message.

9 - 9 - (D) Request for Amendment Traders may request for amendment of validated PNs in respect of the following particulars : (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Description of Finished Goods Category No. Production Order No./Buyer Order No./Article No. Quantity (downward adjustment only) Garment Group Description and Source of the Component Parts In submitting the request, traders are required to provide reasons/explanations for initiating the amendment. For EDI submissions, traders may include details as part of the EDI message, provided it is presented sufficiently clear. If circumstances so warrant, the Trade Department may also ask the applicants to provide supporting documents to substantiate the request. Amendment request will be considered by the Trade Department on a case by case basis. If the amendment constitutes to substantial changes to the validated PN, traders may be required to cancel the validated PN first and submit a fresh PN application to cover the consignment concerned. Amendment requests should be submitted within the 3-month validity period of the validated PN. For those PNs about to expire, manufacturers are advised to make a request for extension of validity period before submitting the amendment request. (E) Request for Extension of Validity Period Traders should provide reasons for lodging requests for extension of validity period of validated PNs. For requests submitted via EDI, traders may select from the Customer Software codified reason(s) (i.e. from 401 to 405) or input details if an appropriate code is not available. Under normal circumstances, traders are not required to provide supporting documents to substantiate the request unless otherwise required by the Trade Department on individual case basis. Traders will then be informed in due course. Traders should note that no extension request will be entertained after the validated PN has been expired.

10 (F) Request for Cancellation Traders should provide reasons for lodging requests for cancellation of validated PNs. For requests submitted via EDI, traders may select from the Customer Software codified reason(s) (i.e. from 301 to 307) or input details if an appropriate code is not available. Under normal circumstances, traders are not required to provide supporting documents to substantiate the request unless otherwise required by the Trade Department on individual case basis. Traders will then be informed in due course. Traders should note that no cancellation request will be entertained after the validated PN has been expired. (G) Important Notes The Trade Department attaches Conditions of PN upon issue of validated PN which are set out in Certificate of Origin Circular No. 10/99 dated 23 July Traders are advised to read carefully the Conditions of PN and ensure that they can comply with the Conditions. Breach of these conditions may render the Trade Department to take administrative actions against the manufacturers (including subcontractors as the case may be) concerned irrespective of whether they have been prosecuted. Such administrative actions may involve, but shall not necessarily be confined to, any or all of the following : refusal to validate a PN; refusal to issue a CO; suspension of certification facilitates; cancellation of Factory Registration of the company/registered business concerned. (H) Enquiry Enquiries may be directed to the PN Section of Certification Branch of Trade Department at the following telephone numbers : [Rev. Sept 99] Certification Branch Trade Department September 1999 [FU030-c.DOC]