98
HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
Certificates of Commonwealth content, permitting export- ed goods so certified to claim entry at preferential tariff rates, are prepared by accountants approved for the prepara- tion of cost statements designed to show the percentage of Commonwealth content. The certificates are issued by the Commerce and Industry Department for those countries which grant a preferential tariff for certain Hong Kong goods, but Imperial Preference certificates for goods claim- ing preference in the United Kingdom are issued by the accountants themselves, cost statements in support being scrutinized by) H.M. Customs and Excise in the United Kingdom_rather than by the Department.
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Additional supervisory and clerical staff were recruited in 1957 to check applications for certificates and to give closer attention to the scrutiny of cost statements. The principles relating to the issue of certificates of origin and Imperial Preference certificates were under constant review through- Fout the year and departmental procedures to expedite the issue of certificates simplified. Co-operation and liaison with overseas customs authorities proved beneficial in both the promotion and control of certified exports. Exports of goods certified by the Commerce and Industry Department as of Hong Kong origin were valued at $638 million during 1957; and Imperial Preference certificates covering goods to the value of $141 million 'were also issued.
An additional complexity arises from the need to preserve Hong Kong's trade with the United States in the face of the United States Foreign Assets Control Regulations, which prohibit the import of a range of products, presumed to originate in mainland China unless evidence is advanced to the contrary. Procedures operated by the Department and designed to produce such evidence were somewhat expanded in 1957; exports of 'presumptive' commodities amounted to over $126 million; there was an 11.7% increase in the number of comprehensive certificates issued as com- pared with 1956.
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