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by a Customs and Excise Department. Being a free port, Hong Kong imposes a duty on only five categories of imported goods (tobacco, liquor, hydrocarbon oils, table waters and methyl alcohol). This is matched by an excise tax on the same items locally manu- factured.
The service has a major responsibility in the field of narcotics smuggling and all vessels arriving in Hong Kong from ports which are suspected to be outlets for narcotic drugs are boarded and searched by specially trained teams and/or guarded throughout their stay in Hong Kong waters; similar attention is paid to aircraft arriving in Hong Kong. Selective searches are made of suspect cargoes and postal packets.
The Preventive Service enforces the legislation controlling the import and export of cargo and acts as a law enforcement agent for several other government departments.