INDUSTRY AND TRADE
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An estimated 77.4 per cent of Hong Kong's domestic exports were covered by certificates of origin of one type or another; 46.8 per cent of them by the department's certificates.
Administration
The Commerce and Industry Department's responsibilities include overseas commercial relations, industrial development, origin certification, trade controls and the collection and protection of revenue from dutiable commodities. Its work is complemented by several autonomous institutions either wholly or partly financed by public funds, whose functions and activities are outlined in subsequent sections.
There are two Commercial Relations Divisions in the department, which collect and disseminate information on trade policy measures by other countries that may affect Hong Kong, and keep in touch with the activities of international organisa- tions. The divisions are also responsible for conducting Hong Kong's trade negotia- tions with other governments and for implementing the agreements reached. This involves the calculation and allocation of textile quotas and the operation of export control procedures.
The department's three overseas offices in Brussels, Washington and Geneva are almost entirely concerned with commercial relations work and provide up-to-date information on international matters which are likely to affect Hong Kong. Similar work is undertaken by the Hong Kong Government Office in London.
The Industry Division provides a liaison between industry and other government departments, answers industrial enquiries from overseas and deals with specific in- dustrial problems. It also operates the UNCTAD generalised preferences scheme, as well as certificate of origin and Commonwealth preference procedures. A trade investigation service enforces these procedures through the regular inspection of factories and goods and the prosecution of those suspected of contravening the relevant regulations, apart from handling trade complaints.
The Preventive Service, a uniformed and disciplined organisation, whose role in the protection of revenue from dutiable commodities and the control of narcotics traffic is described in Chapter 10, is under the command of an Assistant Commis- sioner. The service has an establishment of 13 gazetted officers, 288 inspectors and 754 rank and file. On June 1, an officer in the public service was appointed to one of the two posts of Senior Superintendent (formerly designated Chief Preventive Officer). During the year, 29 Revenue Inspectors and 82 Assistant Revenue Officers were recruited and on completion of their induction training were posted to the various operational commands. At the end of the year, 54 officers were undergoing refresher or induction training.
During the year, improvements and extensions were made to several Preventive Service stations. In Kowloon, new married quarters for 229 rank and file were officially opened on October 6, by the then Commissioner, Mr J. Cater, MBE, and construction of the new training school at Tai Lam Chung was in process. Eighteen mechanised baggage examination counters were installed in the Customs area at