PUBLIC ORDER
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administrations as part of its international co-operation efforts. In 1999, 57 officers from the Mainland and Macau received training in Hong Kong, in addition to 18 officers from other customs administrations.
Electronic Data Interchange
The department has made further progress in enhancing electronic data interchange (EDI) service for submitting import and export declarations (TDEC). A bilingual TDEC service was launched in January. Traders may now submit TDECS using EDI services in English or Chinese. To progressively phase out paper declarations, the postal method of lodging trade declarations was discontinued in April. The department's Kowloon Collection Office was closed in October. The last step is to close the Hong Kong Collection Office in April 2000. By then, all TDEC submissions will have to be made using EDI. In December, the relevant legislative amendments to withdraw the paper lodgement of TDEC completely by April 2000 were passed by the Legislative Council.
During the year, the department had also embarked on developing EDI services for submitting Dutiable Commodities Permits and manifests electronically. The department plans to deliver the services in mid-2001.
Information Technology
After its successful live run in September 1998, the coverage of the newly replaced Customs Control System was expanded to provide service to over 50 offices of the department. This extension project provides those offices with an easy and speedy means for retrieving information from the main system for intelligence analysis and application of risk management. A new Trade Controls Sub-system was also developed and added to the main system to facilitate the trade controls functions of the Trade Controls Branch.
Phase I of the Air Cargo Clearance System was implemented in July 1998 to provide reliable round the clock service to the air freight industry. The system helped to speed up cargo clearance time by two hours as compared with the processing time required at Kai Tak. Phase II of the system was also successfully implemented in July 1999 with more powerful machines and an intelligence module added on it to reinforce the Customs in the detection of contraband. The final phase, i.e. Phase III, of the system is scheduled to be implemented in February 2000 when modules for facilitation of export cargo and data reconciliation functions with the cargo operators will be introduced.
In December, the capacity of the Land Boundary System (LBS) was increased to cater for the commissioning of 10 additional Customs kiosks at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point.
With full awareness of the possible impact of Y2K problem, the department began to draw up rectification plans to address the issue in May 1997. A Project Group was set up in January 1998 to co-ordinate and monitor all rectification actions. By June, all rectification work as substantiated by quality assurance reviews, was completed. Contingency plans to ensure continuity of the department's critical business were successfully tested by September. A Co-ordination Committee was also in place to oversee effective communications within and outside the department in the event of Y2K-induced disruptions of services.