130 Commerce and Industry
strategic commodities through Hong Kong. The licensing control system for strategic commodities is administered by the Trade and Industry Department with the support of vigorous enforcement action by the Customs and Excise Department. Hong Kong maintains close cooperation with its trading partners to keep abreast of developments in the international arena on strategic trade control matters, and to make sure that its control arrangement is complementary to those of its trading partners.
The Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance, which commenced operation in June, enables the Government to fully implement the Chemical Weapons Convention in Hong Kong. It underlines Hong Kong's commitment to internationally agreed arrangements on the ban of chemical weapons and on the monitoring of activities involving sensitive chemicals. It also helps enhance Hong Kong's international reputation in the area of strategic trade control, and helps ensure its continued access to a full range of chemicals needed for local industrial, medical, research and trading purposes.
In 2004, the Customs and Excise Department investigated 234 cases of unlicensed import and export of strategic commodities and prosecuted 57 offenders, resulting in fines amounting to $1.51 million. Goods valued at $1.92 million were confiscated.
Customs Cooperation
Hong Kong Customs plays an active role in the work of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), which aims to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of customs administrations and facilitate trade by achieving harmony and uniformity of customs procedures among its members; and the Sub-committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) of APEC, which is tasked to simplify and harmonise customs procedures to facilitate cross-border trade in the Asia-Pacific region. As at December, the WCO had a worldwide membership of 164 Customs administrations; and APEC had 21 member economies.
In the WCO forum, the department works closely with the WCO Vice-Chairman representing the Asia-Pacific region on regional matters, and is a co-coordinator of regional activities on enforcement programmes in security, commercial fraud, smuggling and intelligence, customs-business partnership and integrity.
The department also maintains close liaison with the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office (RILO), which was relocated from Tokyo to Beijing on January 1. The department continues to provide full support to the RILO by seconding an officer to the Beijing Office to enhance the regional intelligence network by exchanging timely intelligence and offering investigative assistance to members in the Asia-Pacific Region.
In the APEC SCCP forum, the department works closely with member economies on trade facilitation work, and is a co-coordinator of SCCP Collective Action Plans on Public Availability of Information, Customs Integrity and Customs-Business Partnership.