Beijing has agreed to provide two facilitation measures for wine exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland relating to wine pre-valuation and compressing the clearance time at Mainland ports.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Rita Lau met General Administration of Customs Vice Minister Lu Bin in Beijing today and agreed on the details of the facilitation measures.

The two facilitation measures are:

* importers who have registered with Mainland customs authorities can ask for a pre-valuation of wine duty 10 working days before a shipment is exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland. When it arrives at a Mainland boundary point, Mainland customs will valuate it within one working day; and,

* for registered importers who have not chosen to conduct wine duty pre-valuation, Mainland customs will strive to shorten the clearance time at Mainland boundary points. For wines which have been imported to the Mainland before, with submission of all the necessary documents and no irregularities identified after inspection, the clearance procedures will normally take no more than three working days. For wines which are new to the Mainland market, the valuation procedures will usually be completed within seven working days. If the customs clearance cannot be completed in time, the goods can still be released with a guarantee deposit.

The measures will first be implemented as a pilot in Shenzhen, and may be extended to other major Mainland boundary points subject to development. Both sides will work towards the target of implementing the measures early next year.

Welcoming the agreement Mrs Lau said it will enhance co-operation between the two sides on wine matters and help boost Hong Kong's position as the region's wine trading and distribution hub.