Express Arrival Service Limited 保運服務有限公司

Hong Kong Import & Export Declaration Service

Under the Import and Export (Registration) Regulations, Chapter 60E of the Laws of Hong Kong, any person importing or exporting a non-exempted article must lodge an accurate and complete declaration with Hong Kong Customs within 14 days of the goods moving. Express Arrival Service Limited, part of Anglo East Group, lodges those declarations electronically for jewellery, diamond and watch traders, on the basis of your invoice, from HK$32 per consignment.

The obligation is the trader’s, not the carrier’s. Late lodgement is penalised, and a declaration that is knowingly or recklessly inaccurate in a material particular carries liability to prosecution.

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The Essentials

14-day deadline

Runs from the date the goods actually more

Legal basis

Import and Export (Registration) Regulations, Cap. 60E

Lodged with

Hong Kong Customs; data used by the Census and Statistics Department

Government charge ceiling

HK$200 per declaration since 1 August 2018

Late penalty

HK$20 to HK$200, rising with value and delay

14 days

Statutory deadline to lodge

Cap. 60E

Import and Export Regulations

HK$200

Govt charge ceiling per declaration

From HK$32

Our declaration service fee

The obligation

Who files, what they file, and by when

What is a Hong Kong import or export declaration?

A Hong Kong import or export declaration — commonly called a TDEC — is a statutory filing lodged with Hong Kong Customs recording the particulars of goods moved into or out of Hong Kong. It is not customs clearance. Clearance is the border process that happens as the goods move; the declaration is a registration duty completed afterwards, within a statutory deadline. The two are routinely confused, and they have different owners and different timing.

The data lodged is also used by the Census and Statistics Department to compile Hong Kong’s external trade statistics.

Who must lodge

Any person importing or exporting a non-exempted article. The duty rests with the importer or exporter. Appointing a courier or forwarder to move the goods does not move the legal obligation off the trader.

By when

Within 14 days of the article being imported or exported. The clock runs from the date the goods physically move — not from the invoice date, and not from when payment settles.

What late or wrong filing costs

Late lodgement is penalised on a scale set by value and delay. Separately, a person who knowingly or recklessly lodges a declaration inaccurate in any material particular is liable to prosecution. Under-declaring value falls squarely in that category.

Late Lodgement

The penalty multiplies by five between a slip and a lapse

Two factors set the figure: the value of the goods, and how late the declaration is.

Penalties for late lodgement of an import or export declaration. Verified September 2026.
Value of articles	Within 1 month 14 days	Within 2 months 14 days	After 2 months 14 days
HK$20,000 or below	HK$20	HK$40	HK$100
Above HK$20,000	HK$40	HK$80	HK$200

A jewellery, diamond or watch consignment will almost always exceed HK$20,000, so the second row is the one that applies — double the first. Source: Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department.

The Statutory Charge

How the government declaration charge is calculated

The statutory charge is set by value and subject to a ceiling per declaration. It is separate from our service fee.

The formula

Non-food imports, and exports or re-exports: HK$0.2 on the first HK$46,000 of value, then HK$0.125 for every HK$1,000 or part thereafter, rounded to the nearest 10 cents.

Food imports: a flat HK$0.2 per declaration regardless of value.

Ceiling: HK$200 per declaration, in force since 1 August 2018.

Exports of Hong Kong-manufactured clothing and footwear additionally attract the Clothing Industry Training Levy at HK$0.3 per HK$1,000 — not applicable to the jewellery and watch trade.

Worked example: a HK$300,000 jewellery export

First HK$46,000HK$0.20
Remaining HK$254,000 ÷ 1,000 = 254 units254 × 0.125
which isHK$31.75
Government declaration charge≈ HK$32

On this formula the statutory charge does not reach its HK$200 ceiling until a declared value of roughly HK$1.64 million. In practice almost every jewellery and watch consignment sits below the cap.

Sources: Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, Census and Statistics Department. Government charges may be revised; the department’s current published rates prevail.

Our Service

Let us hold the 14-day clock

Give us the instruction and we lodge electronically on the basis of your invoice. For dealers with consignments moving every week, this removes a recurring administrative burden and a recurring compliance risk.

Electronic declaration service fee, by declared value per consignment
Declared value	Service fee (HKD)
Under HK$100,000	32
Under HK$200,000	57
Under HK$300,000	82
Under HK$400,000	107
Under HK$500,000	132
Under HK$600,000	157
Under HK$700,000	182
Under HK$800,000	200
Above HK$800,000 (capped)	250

The above is our declaration service fee. The statutory government charge is set separately under Chapter 60E as described above; we confirm the final total for your consignment when you place the order.

High-value Goods

Why declarations work differently for the jewellery trade

We are not a general declaration agent. Anglo East Group has specialised in insurance and transit for the jewellery, diamond and watch trades since 1984 — the declaration is one step in a process we already run end to end.

Declare accurately; label discreetly

These are two different things and they are constantly conflated. The commercial invoice and the declaration must be complete, accurate and truthful. We do not accept under-value invoicing.

What stays discreet is the airway bill and address on the outside of the parcel, where we ensure the words jewellery, diamonds, gold and watches do not appear. Customs gets everything; the people handling the box get nothing.

Repairs, memo goods and show returns

A watch going back to the manufacturer for service, a diamond going out on memo, exhibits travelling to a fair and back — each leg can constitute a separate import or export, each with its own 14-day deadline.

The leg most often missed is the return. We confirm the filing position for the whole journey rather than the outbound alone.

One process, one team

Freight, transit insurance, discreet labelling, double-box packing and the declaration, handled by one Hong Kong team. No separate courier, insurer and declaration agent, and no reconciling three sets of paperwork yourself.

FAQs | Hong Kong Declaration | Express Arrival

Do I need to file a Hong Kong declaration when I export jewellery?

Yes, unless the article is exempted, and jewellery, diamonds and watches are not exempted articles. Any person exporting must lodge an accurate and complete declaration with Hong Kong Customs within 14 days of export. The obligation is the exporter’s, even where a courier arranges the movement.

What is the difference between customs clearance and a customs declaration?

Clearance is the border process that happens as goods physically move, handled by the carrier or a clearance agent at the time. The import or export declaration is a separate statutory registration duty, lodged with Hong Kong Customs within 14 days after the goods move, and used by the Census and Statistics Department for trade statistics.

Goods clearing customs without incident does not mean you have declared them. That misunderstanding is the single most common cause of late filing.

What happens if my Hong Kong declaration is filed late?

A penalty applies, scaled by value and delay. For articles valued at HK$20,000 or below: HK$20 if lodged within 1 month 14 days, HK$40 within 2 months 14 days, HK$100 after that. For articles above HK$20,000 the corresponding penalties are HK$40, HK$80 and HK$200.

Jewellery and watch consignments will almost always fall into the higher band.

How is the government declaration charge calculated above HK$46,000?

For non-food imports and for exports: HK$0.2 on the first HK$46,000 of value, then HK$0.125 per HK$1,000 or part thereafter, rounded to the nearest 10 cents, capped at HK$200 per declaration since 1 August 2018.

On that formula the cap is not reached until roughly HK$1.64 million of declared value. A HK$300,000 consignment attracts a statutory charge of about HK$32.

Can I appoint an agent to lodge declarations for me?

Yes — appointing an agent to file electronically is common practice. But the legal obligation remains with the trader: if an agent files late or inaccurately, the responsibility does not transfer. Whether the agent understands your goods, their value and the shape of the journey therefore matters.

Express Arrival files on the basis of your invoice, from HK$32 for consignments under HK$100,000 up to a capped HK$250 above HK$800,000.

Does a watch returning to Hong Kong after overseas repair need declaring?

Yes. Goods coming back into Hong Kong constitute an import and carry their own 14-day deadline. On round-trip movements the return leg is the one most often missed — the outbound is declared and the inbound is treated as “the same goods” and skipped. We confirm the position for the full journey.

Which goods are exempted from declaration?

The Import and Export (Registration) Regulations set out specific exempted categories. Because those categories are precise and are amended from time to time, the reliable approach is to confirm your particular goods with us or with Hong Kong Customs rather than infer it. Trade consignments of jewellery, diamonds and watches are not generally within the exemptions.

What if I under-declare the value?

A person who knowingly or recklessly lodges a declaration inaccurate in any material particular is liable to prosecution. Beyond the legal exposure there is a serious insurance consequence: if a loss occurs and the declared value contradicts the insured value, that discrepancy goes directly to the claim.

This is why we insist on truthful declarations across every shipment, and why we keep “declare accurately” and “label discreetly” firmly separate.

Hand us the declaration

Send the invoice and shipping details on WhatsApp and we will confirm the filing position and the final cost. Freight, cover and declaration can be arranged together.

Hotline: +(852) 2330 7127

Email: Eascs1@aeg.com.hk

Legislation, charges and penalties on this page are drawn from material published by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department and the Census and Statistics Department and were verified in September 2026. They may be amended and the government’s current published position prevails. This page is general information and does not constitute legal or declaration advice. Whether particular goods are exempted should be confirmed with us or with Hong Kong Customs.