IMPORTERS and exporters must comply with new product declaration rules from January 1 to bring the territory in line with international practice. They will have to provide specific commodity item code numbers when lodging import or export declarations under the new regulations, which carry fines up to $10,000. The Customs and Excise Department announced yesterday that the 1992 Imports and Exports Classification List would undergo major amendments, making it compatible with the World Customs Organisation's (WCO) amended description and coding system. A spokesman said accurate and complete declarations had to be lodged within 14 days of importation or exportation of goods. The head of the Trade Licensing Investigation Bureau of the department, Wong Chun-kwong, said: 'The exercise is a major amendment incorporating over 400 sets of amendments made by the WCO on the code system in the past three years.'
