Tier-I VASP
Tier-I VASP is eligible to transmit the specified information that does not involve the collection or payment of government charges, levies or fees, namely ACI (Road), Bundling Information (Road) and Cargo Manifest (Road).
An applicant for Tier-I VASP is required to:
- be a registered TSW Company/Organisation (Administrator) account holder;
- provide a valid Business Registration Certificate ("BRC");
- provide a valid correspondence address with documentary proof issued within the preceding three months;
- undertake to provide Electronic Trading Access Service ("ETAS"), where required under the applicable practice guidelines and terms and conditions of approval; and
- undertake to use reasonable effort to encourage its clients to submit pre-shipment Cargo Manifests (Road), if applicable, having regard to indicative targets proposed by the applicant, which will be taken into account as part of service standards assessment.
Tier-II VASP is eligible to transmit a broader range of specified information, including ACI (Road), Bundling Information (Road), Cargo Manifest, Import / Export Declaration ("TDEC"), Certificate of Origin and Permit for Dutiable Commodities.
An applicant for Tier-II VASP is required to:
- be a registered TSW Company/Organisation (Administrator) account holder;
- provide a valid BRC;
- provide a valid correspondence address with documentary proof issued within the preceding three months;
- undertake to provide ETAS, where required under the applicable practice guidelines and terms and conditions of approval, including arrangements for public access where appropriate, with at least one service counter accessible to the public;
- submit the “Fit and Proper Person Declaration Form” for the purpose of assisting C&ED in assessing whether the applicant is fit and proper to provide value-added services, declaring:
- whether the applicant and its related person(s) have, in the past five years, been convicted in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or elsewhere of offences relating to money laundering, bribery, false accounting, corruption, dishonesty or import/export matters (where applicable, details of the offences and penalties to be provided); and
- whether the applicant or any related person(s) is an undischarged bankrupt, subject to liquidation or winding-up, has a receiver appointed, or has entered into a composition, scheme of arrangement or voluntary arrangement within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (“Cap. 6”) in the past five years;
- provide the company’s audited accounts for each of the most recent three financial years to the extent such audited accounts are available, and for the period not covered by audited accounts, provide management accounts certified by the sole proprietor, partners or directors of the applicant, or by a certified public accountant, covering the relevant period;
- submit a business plan covering the class(es) of specified information selected, for the purpose of demonstrating operational readiness, including but not limited to:
- the skills, knowledge and technology available to carry out business as a Tier-II VASP;
- the proposed payment arrangements for clients (including, where applicable, arrangements for collection, handling, reconciliation, refund or return of monies received from traders for payment of government charges, levies or fees);
- the details of hotline services to be provided;
- the proposed location, operating hours and number of service counters for ETAS, as well as the means of receiving ETAS submissions; and
- the proposed arrangements to facilitate account registration or migration, if applicable, including indicative targets and measures to promote TSW; and
- provide a pledge and work plan to use reasonable effort to encourage clients to submit pre-shipment Cargo Manifests and TDEC, if applicable, having regard to indicative targets proposed by the applicant, which will be taken into account as part of service standards assessment.