2.          The Chemical Weapons Convention is an international treaty which aims to prohibit the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer and use of chemical weapons, and the Ordinance was enacted in 2004 for implementing the requirements of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Hong Kong.  The list of toxic chemicals and their precursors under control of the Chemical Weapons Convention is set out in Schedules 1 to 3 to the Ordinance (“Scheduled Chemicals”).  Please refer to Strategic Trade Controls Circular No. 14/2003 of 6 August 2003 for an overview of the requirements under the Ordinance.
 

3.          In accordance with the Ordinance, operators of facilities are required to obtain permits from the Director if the facilities are engaged in specified activities involving Scheduled Chemicals in quantities over the respective thresholds.  Permit holders are also required under the Ordinance to lodge annual reports with the Director on their anticipated activities involving Scheduled Chemicals for the coming calendar year before the end of the current year, and their past activities during the previous year at the beginning of the current year.  The information so collected will be used to compile annual declarations for submission to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which was established to implement the Convention.  Please refer to Annex B for the activities and quantity thresholds that trigger the permit and annual reporting requirements and Annex C for the list of Scheduled Chemicals.
 

4.          In light of the permit and reporting requirements mentioned in paragraph 3 above, the Department is sending this circular to individual operators who, according to our knowledge, may be engaged in such activities.  Operators who receive this circular are expected to return the completed reply slip (Annex A) by fax (fax no. 2396 3070), by email (email address: cwc@tid.gov.hk), by post or in person to the Integrated Customer Service Centre, Room 1324, 13/F, Trade and Industry Tower, 3 Concorde Road, Kowloon City on or before 21 July 2023.

5.          Operators who do not receive this circular but believe that their facilities may be engaged in specified activities involving Scheduled Chemicals in 2024 are also welcome to provide details of the activities by completing and returning the reply slip at Annex A in the same way as mentioned in paragraph 4 above.
 

6.         After assessing the reply slips, we will contact and assist individual operator to complete and return to us the designated report forms on anticipated activities on or before 28 July 2023.
 

7.          Facilities subject to the permit or reporting requirements should comply with checks and inspections by officers of the Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED").  These checks mainly aim at verifying and ensuring the accuracy of the information related to the permits and the material particulars in any reports lodged with the Director.  Facilities are therefore reminded to ensure that the information they provide in their returns is accurate.  In addition to checks and inspections by C&ED officers, inspection teams of the OPCW may also conduct inspection of facilities in order to verify any information passed to it about the facilities.  Operators of the facilities are required to provide all the requisite records for the checks and inspections and to render necessary assistance and cooperation to the officers concerned.
 

8.          The Ordinance specifies the acts which contravene the Ordinance and the penalties for such offences.  It is an offence under the Ordinance if a person who is required to have a permit to operate his facility operates it without such a permit.  The maximum penalty, on conviction, is a fine of HK$500,000 and imprisonment for 5 years.  The Ordinance also provides that the Director may, by notice in writing, require a person to give information or documents relevant to a declaration required to be given to the OPCW.  Any person who fails to comply with such a notice issued commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of HK$100,000 and imprisonment for 1 year.
 

9.          In addition to the penalties mentioned above, the Trade and Industry Department may take administrative actions against parties committing the above offences.  Such administrative actions may involve, but shall not necessarily be confined to, any or all of the following: refusal to grant permits, suspension or revocation of permits, and refusal to issue licences for imports or exports of chemicals.
 

10.       If you have any questions on the completion of the reply slip, the designated report forms on anticipated activities, or on the Ordinance itself, please contact Mike CHAN of the Department at telephone number 2398 5670 or by email at cwc@tid.gov.hk.