Removals to Hong Kong: Customs and Household Goods

That changes the usual advice. Countries with a tariff give a change-of-residence relief for used furniture, and a UK mover will ask whether you qualify. In Hong Kong there is no tariff to relieve, and the Customs pages we read describe no such relief. Furniture, clothes, books and appliances therefore carry no import duty. Ignore any older page that speaks of a duty-free transfer-of-residence concession for Hong Kong.

Shipping a load as personal effects does not open a back door for drink or tobacco. The Customs page on the subject says “For import cargoes declared as personal effects, their Customs clearance procedures are the same as general cargoes.” It continues “No duty-free concessions will be given in respect of dutiable goods contained therein.”

A car is the one big item that is taxed. It pays first registration tax, covered in our car shipping to Hong Kong guide.

The allowance people quote is written for travellers. It lets an adult passenger bring “1 litre of alcoholic liquor with an alcoholic strength above 30% by volume” and “19 cigarettes; or 1 cigar or 25 grams of cigars; or 25 grams of other manufactured tobacco”. It belongs to a person walking through an airport, and the personal effects page above denies it to a container.

Wine is the easy case. The rate sheet puts wine and liquor of 30% or less at nil duty, and the FAQ says “No licence and permit is required for the import, export or removal of zero-rated duty liquors.” A case of wine in the load is therefore not a customs problem, though your mover may have its own limit.

Spirits above 30% are different. Duty is charged on each bottle of up to a litre at 100% of the first HK$200 of its value and 10% of the rest, and Customs says “Importation of these commodities requires a licence from the Customs and Excise Department.” The penalty for ignoring that is stated: “A person may be liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $2,000,000 and seven-year imprisonment if he / she fails to obtain a relevant licence or permit.” Our advice is to keep bottles over 30% out of a household load unless a licensed importer is handling them.

Tobacco is charged by quantity, at HK$3,306 for every 1,000 cigarettes on the sheet we read, and is covered by the same licence rule.

For personal effects the scheme has its own line: “The authorization letter with signature or other essential house level cargo information, e.g. packing list, can be submitted in a scanned format”. So the agent needs your signed authorisation and a packing list. Give your mover an itemised list with the bottles, plants and electronics shown, because the same FAQ says “If an import / export shipment does not carry any dutiable commodities, a statement that no such goods are carried onboard is required.”

Two Customs pages point different ways on declarations. The personal effects page says procedures match general cargo. The clearance FAQ says articles “is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioner to be imported or exported otherwise than for trade or business” are exempt from lodging an import or export declaration, in the case of personal baggage. Neither page says which applies to a sea-freight household load, so we do not pick. Ask your mover what its agent files. For the British end, use our UK customs documentation checklist.

How the load travels is covered in our sea freight guide, and what international removals cost explains how a quotation is built. Packing services can list bottles, plants and electronics on the inventory.