The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Friday gazetted a bill to make technical amendments to the Import and Export Ordinance and other relevant legislations to implement certain services of the trade single window (TSW).

“The government is implementing the TSW in three phases to provide a one-stop electronic platform for the trade to lodge business-to-government trade documents for trade declaration and cargo clearance,” said a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.

The Import and Export (Amendment) Bill 2025 aims to provide the legal basis for phase 3 of the TSW, such that the trade can make use of the system to submit import and export declaration (TDEC), cargo manifest as well as applications for certificate of origin and permit for dutiable commodities, added the spokesman.

“The government is developing the information system of phase 3, with the target of rolling out the services by batches from 2026,” added the spokesman.

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The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on April 2.

The Government Electronic Trading Services (GETS) is currently the only electronic platform for the submission of TDEC, cargo manifest and applications for certificate of origin and permit for dutiable commodities.

To implement phase 3 of the TSW, the SAR government proposes to make technical amendments to relevant existing legal provisions to replace GETS by the TSW for the submission of those trade documents, and to remove GETS-related provisions from the legislation.

The bill also makes necessary legislative amendments for some of the phase 3 services, including the introduction of value-added service provider and its regulatory framework, allowing the trade to submit pre-shipment TDEC and cargo manifest on a voluntary basis, the introduction of electronic road cargo manifest and the digitalization of return of licenses service.

The bill also includes provisions on transitional arrangements to allow a parallel run of TSW Phase 3 and GETS for a certain period of time to provide sufficient time for the trade to migrate to the new system, according to the government.

Terming the implementation of the TSW as a major business and operational process reengineering exercise, the spokesman said it overhauls and enhances the document submission workflows between participating government agencies and the trade.

“At the same time, it enhances the efficiency of cargo clearance in Hong Kong and helps maintain Hong Kong's status as an international trade center and a logistics hub.”