The current edition of the Hong Kong Imports and Exports Classification List (Harmonized System) (HKIECL) will be amended and the amendments, published in the Gazette on November 11, 2016, will take effect from January 1,2017. Import and export declarations for shipments on or after January 1, 2017 must be completed in accordance with the amended classification list, namely Hong Kong Imports and Exports Classification
List (Harmonized System) 2017 Edition.

HKIECL 2017 Edition
The bilingual Hong Kong Imports and Exports Classification List (Harmonized System) 2017 Edition, comprising two volumes, is published in electronic version and can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Census and Statistics Department(www.censtatd.gov.hk/trader/declaration/index.jsp) as from mid-November 2016.

Coverage of Amendment
The amendments have fully incorporated the amendments to Harmonized System recommended by the World Customs Organization. The amendments cover most of the Sections in the HKIECL. There are different levels of amendments in 16 Sections out of the total of 22 Sections, with total of around 350 commodity items being affected. Those amendments mainly relate to the agricultural sector, chemical sector, wood sector, textile sector, base metal sector, machinery sector and transport sector. The summary of the changes to the HKIECL and the Hong Kong Harmonized System correlation tables for the affected commodity codes can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Census and Statistics Department