Customs and Excise Department, Environmental Protection Department and Transport Department will be involved separately in the importation to and registration of a pure electric vehicle (PEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) in Hong Kong. The following guidelines explain the relevant necessary procedures.

Step 1 : Compliance with the Vehicle Construction Requirements

Similar to other motor vehicles, PEVs and PHEVs need to comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) and its subsidiary legislation, and should be maintained in good and serviceable condition. In particular,

  1. The vehicle construction shall comply with the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374A);
  2. The seat belts and seat belt anchorage points shall comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) Regulations (Cap. 374F). All seat belts shall be permanently marked with a specification number, mark or symbol indicating compliance with the standards listed in the legislation;
  3. The windscreen and panes on the vehicle shall be of safety glass complying with the standards specified in Cap. 374H. In addition, all vehicle glass shall be of such transparency that it does not obscure the view of the interior of the motor vehicle. Please refer to the notice on latest light transmission rate requirements at our website. (The above ordinance and regulations are available online, URL: http://www.elegislation.gov.hk); and
  4. For registration and licensing purposes, imported electric vehicles would be classified in accordance with the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374).

For PEV and PHEV, additional official documentations from the manufacturers or testing reports from international testing bodies will be required to demonstrate compliance with the approval requirements, and that the vehicle is suitable for use in Hong Kong. Please refer to the latest notice on vehicle construction requirement for PEV / PHEV at our website . Application for approval should be made, together with the required documentary evidence, to the Type Approval Section of the Transport Department:

Type Approval Section

1M/F, Transport Department Vehicle Examination Complex,

18 Sai Tso Wan Road, Tsing Yi, N.T
Before importing the vehicle, you are reminded to ensure that it meets the requirements, and that sufficient and genuine documentary evidence is available. You are recommended to contact the Type Approval Section with documents for early advice before importing the vehicle.

After you have submitted your official application, the Transport Department would process the application based on the submitted information. Upon the completion of the documentary vetting, you will be issued with a referral letter for vehicle examination.

You are strongly recommended to visit this website for checking any requirements that may be applicable to your imported vehicle.

Step 2 : Compliance with the Exhaust and Noise Emission Standards

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Similar to other motor vehicles, you are advised to obtain the necessary approval/ exemption from the Environmental Protection Department before shipping your PHEV into Hong Kong.

You are required to prove your PHEV is fully compliant with the emission standards in the Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards)(Emission) Regulation and Noise Control (Motor Vehicles) Regulation where applicable. Proof of emission compliance can be documents issued by vehicle manufacturers or emission testing report issued by a recognised test laboratory. You should submit application form to the Environmental Protection Department for approval together with all supporting documents (See "Procedures for Importation and Registration of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles" for details).

Subject to the fulfillment of exemption criteria, certain categories of vehicles may be exempted from complying with the emission standards.  You may apply to the Environmental Protection Department for the exemption.  Enquiries on recognised testing laboratories, emission standards and exemption criteria can be made to telephone numbers: (852)2877 0448 (Exhaust emission); (852)2411 9689 (Noise emission) or fax number: (852)2824 9361.

Applicants can download the application forms from the following webpage:
https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/application_for_licences/applic_froms/forms.html


Pure Electric Vehicle

For vehicle exhaust emission, the Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design)(Emission) Regulations (Cap. 311J) is applicable to vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines including PHEVs but not applicable to PEVs.

For vehicle noise emission, the Noise Control (Motor Vehicles) Regulation (Cap. 400I) is applicable to PEVs and PHEVs except pure electric motor cycles.

In accordance with the above regulations, vehicle noise emissions compliance applications should be submitted to the Environmental Protection Department for PEVs, but not pure electric motor tricycles and pure electric motor cycles.


Step 3 : Importation

Vehicles, no matter what class it is, imported into Hong Kong are not subject to any Customs tax, but in general, an importer is required to lodge with the Customs and Excise Department an accurate and complete declaration within 14 days of importation. For enquiries on Import and Export Declaration, please refer to the following link
[http://www.customs.gov.hk/en/cargo_clearance/declaration/index.html].

Also, within 30 days of the importation of your vehicle, you should submit an Import Return (Form No.: CED336) if the vehicle is imported for trade purpose or CED336 together with a Declaration Form (Form No.: CED336A) if the vehicle is imported for personal use to the Customs and Excise Department or through the Motor Vehicles First Registration Tax System website. Enquiries on the submission of Import Return can be made at Tel No.: (852) 3759 2556, or refer to the following link
[http://www.customs.gov.hk/en/trade_facilitation/vehicles/index.html].

Any importer of a motor vehicle for use in Hong Kong who fails to file the import return within 30 days of the importation of a motor vehicle into Hong Kong commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 12 months.

Following the submission of your Import Return, you will receive a "Notification of Motor Vehicle Provisional Taxable Value" of your vehicle from the Customs and Excise Department. You should produce the Notification upon the first registration of your vehicle in the Transport Department.

Step 4 : Vehicle Examination

Upon the arrival of your imported vehicle in Hong Kong, you should approach the Vehicle Examination Centre to arrange for the vehicle examination. You are required to bring along i) the referral letter issued by the Transport Department and ii) the approval or exemption letter (as applicable) issued by the Environmental Protection Department to show that your vehicle has complied with the vehicle exhaust emission and noise emission standards, and pay the appropriate fee for vehicle examination (if applicable).

All imported vehicles equipped with internal combustion engine, including new cars imported for personal use, should undergo exhaust emission test during vehicle examination if necessary.

Vehicles presented for vehicle examination (pre-registration examination) need to comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) and its subsidiary legislations, and should be maintained in good and serviceable condition.

Your car will be issued with a certificate for registration and licensing purposes by the Vehicle Examination Centre if it can pass the vehicle examination.

Step 5 : Vehicle Registration and Licensing

When applying for first registration of your vehicle, you should submit a completed application form (Form No.: TD22) to the Hong Kong Licensing Office of Transport Department (Tel No.: (852) 2804 2637 or Fax No.: 2804 2599) together with the supporting documents as prescribed in the application form. Upon the verification of your submitted documents, you are required to pay first registration tax and registration fee for the registration of your vehicle, and pay vehicle licence fee and levy for Traffic Accident Victim Assistance Fund for licensing of the vehicle.

Step 6 : Calculation of First Registration Tax

In general, the first registration tax of a vehicle will be derived from the taxable value times the appropriate tax rates as shown below:

Class of Motor Vehicle Rate of Tax
Private cars  
a.  the first $150,000 of taxable value
46%
b.  on the next $150,000
86%
c.  on the next $200,000
115%
d.  on the remainder
132%
Motor cycles and motor tricycles 35%
a.  Goods vehicles, other than van-type light goods vehicles (LGV)
15%
b.  Van-type LGV not exceeding 1.9 tonnes permitted gross vehicle weight:
 
  i.    on the first $150,000
35%
  ii.   on the next $150,000
65%
  iii.  on the remainder
85%
c.  Van-type LGV exceeding 1.9 tonnes permitted gross vehicle weight
17%
Taxis, Light buses, Buses and Special purpose vehicles 3.7%

For enquiries on First Registration Tax concessions for electric vehicles, please refer to the link.

Notes for attention

Applicants are required to produce proof of present address (residential address and correspondence address). Transport Department may suspend the processing of licensing applications until the production of address proof.

For reference purposes, the public can search the current highest approved Published Retail Price (PRP) of the vehicle models by using the searching function in the Motor Vehicles First Registration Tax System of the Customs and Excise Department accessed through the websites of Transport Department or Customs and Excise Department.

You may also refer to relevant sections of the "Procedures for Importation and Registration of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles" for general information on importation & registration of motor vehicle.

Application for the registration and licensing of a left hand drive vehicle will not be accepted unless there are special circumstances.

Additional Information

For additional information and guidelines on charging facilities for electric vehicles, please visit the websites of the Environmental Bureau and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.