Customs and Excise Department, Environmental Protection Department and Transport Department will be involved separately in the importation to and registration of motor vehicles in Hong Kong. The following guidelines explain the relevant necessary procedures. For importation and registration of a pure electric vehicle (PEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), please refer to "Guidelines for Importation & Registration of Pure Electric Vehicle (PEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)".

Step 1 : Compliance with the Exhaust and Noise Emissions Standard

You are advised to obtain approval / exemption from the Environmental Protection Department before shipping your vehicle into Hong Kong.

You are required to prove your vehicle is fully compliant with the emission standards in the Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards)(Emission) Regulation and Noise Control (Motor Vehicles) Regulation. 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 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

Step 2 : 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) enclosing with a Declaration Form (Form No.: CED336A) 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, 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 3 : Vehicle Examination

Before importing a vehicle, you are reminded to ensure that it meets the applicable requirements for registration in Hong Kong, and that documentary evidence is available to demonstrate compliance where applicable.

Upon the arrival of your imported vehicle in Hong Kong, you should approach the following Vehicle Examination Centre to arrange for the vehicle examination. You are required to bring along with the approval letter issued by the Environmental Protection Department to show that your car has complied with the vehicle exhaust emission and noise emission standards and pay the appropriate fee for vehicle examination :-

If you are eligible for the exemption from compliance with the vehicle emission standard as stated in Step 1 above, you should bring along with the approval letter of exemption issued by the Environmental Protection Department for making the appointment of vehicle examination at the Examination Centre. All imported vehicles equipped with internal combustion engine, including new cars imported for personal use, should undergo emission test during vehicle examination if necessary. Your car will be issued with a Certificate of Roadworthiness by the Examination Centre if it can pass the vehicle examination.

Vehicles presented for vehicle examination (pre-registration examination) need to comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic Ordinance, Chapter 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) Regulation, 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 regulations;
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 vehicles would be classified in accordance with the Road Traffic Ordinance, Cap. 374.

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

Step 4 : 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 document, 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 5 : Calculation of First Registration Tax

The first registration tax will be derived from the taxable value of your vehicle times the appropriate tax rate. The rate is as shown below :-

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

For the "Procedures for Importation and Registration of Motor Vehicles and Motor Cycles", please click here (961 KB).

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.