Karman Shipping Limited
Hong Kong:
Destination costs & regulations
Pictorial shipping guide
Quick quote
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01525 851545
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Hong Kong

Quick Guide

  • A car is shipped in a sealed Container from the Barking/East London warehouse to Hong Kong. Ships sail every week taking 3–4 weeks and any car contents travel free of charge.

  • Cars are shipped either in on their own in a 20’ container or with another car in a 40’ container.
Hong Kong
  • A booking is made by completing our application for shipping space form and can be made up to 3 months or as little as one week before shipment. A copy of the UK registration document is required.

  • The costs due in the UK are for shipping and shipment protection payable at the time of shipment by UK cheque or bank transfer. In Hong Kong costs are payable for port fees and container unpacking, import declaration, customs clearance and handling, possible emissions and noise tests, moving the vehicle from the port to and from the Government test centre, roadworthy test and inspection, licensing, number plates and driving insurance.

  • Hong Kong Registration Tax is levied on the total cost of the car once it has arrived in Hong Kong. The rate is 35% for the first HKD150,000 of value, 65% for the next HKD150,000, 85% for the next HKD200,000 and 100% on any balance over and above this.

  • A depreciation allowance may be allowed if the vehicle has been owned and used in the UK for a time before shipment to Hong Kong.

  • Vehicles not qualifying as a personal import or a classic car may require modification in Hong Kong to meet emission and noise standards.

  • Left Hand Drive cars are prohibited from being imported to Hong Kong.

  • Items packed inside a car travel free of charge. A list of goods is required by customs and quarantine and these would be cleared separately from the vehicle.

  • A guide to the total costs (excluding registration tax and import declaration) would be £800–£900 shipping, £100–£300 shipment protection, HK$2,500–NZ$5,000 in Hong Kong to cover Port and Unpacking charges, plus HK$5,000–7,500 for the AA to handle the importation and registration on your behalf.

  • Procedure:
    1. Read our website
    2. Contact us for a written quotation and an emailed information pack
    3. Check with the HKAA for noise and emission issues/compliance as well as a quotation for handling the arrival formalities
    4. Check the total destination costs and tax and decide to ship a car. Send to us a completed shipping form
    5. We arrange the export
    6. Make payment of shipping charges
    7. The car is handed to us and we ship it to Hong Kong
    8. We send the shipping papers to you about a week after the ship has sailed
    9. Shipping papers are put together with all your car papers for the AA or Authorities when the car arrives
    10. The AA or another Agent can assist with the import
    11. Settle the port and unpacking costs with the shipping line
    12. Pay the import declaration and clear customs
    13. Take the vehicle to Kowloon Bay for the Government test
    14. Pay the Registration Tax
    15. Fit number plates and license the vehicle for road use
    16. Arrange driving insurance.
Further information

We understand that you may have a Motor Vehicle here in the UK and that you may, in due course, require shipment of the vehicle to HONG KONG.

In this connection we should like to place at your disposal the services of our Company. We are Shipping & Forwarding Agents specialising in the shipment of Motor Vehicles from the UK to all parts of the world and, in particular, to Hong Kong.

We have over 21 years experience of Motor Vehicle Shipping and we are able to provide a truly personal and, at all times, most efficient service. Although our Offices are located in Leighton Buzzard we have private warehouse facilities for the receiving and packing of vehicles into Containers on the A13 near to Barking/East London, with Underground connections from Becontree station into Central London.

Our normal services include the receiving of the vehicle at Barking (collection by transporter from anywhere in the UK at an additional cost), preparation for shipment, packing and securing of the vehicle, by itself, into one ISO General Container at the private warehouse in Barking and securing with a security registered seal, export and UK customs documentation, haulage of the container to the UK export loading berth, UK port/handling charges, providing Bills of Lading (title documents to the cargo shipped) to your nominated address once shipment has been effected and ocean freight from the UK port through to arrival at the Hong Kong port of entry.

The cost of shipping depends on the Shipping Lines frequent minor rate adjustments to compensate for the currency exchange rate and oil price fluctuations. Major changes in costs are infrequent, however, our quotations are normally only valid for 28 days. No VAT is due on shipping costs to Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong many charges are payable include port, haulage, unpacking, customs clearance and customs fees as well as the costs associated with getting a vehicle on the road. We do not consider it to be worthwhile shipping a car in a shared/groupage Container or on a Roll On/Roll Off vessel as, although the UK shipping cost could be less, there could be delays in shipment and a risk of damage to the car.

Standard Liability shipment protection is not included in the shipping price and the cost would be calculated at £20 per £1000 value (2%) with a minimum charge of £100. The declared value should represent the full replacement value of the vehicle in Hong Kong and not the UK value.

We have at our disposal regular Container Line sailing’s from Southampton through to Hong Kong every week with an average transit time of 24/26 days.

There is no import duty payable when taking a vehicle into Hong Kong however there is a Registration Tax which varies from 35% to 100%. Vehicles qualifying as either Personal Imports or Classic Cars may be exempt from the Emission and Noise Regulations and Standards. For those vehicles that are not exempt there are Companies in Hong Kong that test and modify vehicles to meet the necessary standards.

To proceed with the shipment of a Motor Vehicle we would only require one of our Application For Shipping Space forms to be completed and returned to us along with a photocopy of the UK registration document/V5C.

This form asks for the vehicle details i.e. Make, Model, Registration and Chassis Numbers, a UK and Hong Kong address, the Date and Place of Handover of the Vehicle and the Value for Shipment Protection. We would require payment in the UK before a car is containerised for shipment.

For your further information we can advise you that we can recommend an Agent in Hong Kong that would be able to assist with the import and registration formalities, namely:

Mr. Landis Kwok,
Hong Kong Automobile Association,
Shipping Section, Ground Floor,
391, Nathan Road, Yaumatei,
Kowloon,
HONG KONG,
Tel. No. 00852 2739 5273,
Fax. No. 00852 2782 0555.
E-mail: landiskwok@hkaa.com.hk

Once shipment of the Vehicle has been effected we then forward all relevant shipping documents, together with our instructions concerning the clearance and delivery of the Vehicle at the port of destination, by Recorded Mail, to your nominated UK or Hong Kong address.

We hope that our services may be of interest to you and we look forward to hearing from you soon. If there are any further points you wish to have clarified then please do not hesitate to contact us. In the meantime, we can assure you of our best attention at all times.