Hong Kong is two completely different shipments depending on what is inside the container. General cargo goes into one of the easiest ports in the world: no tariff, a cheap declaration, and a terminal that handles volume better than almost anywhere. A car is the opposite. Hong Kong drives on the left, and the Transport Department does not normally register a left-hand drive vehicle at all. That single rule decides whether your shipment is worth starting.
The left-hand drive problem, first
The legal basis is the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulation, Cap. 374A. Under it the Transport Department may issue a permit authorizing the use of an individual left-hand drive vehicle in particular circumstances, with conditions attached. In an April 2024 reply to the Legislative Council the Government described the established practice plainly: right-hand drive vehicles on left-hand traffic roads, with the use and registration of left-hand drive vehicles restricted. The examples it gave of permits actually issued were cross-boundary Mainland official vehicles, corporate vehicles against a quota, and special purpose vehicles. It also said there is no plan to relax the position.
The reasons given are practical rather than bureaucratic: restricted field of vision when overtaking, turning right across traffic at priority junctions, roundabouts and slip-road merges, and car park payment windows sitting on the wrong side.
What this means for you. If you are buying a US car with the intention of registering and driving it in Hong Kong, treat that as unlikely to work unless you already know you fall inside one of those permit categories, and you have that in writing from the Transport Department before you buy. We are not able to get that permit for you, and neither is any shipping line. It is a Transport Department decision.
What still works. A car going into Hong Kong to be stored, displayed, auctioned, held in a collection on private land, or transhipped onward to another market is a different matter, because none of those require Hong Kong registration. A great deal of vehicle cargo moves through Hong Kong rather than into it. If that is your plan, say so at the quote stage, because it changes the documentation.
General cargo: a free port in the real sense
For everything that is not a motor vehicle, Hong Kong is genuinely simple. Hong Kong Customs and Excise states that imports are generally tax free. There is no customs tariff. Only four commodity groups carry excise duty at all:
| Dutiable category | How it is charged |
|---|---|
| Liquor above 30% alcohol by volume at 20°C | 100% on the first HK$200 of value, 10% on the remainder. Liquor at or below 30%, including wine, is zero. |
| Tobacco | HK$3,306 per 1,000 cigarettes. Cigars HK$4,258 per kg. Other manufactured tobacco HK$4,005 per kg. |
| Hydrocarbon oil | Per litre. Unleaded motor spirit HK$6.06, light diesel HK$2.89, Euro V diesel zero. |
| Methyl alcohol | HK$840 per hectolitre at 20°C, plus HK$28.10 per hectolitre for each 1% above 30% ABV. |
Everything else enters without duty. That is the whole tariff position.
What you do still owe is a trade declaration. Under the Import and Export (Registration) Regulations, Cap. 60E, anyone importing a non-exempt article must lodge an accurate declaration with the Commissioner of Customs and Excise within 14 days of importation. The charge for a non-food import is HK$0.20 on the first HK$46,000 of value plus HK$0.125 for each additional HK$1,000 or part, capped at HK$200 per declaration. Food imports are a flat HK$0.20. Late lodgement runs on a scale from HK$20 up to HK$200 depending on value and delay, and knowingly filing an inaccurate declaration is a prosecutable offense.
What a vehicle actually costs: First Registration Tax
If you do have a route to registration, this is the number that matters. Hong Kong levies no customs duty on importing a vehicle. The tax lands at registration instead, and it is substantial. Current private car bands:
| Taxable value | Rate |
|---|---|
| First HK$150,000 | 46% |
| Next HK$150,000 | 86% |
| Next HK$200,000 | 115% |
| Remainder | 132% |
Other classes are far lower: motorcycles 35%, goods vehicles other than van-type light goods vehicles 15%, and taxis, light buses, buses and special purpose vehicles 3.7%.
Taxable value is not just what you paid. Customs and Excise builds a provisional taxable value from the declared purchase price plus insurance and freight, plus any brokerage or agency fees, plus repair charges connected to the purchase and importation. If the declared figure does not reflect Hong Kong market value, Customs can substitute its own, taking into account the vehicle's age and the retail price in the country of origin.
There is a depreciation allowance, but it is narrow. It applies only where the vehicle was registered overseas in the applicant's own name and the declared value reflects market value. It runs at 25% per year for petrol vehicles and 20% per year for non-petrol, from the overseas registration date to the import date. A car bought at a US auction in a dealer's name and shipped straight out does not qualify.
Customs issues a Notification of Motor Vehicle Provisional Taxable Value. You take that to the Transport Department, and the Transport Department is the body that calculates and collects the tax.
The order you have to do it in
Four steps, in this order:
1. Environmental Protection Department. Obtain emission and noise approval, or a documented exemption, before shipping.
2. Customs and Excise. Lodge the import declaration within 14 days of arrival, and file the Import Return, form CED336, within 30 days. Personal-use imports attach form CED336A. Missing the Import Return is not a small matter: the published penalty is a fine of HK$500,000 and up to 12 months' imprisonment.
3. Vehicle Examination Complex, Tsing Yi. Examination, then a Certificate of Roadworthiness. Imported used cars may be emission tested at this stage.
4. Hong Kong Licensing Office. Form TD22, then pay the First Registration Tax, the registration fee, the licence fee and the Traffic Accident Victim Assistance Fund levy.
One documentation gap worth knowing about in advance. The Transport Department's document list names specific export papers for used vehicles from the United Kingdom (a Certificate of Permanent Export) and from Japan (a Certificate of Cancelled Registration). It does not name a United States equivalent, and the US does not issue one. Expect to supply the original title and the full shipping documents, and expect questions. Any document not in English or Chinese needs a consulate-prepared translation.
Emission and noise rules, and the 30 year exemption
The standards sit in the Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards)(Emission) Regulations, Cap. 311J, and the Noise Control (Motor Vehicles) Regulation, Cap. 400I. For newly registered vehicles the Environmental Protection Department currently requires:
- Petrol private cars and taxis: Euro 6c, with OBD Euro 6-2, in force since 1 September 2019.
- Diesel private cars: California LEV III, in force since 1 October 2017.
- Motorcycles: Euro 4, since October 2020.
You prove compliance one of two ways. A manufacturer's Certificate of Conformity is accepted only for vehicles manufactured within one year of the application date, which rules it out for anything used. Otherwise you need an exhaust emission test report issued within the last six months by a laboratory on the Environmental Protection Department's recognized list, plus noise evidence. For a used US car, that lab report is the realistic route, and it costs real money before the car has moved.
There is no exemption available for diesel vehicles or commercial vehicles.
The 30 year rule. The old discretionary exemption for classic vehicles was terminated at midnight on 1 June 2022. It was replaced on 29 June 2022 by a narrower rule that is still in force: a vehicle manufactured at least 30 years before the date of application may be exempted from both Cap. 311J and Cap. 400I, provided it still has its original petrol-only engine and the applicant supplies an original proximity stationary noise test report issued within the last six months. Replace the engine and full emission compliance comes back. The exemption is discretionary, the Director of Environmental Protection can attach conditions, and the burden of proof is on the applicant.
Note carefully what that rule does and does not do. It is an emission and noise exemption. It says nothing about steering position, and we found nothing connecting it to the left-hand drive restriction. A 30 year old American car is not automatically registrable in Hong Kong.
Electric vehicles: the concession has ended
There is a closing arrangement. Electric private cars ordered on or before 25 February 2026, or arranged by the owner for shipment to Hong Kong for their own use by that date, may still receive the pre-adjustment concession, but the application must be submitted by 24 February 2027 and the vehicle first registered by 24 February 2027 or within five working days of approval, whichever is later. Under that arrangement the caps are HK$58,500 for a standard electric private car and HK$172,500 under One-for-One Replacement, with no concession at all where taxable value exceeds HK$500,000.
Electric commercial vehicles, electric motorcycles and electric motor tricycles are in a better position: First Registration Tax is waived in full until 31 March 2028.
One practical upside. Battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles do not need the Environmental Protection Department emission or noise applications at all, and do not present an approval letter at examination.
Hong Kong as a way through, not a destination
A large share of what we move to Hong Kong is not staying there. If your cargo is heading onward into mainland China or elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong is frequently the better routing, and the rules are lighter.
The Trade and Industry Department operates a Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme. Registered shipping companies, airlines and freight forwarders can handle certain transhipment cargo without import and export licences. Transhipment cargo means goods moving on a through bill of lading from one place outside Hong Kong to another, transferred between vessels, with or without storage in Hong Kong in between. Certificates of Exemption run for two years. The exemption does not apply where trade sanctions bite.
One trap on wood packaging. Hong Kong itself is relaxed: the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department requires no plant import licence and no phytosanitary certificate for wood packaging entering Hong Kong, only that it be free from plant pests and soil. Hong Kong does not impose ISPM 15 inbound. But mainland China does. If your crate, pallet or dunnage is continuing into the Mainland, it must meet the Mainland requirement, and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department notes there are approved agents in Hong Kong who carry out pest treatment on wood packaging in transhipped cargo bound for the Mainland. Build that into the plan rather than discovering it at Shenzhen.
How we ship it, and what we do not do
We load full containers only. A 20ft or a 40ft high cube is yours, you tell us what goes in it, and we do not put another customer's cargo in with yours. We do not handle part loads, groupage, loose items or single boxes. For a single vehicle a 20ft is normal; a 40ft high cube takes two comfortably, and more than that is a loading plan you specify and whose risk is yours.
We load from New Jersey, Savannah, Houston and Baltimore, and we arrange pickup and towing from any state. Hong Kong is a high-frequency lane out of the US West Coast and a regular one out of the East Coast, so sailing options are rarely the constraint.
Our responsibility ends at the port of discharge. Customs clearance in Hong Kong is handled by your own licensed broker there, and the Environmental Protection Department and Transport Department steps above are yours to complete. We will tell you honestly before you book whether we think the vehicle side is going to work.
Hong Kong questions, answered
Can I ship my American car to Hong Kong and drive it there?
Probably not. Hong Kong drives on the left and the Transport Department states that registration of left-hand drive vehicles will not be accepted unless there are special circumstances. Every US-market car is left-hand drive. The Transport Department may issue a permit for an individual left-hand drive vehicle under Cap. 374A, but the examples the Government has given are cross-boundary Mainland official vehicles, corporate vehicles against a quota, and special purpose vehicles. Get a written answer from the Transport Department before you buy the car, not after.
Does a classic car get around the left-hand drive rule?
We found nothing that says it does. There is a 30 year rule, but it is an exemption from the emission and noise regulations only, and it says nothing about steering position. A 30 year old American car is not automatically registrable in Hong Kong. Treat the age exemption and the steering restriction as two separate hurdles, and the steering one as the harder.
How much is the First Registration Tax on a car?
For a private car it runs 46% on the first HK$150,000 of taxable value, 86% on the next HK$150,000, 115% on the next HK$200,000, and 132% on anything above that. Taxable value is built from the purchase price plus insurance and freight plus brokerage and related repair costs, and Customs can substitute its own valuation if the declared figure does not reflect Hong Kong market value.
Can I reduce the taxable value because the car is used?
Only in a narrow case. Depreciation of 25% per year for petrol vehicles, or 20% per year for non-petrol, is allowed where the vehicle was registered overseas in the applicant’s own name and the declared value reflects market value, running from the overseas registration date to the import date. A car bought at auction in someone else’s name and shipped straight out does not qualify.
What do I have to do before the vehicle ships?
Get Environmental Protection Department emission and noise approval, or a documented exemption, before the ship sails. The Transport Department states that any loss from a declined application is at the applicant’s risk. For a used car the realistic route is an exhaust emission test report issued within the last six months by a laboratory on the Environmental Protection Department’s recognized list, because a manufacturer Certificate of Conformity is only accepted for vehicles made within a year of the application.
What happens if I miss the Customs paperwork deadline?
The import declaration is due within 14 days of importation and the Import Return, form CED336, within 30 days. The published penalty for failing to file the Import Return is a fine of HK$500,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment. This is not a deadline to treat casually.
Is there still a tax break for electric cars?
Not for electric private cars. The First Registration Tax concession expired on 31 March 2026 and was not extended, and the One-for-One Replacement Scheme ended with it. A closing arrangement covers cars ordered on or before 25 February 2026, with registration required by 24 February 2027. Electric commercial vehicles, motorcycles and motor tricycles still have the tax waived in full until 31 March 2028.
Is there an age limit on used vehicles?
We could not confirm one either way. No Transport Department or Customs page we checked states a maximum age, and none states that there is no limit. In practice the binding constraints are the emission and noise standards and the left-hand drive restriction, not age.
Will I pay duty on ordinary goods into Hong Kong?
No. Hong Kong charges no customs tariff. Only four categories carry excise duty: liquor above 30% alcohol by volume, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil and methyl alcohol. Wine and liquor at or below 30% are zero rated. Everything else enters duty free.
What does the declaration cost?
For a non-food import it is HK$0.20 on the first HK$46,000 of value plus HK$0.125 for each additional HK$1,000 or part thereof, capped at HK$200 per declaration. Food imports are a flat HK$0.20. The declaration is due within 14 days of importation under Cap. 60E.
Does my wood packaging need ISPM 15 treatment?
Not for Hong Kong itself. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department requires no plant import licence and no phytosanitary certificate for wood packaging entering Hong Kong, only that it be free from plant pests and soil. But if the cargo is continuing into mainland China, the Mainland requirement applies and must be met. There are approved agents in Hong Kong who treat wood packaging in transhipped cargo bound for the Mainland.
Do I need an import licence?
For most ordinary goods, no. Licences attach to specific categories: strategic commodities through the Trade and Industry Department, pharmaceuticals through the Department of Health, frozen and chilled meat and poultry through the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, plants and live animals through the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, ozone-depleting substances and hazardous chemicals through the Environmental Protection Department, and radio transmitting equipment through the Office of the Communications Authority. Check the Customs controlled imports list for your commodity before you book.
Can I use Hong Kong as a stop on the way into mainland China?
Yes, and it is common. The Trade and Industry Department runs a Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme that lets registered carriers and forwarders handle qualifying transhipment cargo without import and export licences, on a through bill of lading, with or without storage in Hong Kong. The exemption does not apply where trade sanctions are engaged. Tell us at the quote stage if this is the plan, because it changes the documentation.
Do you ship single boxes or share a container?
No. We ship full containers only. The container is yours and you fill it with your own cargo. We do not place one customer’s goods in a container with another’s, and we do not take part loads, loose items or single boxes. A 20ft suits one vehicle; a 40ft high cube takes two comfortably.
Will you tell me if my shipment is a bad idea?
Yes. On this lane that matters more than usual. If you describe a US car that you intend to register and drive in Hong Kong, we will tell you before you book that the left-hand drive restriction is likely to stop it, because finding that out after the car has sailed is an expensive way to learn it.
- Transport Department – Procedures for Importation and Registration of Motor Vehicles (February 2026)
- Transport Department – Guidelines for importation and registration of motor vehicles
- Transport Department – First Registration Tax concessions for electric vehicles
- Customs and Excise Department – Motor vehicles and taxable value
- Customs and Excise Department – Dutiable commodities: types and duty rates
- Customs and Excise Department – Declaration charges
- Customs and Excise Department – Controlled imports
- Environmental Protection Department – Vehicle emission standards
- Government of the HKSAR – 30-year vehicle exemption arrangement (29 June 2022)
- Government of the HKSAR – Legislative Council reply on left-hand drive vehicles (10 April 2024)
- Trade and Industry Department – Transhipment Cargo Exemption Scheme
- Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department – Wood packaging material
美國運貨至香港：中文摘要
以下為上文英文內容的摘要。詳細條文以上方英文版及政府官方資料來源為準。運往香港的貨物分兩種情況：一般貨物非常簡單，汽車則非常困難。
一、汽車：左舗駕駛是最大障礙
香港是左邊行駛，預設使用右舗駕駛車輛。運輸署《車輛進口及登記程序》明確指出，除非有特殊情況，否則不接受左舗駕駛車輛登記。所有美國市場出售的車輛均為左舗駕駛。
法律依據為《道路交通（車輛构造及維修）規例》（第374A章）。運輸署可就個別車輛發出許可證，但政府於2024年4月10日回覆立法會時舉出的例子僅為：跨境內地公務車輛、按配額的公司車輛、以及特別用途車輛，並表示暫無放寬計劃。
若車輛僅為存放、展示、拍賣、私人地方收藏或轉口至其他市場，則不涉及香港登記，情況完全不同。請在報價階段告知我們。
二、一般貨物：真正的自由港
非車輛貨物進口香港非常簡單。香港不徵收關稅，僅四類商品需繳消費稅：酒精濃度超過30%的酒類、煙草、碳氫油類、甲醇。葡萄酒及30%或以下的酒類稅率為零，其餘貨物全部免稅。
但仍須申報。根據第60E章《進出口（登記）規例》，進口商須於進口後14日內向海關黃寳報。非食品進口報關費為首HK$46,000價值HK$0.20，其後每增HK$1,000或不足之數加HK$0.125，每份報關單上限HK$200。食品進口一律為HK$0.20。逾期申報罰款HK$20至HK$200不等。
三、車輛首次登記稅
香港進口車輛不徵關稅，但登記時須繳首次登記稅。私家車現行稅率：
| 應稅價值 | 稅率 |
|---|---|
| 首HK$150,000 | 46% |
| 其後HK$150,000 | 86% |
| 其後HK$200,000 | 115% |
| 餘額 | 132% |
應稅價值並非僅是買價，而是購買價格加保險費、運費、經紀佣金及相關維修費用。若申報價值不反映香港市價，海關可自行估值。
折舊優惠範圍狹窄：僅限車輛曾以申請人本人名義在海外登記，汽油車每年折舊25%，非汽油車20%。以其他名義在美國拍賣購入後直接出口的車輛不符合条件。
四、辦理次序與排放規定
次序不能弄錯：（1）開航前向環境保護署取得排放及噊音批准或豁免；（2）抵港後14日內向海關進口報關，30日內遞交CED336表格；（3）青衣驗車中心驗車；（4）運輸署登記處繳稅登記。
現行排放標準：汽油私家車為歐盟六期C（2019年9月1日起），柴油私家車為加州 LEV III（2017年10月1日起）。二手車通常需提交六個月內由環保署認可實驗室發出的廳氣排放測試報告。
30年豁免規則：製造日期距申請日满30年的車輛，若仍保留原裝汽油引擎並提交六個月內的噊音測試報告，可獲豁免第311J及400I章規定。但請注意：該規則僅屬排放及噊音豁免，與左舗駕駛限制無關。
五、電動車稅優惠已結束
電動私家車的首次登記稅寬免已於2026年3月31日屆滿，並未延長。2026年4月1日或之後提交的首次登記申請不再符合資格，「一換一」計劃同時結束。
過渡安排：2026年2月25日或之前訂購或安排運港自用的電動私家車，須於2027年2月24日前申請及登記。電動商用車、電動摩托車及電動三輪車則繼續全額寬免至2028年3月31日。
六、經香港轉口至內地
工業貿易署設有轉口貨物豁免計劃，已登記的船公司及貨運代理可處理部分轉口貨物而無須進出口許可證，豁免證書有效期兩年。
七、我們的服務範圍
我們僅承接整櫃（FCL）。整個貨櫃屬於您，我們不會將其他客戶的貨物放入您的貨櫃，也不承接拼櫃、散貨或單件包裹。20英尺貨櫃適合一輛車，40英尺高櫃可寬鬆裝載兩輛。
裝櫃港口：紐澤西、薩凡納、休斯敦、巴爾的摩，全美各州可安排拖車提貨。我們的責任至卸貨港為止，香港清關由您的持牌報關行辦理。
我們會實話實說。若您打算將美國車輛運往香港登記上路，我們會在您訂艙前告知左舗駕駛限制很可能會阻止這件事。貨開了才發現，代價太大。
Import rules change. The customs information on this page comes from official government sources and was accurate when published, but duties, age limits and eligibility requirements are set by the destination country and can change without notice. Cassandra Logistics is a licensed ocean carrier, not a customs authority or a legal adviser. We are not responsible for changes to foreign import law, or for decisions made by customs at destination. Always confirm current requirements with a licensed customs agent in the destination country before you buy or sell a vehicle.