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Global e-Trading Services Limited (Ge-TS) will start providing the Government Electronic Trading Services for the submission of import and export declarations on Thursday (January 1).

The Government has been promoting the wider application of electronic commerce to enhance the trading community's productivity, efficiency and competitiveness. Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited (Tradelink) has, since 1997, offered Government Electronic Trading Services in respect of a number of Government-related trade documents under an exclusive franchise which will come to an end on Wednesday (December 31). Since 1999, the submission of concerned trade documents by electronic means has been mandatory.

In March 2003, pursuant to a tendering process, a contract was signed through which the Government appointed Ge-TS as an additional provider of Government Electronic Trading Services from January 1, 2004 for import and export declarations and dutiable commodities permits. A separate contract has also been signed with Tradelink for it to continue providing Government Electronic Trading Services after 2003.

"The commencement of Ge-TS's services marks the introduction of competition in the Government Electronic Trading Service market," a spokesman for the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau said.

"We expect that competition between the two providers will bring benefit to traders in terms of more competitive prices, quality of service and value-added services.

"Under the contract signed in March, Ge-TS will provide services for dutiable commodities permits as well. We expect Ge-TS to roll out these services later in 2004," the spokesman added.

Details of the services provided by Ge-TS can be obtained from www.ge-ts.com.hk, and those provided by Tradelink can be obtained from www.tradelink.com.hk.

Government Electronic Trading Services are the front-end services capturing data from traders, verifying such data, submitting the data to Government back-end systems for processing, collecting fees where applicable on behalf of Government, and forwarding related messages between Government and traders concerned; and the provision of end-user software and related training to traders.

Government Electronic Trading Services enhance the security, accuracy and efficiency of traders' submission of concerned trade documents to Government, as well as the efficiency of Government's back-end processing of these documents.

Ends/Monday, December 29, 2003

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