Hong Kong issues circular on compliance with Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance

Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department has released a circular advising companies which ‘foresee’ that they will be ‘engaged in specified activities’ concerning certain chemicals controlled by the Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance in 2019 to report the details to the Director-General of Trade and Industry by 23 July 2018.

The Ordinance implements in Hong Kong the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (‘CWC’), an international arms control treaty that prohibits the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.

Under the Ordinance, operators of facilities that are ‘engaged in specified activities’ involving certain chemicals in quantities over particular thresholds are required to obtain permits. Permit-holders must submit annual reports on their ‘anticipated activities’ for the forthcoming year and ‘past activities’ for the previous year. The information is then collated for submission to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (‘OPCW’), which implements the CWC. The circular also sets out the penalties for transgressing the provisions of the Ordinance: the maximum penalty for operating without a permit is a fine of HK$500,000 on conviction and imprisonment for five years.

For more information see:
https://www.stc.tid.gov.hk/english/circular_pub/2018_stc07.html