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Following is a speech by the Secretary for the Treasury, Miss Denise Yue, in moving the second reading of Business Registration (Amendment) Bill 1998 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Madam President,

I move that the Business Registration (Amendment) Bill 1998 be read the second time.

We have recently reviewed the operation of the business registration system to identify areas which can be simplified and modernised. We intend to install a new computer system and revamp the office procedures in order to rationalise the operation of the business registration system and to keep pace with the development of today's business environment. As a result, we expect that the time taken for effecting a new business registration will be shortened from six to four days.

The Business Registration Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation contain some restrictive provisions which have limited the scope for the Inland Revenue Department to implement these streamlining measures. The bill aims at amending those provisions in order to implement the various improvement proposals.

One of the major amendments of the Bill is to establish an Open Business Index which will be accessible to the public for the search of business registration numbers of businesses on a self-service basis. At present, any person may request the Department to extract any information on the Business Register, provided that the person can identify the particular business required, such as by furnishing the Department with the business registration number of the business concerned. If the number is not known, the person has to request the Department to conduct a search for the number before any further search can be done. The Department receives around 100 000 such requests each year.

The proposed Index will enable the public to obtain the required information in a timely manner and reduce the workload of the Department. The Index may in due course be published in electronic form such as on the Internet. It will only include minimal particulars of the registered businesses which enable such businesses to be identified. As the Department has already been providing information from the Business Register upon request , the proposed Index will not violate the secrecy principle upheld by the Department.

The Bill also proposes to allow the Department to supply extracts of business particulars from the Business Register in uncertified form. The dispensation with the certifying process, which has to be done manually, will enable full automation of extraction of information from the Register and hence shorten the processing time. It will also enable the particulars to be transmitted to information seekers electronically.

The purpose of the Bill is to simplify procedures and improve services. I hope Honourable Members will support the Bill.

Thank you.

End/Wednesday, November 11, 1998

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