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A bill which seeks to improve the operation and enforcement of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) System will be gazetted tomorrow (December 28).
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2007 contains proposals recommended by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority having regard to operational experience and views of stakeholders.
One of the major proposals in the bill is to rectify the deficiency in the existing legislation by explicitly imposing criminal and civil liability on employers who default on MPF contributions for employees who are not enrolled in MPF schemes in the first place.
Other legislative proposals will provide better deterrence against non-compliant employers and enhance supervision of MPF schemes. They include the following:
* raising the maximum penalty for non-enrolment or non-payment of MPF contributions to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years to align with that for wage defaults under the Employment Ordinance;
* raising the maximum penalty for non-payment of employees' MPF contributions that have been deducted from employees' salaries to a fine of $450,000 and imprisonment for four years;
* creating a new offence against the employers which provide false or misleading information in pay-records given to employees; and
* improving the approval mechanism for the controllers of MPF trustees.
A Government spokesman said today (December 27), "The legislative amendments will enhance protection of scheme members' interests under the MPF System by strengthening the supervision and enforcement of the MPF regime.
"Given the importance of the MPF System to the community, it is essential that the MPF System should be reviewed from time to time to ensure that it continues to serve the needs of the existing and potential scheme members," the spokesman said.
The bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on January 9, 2008.
Ends/Thursday, December 27, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:00
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