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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee held its 10th meeting today (March 31).
The Labour Department briefed the committee on the latest developments on statutory minimum wage.
The committee is pleased that the Government continues to make good progress to improve the overall licensing environment for doing business in Hong Kong under the ¡§Be the Smart Regulator¡¨ Programme. The improvement measures implemented have been well received by the trades. Some noteworthy progress/developments include:
(a) By making good use of the business consultation e-platform under the GovHK Portal (www.bce.gov.hk) and the Business Impact Assessment framework developed by the Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit, bureaux/departments concerned could better understand the trade¡¦s concerns and refine their regulatory proposals to minimise the administrative burden and compliance costs to the trades while safeguarding public interest;
(b) To facilitate the starting of a business, the Companies Registry and the Inland Revenue Department have commenced a joined-up service with the opening of a new Receipt and Despatch Centre on December 1, 2008, to provide one-stop service for company incorporation and business registration;
(c) To further streamline the procedures in dealing with construction permits, the ¡§One Stop Centre for Warehouse Construction Permits" commenced operation under the Efficiency Unit on December 1, 2008;
(d) An e-Liquor Licence System to further expedite the licensing process and improve its transparency will be launched in the second half of 2009;
(e) The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has expanded the list of movable appliances and furniture, such as electric mincers, electric mixers, bread slicers, computer terminals, not required to be shown on approved layout plans of licensed food premises so as to offer operators greater flexibility. In addition, a new simplified application form for Alterations and Additions was introduced in January 2009; and
(f) Acceptance of certificates of Authorised Persons/Registered Structural Engineers to certify the structural suitability of village type houses built prior to the enactment of Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) Ordinance, Cap. 121 on October 16, 1987, in processing food business licence applications;
The committee also reviewed the work of the three business facilitation task forces. Some notable progress/developments include:
(a) As recommended by the Pre-construction Task Force (PCTF), the Lands Department (LandsD) has set up, as a pilot scheme, a dedicated team in the District Lands Office (Hong Kong West and South) to process all applications for lease modification and land exchange in this district and concurrently launched a trial scheme of centralisation of premium assessments from this district since April 2008. The initial results of the pilot ¡§dedicated team approach¡¨ and the trial run of ¡§centralisation of premium assessments¡¨ are encouraging. The LandsD will fully assess the effectiveness of the measures following expiry of the trial period in April 2009;
(b) The Development Bureau will brief the PCTF on the public engagement exercise on measures to foster a quality and sustainable built environment and the proposed establishment of the Development Opportunities Office;
(c) The Food Business Task Force has commissioned a review of the Bakery Licence with a view to identifying improvement opportunities to help remove unnecessary regulatory controls;
(d) To provide a more certain operating environment for the trade in view of the economic downturn, the Government has agreed to implement the additional licence conditions for temporary or occasional hot-pot/food warming activities in winter this year and reconvene the consultation sessions with the trade on how to improve the Demerit Points System for licensed food premises upon further notice;
(e) In response to the request of the Retail Task Force (RTF), the Department of Health (DH) has further streamlined the procedures to expedite the processing of applications for registration of pharmaceutical products and improved the efficiency of pre-registration product classification. The DH has also provided assistance to address the trade¡¦s concerns about technical difficulties involved in quality testing of proprietary Chinese medicine;
(f) Regarding the proposed Food Safety Bill, the RTF welcomes the Government¡¦s undertaking to conduct a Business Impact Assessment to assess the implications of the proposals on the trade; and
(g) Concerning the nutrition labelling scheme for pre-packaged food in Hong Kong, the committee encouraged the Government to continue with its trade facilitation efforts and strive to advance the registration time for the small volume exemption scheme as far as possible.
Papers for the committee meeting will be uploaded onto the Internet (www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm) for access by the public.
Ends/Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:31
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