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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee held its 12th meeting today (November 5).
The committee welcomes the Government's proposed new initiatives to optimise the use of industrial buildings to meet Hong Kong's changing economic and social needs.
The Environmental Protection Department briefed the committee on its plan to consult the public on introducing legislation to implement a mandatory producer responsibility scheme for waste electrical and electronic equipment.
The committee also reviewed the work of the three business facilitation task forces. Some notable progress/developments include:
(a) The Pre-construction Task Force (PCTF) is pleased that the Lands Department has introduced a number of improvement measures to streamline premium assessment and to expedite the premium appeal process;
(b) The PCTF has submitted their comments on the Invitation for Response Document on "Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment" to the Council for Sustainable Development;
(c) The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has implemented most of the recommendations proposed in an earlier review on bakery licence commissioned by the Food Business Task Force, and the improvement measures are generally well received by the trade;
(d) Concerning the nutrition labelling scheme for pre-packaged food in Hong Kong, the Retail Task Force (RTF) is pleased to note that the processing of small volume exemption applications by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the FEHD is generally smooth. The RTF encourages the CFS to continue to work closely with the trade in resolving the remaining implementation issues; and
(e) The Department of Health reported that steady progress was made in registration of proprietary Chinese medicine (pCm) and continuous efforts were made to facilitate the trade's better understanding of the pCm registration requirements. A draft implementation plan for commencement of section 119 of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance had been worked out and the trade would be consulted later.
The committee is pleased that the bureaux/departments concerned have sustained their efforts to improve their licensing services with positive trade feedback and that the Government will continue to monitor the progress of its reform measures with a view to further enhancing the ease of doing business in Hong Kong. Some noteworthy progress/developments include:
(a) The Highways Department has launched the first phase of the Excavation Permit Management System, which allows electronic submission and processing of applications for excavation, expressway and road works permits with on-line application tracking facilities;
(b) The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) has launched new on-line services for licensees to submit applications for the cancellation of licence/station and duplication of licence/ identification labels. On completion of a licensing review, the OFTA has further simplified the licensing regime by phasing out six licence types;
(c) The Fire Services Department has strengthened the manpower at its Ventilation Division to expedite compliance inspections at licensed premises, thus shortening the pledged completion of inspection by two to six working days (reduction by 17% to 38%);
(d) The Trade and Industry Department (TID) has started to provide e- services for applications for Kimberly Process Certificates for Rough Diamonds. It has also improved the renewal process for Rough Diamond Trader Registration by introducing a simplified form and issuing e-notifications to traders for renewal; and
(e) The Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit and the TID completed the first phase enhancement of the Business Licensing Information Services (BLIS) System, covering the licensing requirements of the FEHD, Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority and Education Bureau, to provide relevant and updated licensing information to the trades. The enhanced BLIS System has also been made easier to use and maintain. The BLIS improvement work has been extended to the remaining 26 bureaux/departments under the "Be the Smart Regulator" Programme in Phase 2.
Papers for the committee meeting will be available at www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm for access by the public.
Ends/Thursday, November 5, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:03
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