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The Hong Kong Air Navigation (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 and the Civil Aviation (Aircraft Noise) (Certification) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, to be gazetted on November 18 and tabled in the Legislative Council on November 23, seek to revise civil aviation fees and charges.
A spokesperson for the Transport and Housing Bureau said today (November 16), "The Government's policy is that fees and charges should in general be set at a level sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the services. At present, some fees and charges related to civil aviation are under-recovering and some are over-recovering. Also, some services are provided free of charge to the aviation industry. The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has reviewed the fees and charges under the Hong Kong Air Navigation (Fees) Regulations and the Civil Aviation (Aircraft Noise) (Certification) Regulations, and proposes revisions to achieve full cost recovery."
The opportunity is also taken to delete an obsolete fee item and to streamline the structure of a number of fees for applications that involve similar work processes.
The aviation industry has been consulted on the fee proposals and generally has no objection to them.
The Amendment Regulations have the following major provisions:
(a) providing for the payment of the fees prescribed in the Schedule to the Hong Kong Air Navigation (Fees) Regulations;
(b) adjusting the level of certain fees with a view to achieving full cost recovery;
(c) introducing new fee items in respect of certain matters provided for in the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995;
(d) streamlining the structure of examination fees for the grant or renewal of a licence to act as a flight crew member;
(e) deleting the fee item for the renewal of a certificate of validation; and
(f) reflecting the abolition of official flying tests.
The target commencement date of the Amendment Regulations is January 13, 2012.
Ends/Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:31
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