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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee (BFAC) under the new chairmanship of Mr Yu Pang-chun and with Mr Andrew Leung as the new Deputy Chairman met for the first time today (March 29). The committee will focus on sustaining a competitive regulatory environment for business in Hong Kong and tackling business compliance issues while safeguarding the public interest.
At today's meeting, the Administration invited the committee's views on the public consultation on introducing municipal solid waste charging as a direct economic incentive to reduce waste at source in Hong Kong.
The committee welcomed the proposed revised scheme for the implementation of Third Party Fire Safety Certification by Introducing a Registered Fire Engineer Scheme in Hong Kong, and reviewed the work of the three business facilitation task forces. Some notable areas of progress/developments are:
(a) The Wholesale and Retail Task Force (WRTF) supported the Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Bill 2012 in principle and noted the Administration's undertaking to further examine, outside the context of the Bill, practical arrangements in relation to the mandatory imposition of a cooling-off period;
(b) The WRTF supported the proposed amendment to the Dangerous Goods (Application and Exemption) Regulation in principle. The WRTF welcomed the proposed relaxation of regulatory controls on dangerous goods packaged in consumer packs meeting specific conditions and urged the Administration to continue sorting out the implementation details with traders concerned;
(c) The Administration briefed the Food Business and Related Services Task Force (FRSTF) on the public consultation outcome and the proposed way forward of the review of liquor licensing. The FRSTF welcomed the proposed business facilitation measures and suggested that the Administration should consider introducing a new system of classification of liquor licences so as to distinguish general restaurants from high-risk liquor-licensed premises such as upstairs bars;
(d) The FRSTF requested the Administration to consider setting up a performance pledge for the issue of letters of requirements for the applications for layout alteration of food business licences;
(e) The Task Force on Business Liaison Groups (BLGTF) welcomed the Administration's introduction of a fast-track application process for live broadcasting at licensed cinemas. The time required for processing and approving a straightforward application has been shortened from 20 working days to eight; and
(f) The BLGTF welcomed the promulgation of an internal guideline by the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) on handling suspected unauthorised game machines found in family amusement centres to address the trade's concern.
The committee was pleased that bureaux and departments had sustained efforts to enhance their business licensing services and facilitate trades in doing business under the "Be the Smart Regulator" Programme. Major progress is highlighted below:
(a) Apart from conducting regular licensing and follow-up inspections, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has recently conducted joint enforcement operations with the HKPF against unlicensed billiard establishments at industrial buildings to provide a level playing field for licensed billiard establishments;
(b) The Department of Health has provided necessary assistance to the trade to facilitate smooth implementation of the legislative provisions governing the labelling and package inserts of proprietary Chinese medicine under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549). This could better protect public health and provide a fair business environment for better development of Chinese medicine; and
(c) The Land Registry has continuously enhanced its search and registration computer system to facilitate online searches and the registration process. It has also released online versions of the Street Index and Cross Reference Table and two new versions of the e-Memorial Form for use by solicitors. With these improvement measures, solicitors could speed up the preparation of instruments for submission to the Land Registry for registration.
Papers for the committee meeting will be available at www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm for public access.
Ends/Thursday, March 29, 2012
Issued at HKT 14:29
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