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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee held its 24th meeting today (November 28). The committee is pleased to note that Hong Kong remains the second easiest place to do business in the world according to the World Bank's "Doing Business 2014" report released on October 29 this year. Compared with the ranking of seven years ago, Hong Kong has moved up three places. The Administration will study the report carefully to identify scope for improvement, and continue to explore ways to improve the business environment by partnering with the business sector and reforming the existing regulatory regimes to ensure that regulation is appropriate.
The Administration briefed the committee on the following two subjects:
(a) Key findings and initial recommendations of the Business Impact Assessment (BIA) on the proposed Private Columbaria Bill; and
(b) Second-stage public engagement on municipal solid waste charging.
The committee also reviewed the work of its three task forces. Some notable progress/developments are:
(a) The Wholesale and Retail Task Force (WRTF) offered its views to the Administration during the BIA on a new Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) on Glass Beverage Bottles. The WRTF urged the Administration to refine the scheme with a view to minimising the compliance costs of the trade;
(b) The WRTF welcomes the efforts of the Environmental Protection Department to address the concerns of the retail trade regarding the new PRS on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) by requiring future WEEE management contractors to provide free "take-back" service of old equipment from consumers and considering a new payment arrangement to allow suppliers to buy the recycling labels on credit;
(c) The Task Force on External Lighting (the Task Force) set up by the Environment Bureau briefed the WRTF and the Food Business and Related Services Task Force (FRSTF) on its findings, and proposed a switching-off requirement to tackle nuisance and energy wastage problems caused by external lighting. While the WRTF supports the proposed regulation in principle, it also emphasises that a balance must be struck between giving residents an environment conducive to sleep and the trade's wish to maximise advertisement exposure. The FRSTF considers that the proposal would have an adverse impact on the business environment and competitiveness of Hong Kong. It requests the Task Force to assess and consider the business impact and economic implications of its proposed measures before drawing up specific recommendations for the Government's consideration;
(d) The FRSTF welcomes the 10 recommendations put forward by the Working Group on the Review of Application for Outside Seating Accommodation Permission for Restaurant. These recommendations will help the trade better understand the licensing requirements, reduce application processing time, enhance transparency of the application process and increase the trade's potential business opportunities;
(e) The Task Force on Business Liaison Groups (BLGTF) appreciates the efforts of the Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration to improve the booking system for examination of Digital Cinema Projection films by increasing the examination capacity and enhancing the transparency of the system;
(f) To help address the theme parks' concern that due to building/physical constraints, they may not be able to meet the prescriptive fire safety requirement to increase the occupant capacity of their premises, the Buildings Department (BD) has advised that the trade could adopt a performance-based approach using fire engineering design to formulate an alternative solution; and
(g) To minimise disruption to hotel operations, the BD advises the trade that hotels requiring annual Authorised Person's certification can discuss with the department for a feasible inspection schedule of the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme and/or the Mandatory Window Inspection Scheme (MBIS/MWIS), so that both inspections can be conducted in one go. For hotels with alteration or major repair works completed recently, the BD will consider, on a case-by-case basis, deferring the issue of statutory notices under MBIS/MWIS. The BLGTF appreciates the flexible approach taken by the BD.
The committee was pleased to note that bureaux and departments have sustained their momentum in enhancing their business licensing services under the "Be the Smart Regulator" Programme. Items of major progress are highlighted below:
(a) The Liquor Licensing Board has waived the requirement to provide the signatures of two referees in support of an application for liquor and club liquor licences. This initiative helps reduce the administrative burden of the trade;
(b) The Companies Registry (CR) now transmits electronic data of deregistered companies to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). This enables the IRD to waive for companies applying for deregistration the requirement for filing a written notification of cessation with a copy of the CR's approval letter of deregistration. As such, the compliance cost of companies applying for deregistration can be reduced;
(c) The Fire Services Department has launched the "Integrated Licensing, Fire Safety and Prosecution System". Various units within the department can access the most up-to-date case information in respect of licensing, fire safety and prosecution through this system, thereby expediting the processing of licence applications and monitoring compliance; and
(d) The Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit (EABFU) has recently released a "Business Consultation e-Platform" mobile application on the Android platform, to add to the one launched on the iPhone platform in November last year. These apps provide the business community and other stakeholders with an additional channel to access the Government's regulatory proposals and related consultation information, as well as a means of offering their views and comments, anytime and anywhere. They are available for free download by searching for "consultation" on the iPhone App Store and "eabfu" on the Google Play Store.
Papers for the committee meeting will be available at www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm for public access.
Ends/Thursday, November 28, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:33
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