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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee held its 26th meeting today (July 23). The Fire Services Department (FSD) and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) jointly briefed the committee on the implementation progress of three proposed new measures for compliance with fire safety requirements by food premises. The committee complimented the two departments for conducting a business impact assessment to identify the trade's compliance difficulties and refine the regulatory proposals before they were finalised.
The committee also reviewed the work of its three task forces. Some notable progress/developments are:
(a) The Wholesale and Retail Task Force (WRTF) submitted its views on the draft Code of Practice for Holder of Wholesale Poisons Licence to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for consideration. In view of the importance of public safety, the WRTF supported the proposed requirement of a wholesaler to obtain a written order from a buyer for order verification. Noting that some small wholesalers might have compliance difficulties if their buyers insisted on not issuing written orders, the WRTF urged the Government to further explore ways to assist the parties concerned to comply with the written order requirement. As a long-term measure, the WRTF suggested that the Government should set up a common electronic platform for all the buyers to place their orders with the suppliers. The WRTF also suggested that the Department of Health should organise briefings to teach the trade, in particular small wholesalers, to comply with the proposed requirement of reporting defective products and adverse drug reactions;
(b) The Public Consultation Team on Enhanced Measures against Shop Front Extensions, comprising representatives of the Home Affairs Department, the FEHD, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Lands Department and the Buildings Department (BD), consulted the WRTF and the Food Business and Related Services Task Force (FRSTF) on the proposed enhanced measures against shop front extensions. While the WRTF generally supported the proposal, members of the FRSTF had diverse views on the effectiveness of the proposed fixed penalty system as an additional enforcement tool to tackle shop front extensions. Both the WRTF and the FRSTF suggested the Government conduct a business impact assessment, especially on small and medium-sized enterprises, and consult the affected trades again when more details of the proposal are available;
(c) A direct investigation of the Ombudsman had found that restaurant licensees could defer the effective date of licence suspension or cancellation by taking advantage of the lengthy three-tier appeal process. To follow up with the Ombudsman's recommendation, the FEHD was exploring a proposal to remove the third tier of the current appeal mechanism (i.e. the Municipal Services Appeals Board) and had recently consulted the FRSTF on the proposal. Though the FEHD supplemented that the protection of a licensee's civil right and obligation should be considered effective and sufficient, when the entire determination process is viewed as a whole, even if one tier of statutory appeal is to be removed, the FRSTF expressed grave concern on the proposal as it would significantly undermine the licensees' existing rights of appeal. The FRSTF requested the Government to review and streamline the existing appeal processes in the first instance with a view to shortening the appeal time;
(d) The FEHD had strengthened the mechanism for considering public objections to the applications for Outside Seating Accommodation (OSA) permission of restaurants, as recommended in an earlier review by the OSA Working Group. The FRSTF appreciated the efforts of the department;
(e) The Home Affairs Bureau briefed the Task Force on Business Liaison Groups (BLGTF), together with representatives from relevant trade associations, on the proposal to exempt from the Amusement Game Centres Ordinance the premises installed with electronic darts machines (including electronic darts centres) already licensed under other licensing regimes with similar safety requirements. The main policy consideration was safeguarding public safety while avoiding double regulation for the purpose of business facilitation. The BLGTF and the trade representatives generally welcomed the proposal;
(f) The BLGTF appreciated that the FSD had clarified with cinema operators the annual fire retardant treatment requirement of their curtains and wall furnishings, which could help reduce the trade's compliance costs; and
(g) The BLGTF was pleased that the Customs and Excise Department had briefed the hotel trade on the enforcement policy and actions against criminal copyright infringement of musical works, and offered advice on how to avoid committing copyright infringement offences.
The committee was pleased to note that bureaux and departments had sustained their momentum in further enhancing their business licensing services under the "Be the Smart Regulator" Programme. Major progress is highlighted below:
(a) The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has enhanced the electronic filing service to help employers reduce their administrative burden of reporting remuneration paid to employees. For example, small firms with up to 30 employees can use the IRD's template for online submission of employer's returns. Over 80 per cent of the employers in Hong Kong can benefit from this enhanced service;
(b) The Trade and Industry Department regularly amends the control list for strategic commodities to ensure that Hong Kong upholds controls consistent with the latest international standards. This practice promptly relieves traders from licensing requirements when the international standards are relaxed;
(c) Create Hong Kong has developed the Licence Application Processing and Inspection Monitoring System to keep track of the processing status of applications for licences/permits under the Entertainment Special Effects Ordinance. The system also generates electronic notifications to alert case officers for timely surveillance inspections; and
(d) As a result of streamlining the building approval process, the BD undertakes, upon receipt of notification, to conduct inspection of the foundation bearing strata within one working day (instead of seven days) for the construction of two-storey warehouses that satisfy the criteria specified under the Practice Note for Authorized Persons, Registered Structural Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers ADM-19 issued by the department. This shortens the overall lead time for obtaining construction permits for two-storey warehouse projects.
Papers for the committee meeting will be available at www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm for public access.
Ends/Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:31
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