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The Government published in the Gazette today (May 15) the Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 and the Building (Minor Works) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2015, both made under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), to revise 46 fee items for services provided by the Buildings Department (BD) to achieve full cost recovery.
A Government spokesman said that in line with the "user pays" principle, it is the policy of the Government that fees charged for government services should in general be set at levels sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the services.
The BD has recently completed a cost review exercise on the fee items concerned at the 2015-16 price level. Based on the outcome of the cost review, the department proposes to increase the level of 40 fee items by up to 68 per cent to achieve full cost recovery. It also proposes to lower the level of six fee items by up to 4.9 per cent to reflect the reduction in cost resulting from the implementation of streamlined registration procedures for registered minor works contractors.
The Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 revises 23 fee items prescribed in the Building (Administration) Regulations (Cap. 123 sub. leg. A), for the registration of authorised persons, structural engineers, geotechnical engineers, general building contractors and specialist contractors, the prevailing fees of which were set in 2005; and for the registration of inspectors, the prevailing fees of which were set in 2011.
The Building (Minor Works) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 revises 23 fee items prescribed in the Building (Minor Works) (Fees) Regulation (Cap. 123 sub. leg. O) for the registration of registered minor works contractors, the prevailing fees of which were set in 2009. Details of the current and revised fees are set out in Annexes A and B.
The Amendment Regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council (LegCo) for negative vetting on May 20, 2015. Subject to scrutiny by the LegCo, the revised fees will come into effect on July 20, 2015.
Ends/Friday, May 15, 2015
Issued at HKT 11:01
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