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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee held its 11th meeting today (July 16).
The Environment Bureau briefed the committee on the proposed legislative framework of the mandatory implementation of the Building Energy Codes.
The committee also reviewed the work of the three business facilitation task forces. Some notable progress/developments include -
(a) In view of the encouraging results of the trial of the "dedicated team" and "centralisation of premium assessments" approaches in the District Lands Office (Hong Kong West and South) from April 2008 to March 2009, the Pre-construction Task Force (PCTF) urges the Government to consider extension of the measures to other districts in order to expedite the processing of lease modification and land exchange applications. The Lands Department is considering the matter, and will report to the PCTF in due course;
(b) The PCTF will form a working group to examine the Invitation for Response Document on "Building Design to Foster a Quality and Sustainable Built Environment" issued by the Council for Sustainable Development and prepare its response;
(c) The review of bakery licence commissioned by the Food Business Task Force (FBTF) was completed with recommendations to help remove unnecessary regulatory controls and reduce compliance burden of the trade;
(d) The FBTF welcomes the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department's (FEHD) proposal to relax the statutory food room requirements for licensed restaurants and factory canteens;
(e) The Retail Task Force (RTF) is pleased that the Department of Health (DH) has further streamlined the procedures to expedite the processing of applications for registration of pharmaceutical products with positive feedback from the trade. For registration of proprietary Chinese medicine, the DH has been exploring ways to address the trade's concerns about difficulties encountered in conducting quality tests. The DH has recently provided the trade with supplementary information on how to establish quality specification, and will arrange further meetings to facilitate communication with the trade;
(f) The RTF supports early introduction of the proposed composite licence system for the manufacture/sale of various types of ready-to-eat food. This proposal allows greater flexibility to the trade so that applicants could choose any combination of the specified food items to suit their operational requirements and manage the risks associated with different food types;
(g) The RTF commends the Government for its proactive efforts to have engaged the trade in working out the implementation details of the first phase of the environmental levy scheme on plastic shopping bags. The RTF encourages the Government to review the effectiveness of the scheme with trade representatives and other relevant stakeholders as soon as possible; and
(h) Concerning the nutrition labelling scheme for pre-packaged food in Hong Kong, the RTF acknowledges the trade facilitation efforts undertaken by the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the FEHD, including the advancement of the timeframe for accepting small volume exemption applications commencing from September 1, 2009. The RTF encourages the CFS to continue its active dialogue with the trade with a view to resolving the remaining implementation issues.
The committee is pleased that the Government has continued to drive forward the "Be the Smart Regulator" Programme with a view to further enhancing Hong Kong's business licensing processes and business environment. The improvement measures have been well received by the trades. Some noteworthy progress/developments include -
(a) The FEHD has implemented measures to shorten the time for issuing provisional licence for food factories which only reheat pre-cooked food items with electricity from 28 to 14 working days (reduction by 50%);
(b) The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has agreed to extend the business hours from 2am to 6am for the billiard trade, provided that applicants do not have any record of nuisance to the public, the Police have no objection and there is no substantive evidence to support local adverse comment on the applications; and
(c) To help improve the business environment of cinemas, the Customs and Excise Department has reinforced its inspection to combat illegal video recording in cinemas, and the Intellectual Property Department has produced an Announcement in the Public Interest on anti-camcording in cinemas.
Papers for the committee meeting will be uploaded onto the Internet (www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm) for access by the public.
Ends/Thursday, July 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:35
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