Press release
Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 2007 gazetted
Friday, May 18, 2007
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury has made the Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 2007 to amend the fees concerning oversea companies in the Eighth Schedule to the Companies Ordinance.
A government spokesman said today (May 18) that the order, which was gazetted today, aimed to restructure the existing filing fees for oversea companies, introduce a new fee for the issue of certificates of registration in respect of such companies and make consequential amendments to Part V of the Eighth Schedule insofar as it relates to the renaming of 'oversea' companies as 'non-Hong Kong' companies.
"These changes are necessitated by the anticipated commencement of provisions concerning non-Hong Kong companies in the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 in the fourth quarter of 2007," the spokesman said.
"The proposed single filing fee is set on the basis of the 'revenue neutral' principle, i.e. oversea companies, on average, would not pay more when compared with the fees payable at present as long as their annual returns are filed within the deadline prescribed in the Companies Ordinance (i.e. within 42 days after the anniversary date of registration).
"Other proposed fees are basically the same as those applicable to existing local companies," the spokesman added.
The Amendment Ordinance was enacted in July, 2004, to implement, among other things, various proposals to modernise the registration regime for oversea companies, including the introduction of a requirement for an oversea company to file a full annual return and a new service of issuing certificates of registration in respect of oversea companies.
In conjunction with these proposals, the order proposes to replace the existing filing fees concerning oversea companies with a single filing fee, and introduce a new fee for the issue of certificates of registration. Escalating fees in respect of late filing of annual returns by oversea companies are also introduced to encourage compliance with the filing requirements under the Companies Ordinance and the timely disclosure of corporate information.
Subject to completion of the negative vetting process in the Legislative Council, the order is planned to come into effect in the fourth quarter of 2007 to synchronise with the completion of the necessary modifications to the Companies Registry's information system. The Registrar of Companies will prescribe that date by means of a commencement notice once the implementation date of the modifications is confirmed.
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