The Government published in the Gazette today (June 6) the Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 and the Building (Oil Storage Installations) (Amendment) Regulation 2014, both made under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), to revise eight fee items for services provided by the Buildings Department to achieve full cost recovery.
A spokesman for the Development Bureau said that in line with the "user pays" principle, it is the Government's policy that fees charged for government services should in general be set at levels adequate to recover the full cost of providing the services.
The Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 revises six fee items, last revised in 1995, in relation to application for approval of plans of building works as well as alteration and addition works prescribed in the Building (Administration) Regulations (Cap. 123A). The Building (Oil Storage Installations) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 revises two fee items, last revised in 2011, for granting and renewal of a licence in respect of an oil storage installation prescribed in the Building (Oil Storage Installations) Regulations (Cap. 123K). The proposed adjustments range from an increase of 20.4 per cent to 26.9 per cent, which reflect the actual work involved in processing the applications as well as the increases in costs since the last review of the fee items. Details of the current and proposed fees are set out in Annexes A and B.
Following the gazettal today, the Amendment Regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council (LegCo) for negative vetting on June 11. Subject to scrutiny by the LegCo, the revised fees will come into effect on November 10, 2014.
Ends/Friday, June 6, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:43
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