The Government published in the Gazette today (October 24) the Mines (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 2014, the Dangerous Goods (General) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2014 and the Dangerous Goods (Government Explosives Depots) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 to adjust 27 fees for services specified under the Regulations.
The revision covers the following categories:
(a) fees relating to the mine blasting certificate;
(b) dangerous goods licence fees;
(c) permit fees for moving and discharging explosives;
(d) fees for storage of explosives in government depots; and
(e) fees for delivery of explosives from a depot to any other place by the Government.
"In line with the 'user pays' principle, it is the Government's policy that fees and charges should in general be set at levels sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the services. In order to achieve full cost recovery gradually and avoid a steep fee increase, the existing 27 fees for services that are non-livelihood related will be increased by about 5.9 per cent to 20.5 per cent," a spokesman for the Development Bureau said.
The Regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council on October 29. Subject to approval by negative vetting, the revised fees will come into effect on January 1, 2015.
Ends/Friday, October 24, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:02
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