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Notice to Service Suppliers

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enqiry@tid.gov.hk

Dear Sirs,

Ref : WT 324/9/5/7

8 March 2004

Dear Sirs,

Notice to Service Suppliers No. 2/2004

Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)

Application Procedures for Amendment / Replacement / Certified True Copy (CTC) / Cancellation of a Certificate of Hong Kong Service Supplier (HKSS)

I. INTRODUCTION

Holders of valid Certificate(s) of HKSS may apply for the amendment / replacement / certified true copy (CTC) / cancellation of their valid Certificate(s) of HKSS under specific circumstances. Respective application requirements and procedures are set out in the ensuing paragraphs.

II. DETAILS

Application Requirements

1. Amendment
   
   2. Only the name of service supplier, and/or the title of the Chinese language motion picture printed in a valid Certificate of HKSS are allowed to be amended, provided that holder of the concerned Certificate of HKSS has provided the Trade and Industry Department (TID) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with valid documentary evidence to substantiate the amendment(s). In applying for amendment of valid Certificate(s) of HKSS, an applicant should submit the following documents together with a duly completed application form TID103 (pdf format) (see Appendix) :
      

1. a copy of a fresh Statutory Declaration, which should contain the new name of service supplier and/or the new title of the Chinese language motion picture, attested by an attesting officer recognised by the Mainland (i.e. China Appointed Attesting Officer (Note 1)). The fresh Statutory Declaration should be made in accordance with the provisions set out in paragraph 8 of Notice to Service Suppliers No. 2/2003 issued on 14 November 2003;
   
   
2. original copy of the concerned Certificate(s) of HKSS;
   
   
3. for amending the name of the service supplier, a copy of valid Business Registration Certificate bearing the new name of the applicant, duly certified by Business Registration Office of the Inland Revenue Department of the HKSAR or professional designated by TID pursuant to Article 6.1.1 in Annex 5 to CEPA (Designated Professional (Note 2)). If the applicant is formed and registered under the Companies Ordinance (Cap 32), a copy of the relevant Certificate(s) of Incorporation on Change in Name, duly certified by the Company Registry of the HKSAR or a Designated Professional; and

4. for amending the title of the Chinese language motion picture, a copy of the Certificate of Royalty or Certificate of Copyright Ownership evidencing the change of title of the Chinese language motion picture (i.e. bearing both the old and new titles of the motion picture), as issued by Hong Kong, Kowloon & New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association Limited (MPIA) or Movie Producers and Distributors Association of Hong Kong Limited (MPDA) and duly certified by the relevant issuing organization or a Designated Professional.

3. Certificate holders intending to obtain a Certificate of HKSS covering another service sector/sub-sector or another Chinese language motion picture should submit a fresh application for Certificate of HKSS in accordance with the requirements and procedures set out in Notice to Service Suppliers No. 2/2003 and other Notice(s) to Service Suppliers issued by TID from time to time.

2. Replacement

4. Holder of a valid Certificate of HKSS can apply for replacement of the concerned Certificate of HKSS in case of loss, theft, destruction or damage. In this regard, applicant should submit the following documents together with a duly completed application form TID103 (pdf format):

1. in case of loss, theft or destruction, a letter certifying the loss, theft or destruction of the Certificate of HKSS by the responsible party; a copy of the concerned Certificate of HKSS; and a police memo indicating that the concerned Certificate of HKSS is lost, stolen or destroyed (if the Certificate of HKSS is lost within HKSAR).
   
   
2. in case of damage, original of the Certificate of HKSS concerned.

3. CTC

5. To facilitate concurrent applications to different Mainland's examining authorities for provision of the relevant services in the Mainland, TID provides service on the issue of CTC of valid Certificate of HKSS. The application should comprise a duly completed application form TID103 (pdf format) and a copy of the valid Certificate of HKSS for which CTC is required.

4. Cancellation

6. The holder of a Certificate of HKSS may apply for cancellation of its Certificate at any time. In this regard, the applicant should submit to TID a duly completed application form TID103 (pdf format) and the original copy of the concerned Certificate(s) of HKSS. However, in the event that there is any change in the particulars of its holder after issue of a Certificate of HKSS which makes the holder no longer eligible as a HKSS, the holder shall immediately notify TID in writing of the change and at the same time apply for cancellation of the Certificate. In this connection, the applicant should return the original copy of the concerned Certificate(s) of HKSS as well as documents substantiating that it no longer fulfills the HKSS eligibility criteria, together with a duly completed application form TID103 (pdf format). In any event, cancellation of a Certificate of HKSS does not affect TID's right to take legal and/or other action against the applicant or any person for acts or omissions before the cancellation.

Application Procedures

7. Duly completed application form TID103, together with all relevant supporting documents as specified in paragraphs 2 to 6 above, should be submitted either by post or in person to the Hong Kong Service Supplier Certification Section of TID (11/F, Trade and Industry Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon). The opening hours of the above office are:

8. TID will acknowledge receipt of the applications. TID may, in the circumstances it considers necessary, entrust other government departments, statutory bodies or any independent professional personnel/institutions to conduct verification/certification of the information provided in the application form and the accompanying documents. Moreover, TID reserves at all times the absolute right to request the applicant to provide additional information or further documentary proof to verify its application. Under normal circumstances, TID will complete the processing of an application within the processing time as set out below from the date of its receipt of the duly completed application form accompanied by all necessary supporting documents:

If the application form is not properly completed or there are discrepancies in the information declared therein, or the application form is not accompanied by all necessary documents or if there are discrepancies in the information provided in the accompanying documents, the processing time will be longer. If the applicant fails to provide accurate information and/or the necessary documents, its application will be rejected.

9. TID will notify in writing the applicant of the result of application by post. An amendment Certificate of HKSS will be enclosed in the written notification for a successful amendment application. For replacement and CTC applications, a current fee of HK$305 will be charged for the issue of each replacement certificate and HK$300 for each CTC. Successful applicants should present the payment notice as enclosed in the written notification mentioned above and pay the fee at TID's Collection Office (Room 104, Trade and Industry Department Tower, 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon). Thereafter the applicant should produce both the payment receipt and TID's written notification for collecting the replacement certificate(s) or CTC(s) at the Hong Kong Service Supplier Certification Section.

Handling of information

10. TID is committed to ensuring all personal data provided in all applications related to Certificate of HKSS and in all the accompanying supporting documents are handled in accordance with the provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap 486) of the HKSAR. In this regard, the personal data provided in the above documents will be used by TID or its authorized persons/institutions for activities relating to the processing and verification of applications and related statistical and research work.
    
    
11. TID will keep the personal data provided in the applications and their accompanying documents in strict confidence. However, TID may disclose such data to other government departments, or to third parties within or outside Hong Kong, if such disclosure is necessary to facilitate the Mainland's examining authorities to verify the applications for obtaining the treatment in Annex 4 to CEPA, for the purposes mentioned in paragraph 10 above, is authorized or required by law, or if explicit consent to such disclosure is given by the applicant/data subject. If necessary, TID will contact other government departments or specified independent institutions or persons to verify the personal data provided in the applications with those held by them.
    
    
12. Applicants and data subjects whose data are collected by TID may request access to such data under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance of the HKSAR. Requests for access to personal data should be made in writing to the Hong Kong Service Supplier Certification Section on 11/F of the Trade and Industry Department Tower at 700 Nathan Road, Kowloon. Such requests should be made on the Data Access Request Form (No. OPS003) issued by the Privacy Commissioner, which is available at the Information Counter on G/F of TID or can be downloaded from the homepage of TID: http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/form/publicform/others/index.html#ops003. A charge will be made to cover the cost of photocopying. In addition, if the data subject considers that the data supplied to TID is inaccurate, a request for correction of the data may be made in writing after a data request has been complied with.

III. IMPORTANT NOTES

13. It is the responsibility of the applicant to complete the application form fully and truthfully and provide the supporting documents as required. Failing to provide accurate and complete information may affect the consideration and processing of the applications, and may result in their being deferred or rejected. Applicants are reminded that TID reserves at all times to absolute right to approve or reject an application. Each request will be considered on its own merits.
    
    
14. If it is found that the applicant has obtained its amendment / replacement / CTC / cancellation of Certificate of HKSS by means of any omissions or misrepresentations of information, or by any other fraudulent means, or in the case that holder of a valid Certificate of HKSS (be it being amended or replaced) is no longer fulfilling the eligibility criteria for HKSS as stipulated in Annex 5 to CEPA, TID reserves at all times the absolute right to cancel the application concerned or revoke any Certificate(s) of HKSS issued [including amendment(s) / replacement(s) / CTC(s) / cancellation acknowledgement(s) of the Certificate(s) of HKSS concerned].
    
    
15. If the application and supporting documents are submitted by post, TID will not accept the responsibility for any loss of documents in transit.

IV. ENQUIRIES

16. If you have any enquiries about the application procedures or details set out in this notice, please contact the Hong Kong Service Supplier Certification Section of TID at:

Address: 11/F, Trade and Industry Department Tower,
700 Nathan Road
Tel: 3403 6428
Fax: 3525 0988
E-mail : hkss@tid.gov.hk

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Kelly CHENG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note 1: China Appointed Attesting Officers refer to practising lawyers in Hong Kong registered under the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap 159) of the HKSAR, who are recognised by the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China. The relevant list is available at the website of the Association of China-Appointed Attesting Officers Ltd. (http://www.caao.org.hk) or the Law Society of Hong Kong's website ( http://www.hklawsoc.org.hk).

Note 2: Professionals designated by TID pursuant to Article 6.1.1 of Annex 5 to CEPA include:

(i) certified public accountants of Hong Kong (auditors) i.e. professional accountants registered under the Professional Accountants Ordinance (Cap 50) and holding a practising certificate. A list of the registered professional accountants is available for perusal by the public at the office of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants at 4/F, Lippo Centre, Tower Two, 89 Queensway, Hong Kong. The register is also available at the Society's website at http://www.hksa.org.hk/; and


(ii) practising lawyers in Hong Kong registered under the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap 159) ,who are recognised by the Ministry of Justice of the People's Republic of China (i.e. China Appointed Attesting Officers). The relevant list is available at the website of the Association of China-Appointed Attesting Officers Ltd. (http://www.caao.org.hk) or the Hong Kong Law Society's website (www.hklawsoc.org.hk).

For applications covering legal services, the Designated Professionals refer to item (ii) above only.

Attesting authorities/persons should state the certification result and signed on the relevant documents/reports. The attested documents/reports should be stamped with company chop, if possible.