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Tax Information :
Business Registration : "Business" Required to be
Registered and Application for Business Registration
"Business" Required
to be Registered
Includes:
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any form of trade, commerce, craftsmanship,
profession, calling or other activity carried on for the purpose
of gain; |
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any club which provides facilities,
services and exclusive club premises to its members for
social intercourse or recreation; and |
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every company incorporated in Hong
Kong in accordance with the Companies Ordinance or non-Hong Kong company that has established a place of business in Hong
Kong, regardless of whether it is actually carrying on any
business in Hong Kong. |
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every non-Hong Kong company that
has a representative or liaison office in Hong Kong, or
has let out its property situated in Hong Kong, regardless
of whether it has established a place of business in Hong
Kong. |
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who is only holding an office or employment is not regarded
as carrying on any business and is not required to apply for
business registration. |
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For a new business carried
on by an individual or a partnership
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A new business carried on by an
individual or a partnership must be registered with Business
Registration Office within 1 month of its commencement. If
a business is carried on by an individual, a Form 1(a) should
be completed. In the case of a partnership, a Form 1(c) should
be completed. These forms should be submitted together with
photocopies of the Hong Kong identity cards or passports of
the proprietor or all the partners. |
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If the sole proprietor (or all the
partners in the case of a partnership) is not residing in
Hong Kong, he/she/it has to appoint an agent who is residing
in Hong Kong to act on his/her/its behalf for the purposes
of business registration. An appointment letter in favour
of the agent and a copy of the agent's Hong Kong Identity
Card must be submitted together with the business registration
application form. In the appointment letter, full particulars
of the agent must be stated including his name, Hong Kong
identity card number and residential address. Alternatively,
you may furnish the details on the form IRBR
177.
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For a new business carried on by
a limited company
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Before making application for
a Business Registration Certificate, a limited company must
first be registered with the Companies Registry, located at
Queensway Government Offices. Applications should be made
within 1 month of the date of incorporation or registration
with the Companies Registry. A Form 1(b) should be submitted
with a photocopy of the Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate
of Registration of non-Hong Kong company issued by the Companies
Registry. |
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A non-Hong Kong company which
commences to carry on business in Hong Kong before the procedure
for registration with the Companies Registry has been finalised
may still apply for business registration within 1 month
of such commencement of business. For these cases, a Form
1(b) should be submitted together with a copy of the Certificate
of Incorporation issued by the country of incorporation
(or its equivalent) and a certified copy of an English translation
thereof if the original is not in English. |
For opening a branch
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A branch business must be registered with the Business Registration
Office within 1 month of its commencement. A Form 1(d) should
be completed .
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For recommencement
of a business
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The old provision on the recommencement
of business under the Business Registration Ordinance had been
repealed. If you wish to recommence a sole proprietorship or
partnership business which has ceased previously, you must make
a new application for business registration within 1 month of
the recommencement of the business. |
Business Name
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When you register
your business, you may register a business name.
You should take one of the following three choices: |
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(a) |
register a Chinese
name only; |
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(b) |
register an English name only;
or |
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(c) |
register both a Chinese name and
an English name. |
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For a Chinese name,
you may include English alphabets, but not English words.
If you wish to include symbols in either a Chinese name or
an English name, only the following symbols can be used: |
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| (a) |
For Chinese
Name |
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！ |
＃ |
＄ |
％ |
＆ |
＊ |
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‘ |
（ |
） |
＋ |
－ |
＝ |
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： |
； |
， |
． |
＜ |
＞ |
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？ |
／ |
ソ |
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| (b) |
For English
Name |
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! |
# |
$ |
% |
& |
* |
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' |
( |
) |
+ |
- |
= |
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: |
; |
, |
. |
< |
> |
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? |
/ |
@ |
\ |
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Please note that you
may not use the following names as your business name: |
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(a) |
a name which suggests that the
business is incorporated with limited liability when it is
not, |
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(b) |
where the business is incorporated
with limited liability, a name which suggests that the business
is incorporated under a different name, e.g. a corporation
"ABC Ltd." cannot use a business name "XYZ
Ltd." or |
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(c) |
a name which suggests a connection
with the Government or any public body when no such connection
exists or has existed. |
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Sometimes, for the
same business, you may wish to register more than one business
name. This is permissible. However, each registered additional
business name will be treated as a branch of the business.
The additional business name must also follow the rules mentioned
above. |
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If you carry on more
than one business, you should register each business separately.
Each business may have its own business name. |
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Specimen of Application Forms
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You may download a specimen of the following
application forms for reference. The specimen forms are saved
in pdf format which can be viewed and printed by using the
Adobe
Acrobat Reader 5.0 or above and Adobe
Asian Fonts Packs which are available free at the
Adobe
Systems Incorporated website. |
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Download copy MUST
NOT be used for submission of application. Only
forms that are printed by and according to the specifications
of the Department are acceptable for application purposes.
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Application forms are available for collection at the
Business Registration Office. You may also complete the form IRBR194
or write to us to obtain the application forms. Please state your name, your correspondence address and the type of application form you required in the letter
, and return it either by post or fax (2824 1482). The application forms will be sent to you afterwards.
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(1) |
Form
1(a) (PDF:794KB) - Application by an individual
for registration of business carried on by him in Hong
Kong. |
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(2) |
Form
1(b) (PDF:1,122KB) - Application by a body corporate
for registration |
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(3) |
Form
1(c) (PDF:1,093KB) - Application by partnership
or by other body unincorporate for registration of business
carried on by such body in Hong Kong |
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(4) |
Form
1(d) (PDF:726KB) - Application for registration
of branch business carried on in Hong Kong. |
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Payment Upfront
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All applications for registration of a business
must be accompanied by full payment of the appropriate business
registration fee and the levy before they will be processed.
For applications made by post, cheques for the appropriate
amounts made payable to the "Government of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region" must be sent in together with the application
forms. As for applications made over the counter, payments
must be made immediately on the spot. Please note that upfront
payment is still required even though the applicant might
also be applying for exemption from payment of the fee and
levy under section 9 of the Business Registration Ordinance.
A refund will be made if the application for exemption is
later approved. |
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The making of an application for registration must be payment
linked, the opening hours of the "New Business Registration"
counters are tied in with the opening hours of the shroff
office as follows: |
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4th Floor, Revenue Tower,
5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.
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Mondays to Fridays |
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8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
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Applicants arriving before 8:45
a.m. in the morning or after 5:00 p.m. in the afternoon can
make use of the drop-in boxes provided to leave behind their
application forms and payment cheques for subsequent processing.
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Performance Pledge
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With effect from 1st April 2000,
business registration certificates for newly registered businesses
will be issued as follows: |
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Applications over the
counter - |
Issued within 30 minutes of receipt
of properly completed applications. |
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Applications by post - |
Issued within 2 working days of receipt
of properly completed applications. |
Failure to apply for Business Registration on time
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Any person who fails to apply for business registration shall
be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of $5,000 and to
imprisonment for 1 year. |
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