Exemption from Registration or Payment

Exemption from registration
Exemption from payment of Business Registration fee and levy

Exemption from registration

The Business Registration Ordinance provides that the following businesses are exempted from registration :

the activities of charities;
the business of agriculture, market gardening or fishing (exemption not applicable to companies incorporated or required to be registered under the Companies Ordinance);
the business of a bootblack;
business carried on by such hawkers who require licences under the Hawker Regulation, except businesses carried on inside the main structure of a building;
a qualifying FiT business within the meaning of section 4 of the Exemption from Profits Tax (Feed-in Tariff Scheme) Order.

However, a charity carrying on a trade or business with the profit from such trade or business chargeable to Profits Tax is not entitled to exemption from business registration. It is required to apply for business registration. Please refer to "Tax guide for charitable institutions and trusts of a public character" issued by the Department for reference.

Exemption from payment of Business Registration fee and levy

Eligible persons

You can apply for exemption from payment of business registration fee and levy if the average monthly sales or receipts of your business do not exceed the following limit:-

Exemption from payment of Business Registration fee and levy

For businesses mainly deriving profits
from the sale of services $10,000

For other businesses $30,000
For existing businesses, the above average monthly sales or receipts shall be the monthly average over the 6 months preceding the application. For new businesses, it shall be the estimated average over the first 6 months of business.
Exemption cannot be granted to:
- companies incorporated or required to be registered in Hong Kong under the Companies Ordinance
- re-domiciled companies
- open-ended fund companies
- limited partnership funds

Exemption from payment of Business Registration fee and levy
For businesses mainly deriving profits from the sale of services	$10,000
For other businesses	$30,000

If 2 or more businesses are carried on by the same proprietor or partners, none of those businesses is entitled to the exemption. See examples below :

(a)	If Mr A carries on two sole proprietorship businesses X and Y at the same time, neither X nor Y is entitled to the exemption.
(b)	If Mr A and Mr B carry on two partnership businesses C and D at the same time, neither C nor D is entitled to the exemption.
(c)	If Mr A and Mr B carry on a partnership business E and at the same time, Mr A and Mr C carry on another partnership business F, E and F are not considered to be carried on by the same person.
(d)	If Mr A carries on a sole proprietorship business G and at the same time, Mr A and Mr B carry on a partnership business H, G and H are not considered to be carried on by the same person.

How to apply

Application has to be made on a prescribed form - the "Form 3". You can either submit the application in person or by post. In order to ensure the authenticity of the applications received, submission by facsimile transmission is not acceptable.
Application can also be made via GovHK (www.gov.hk/br). For more details, please details about the "Application for Exemption from Payment of Business Registration Fee and Levy" service, please refer to Business Registration Electronic Services and visit the Learning Resources Centre Page to view e-Demos and User Guides.
Please refer to Purpose of Business Register and Privacy of Personal Data.

When to apply

For existing businesses, application for exemption submitted in person or by post should be made not later than 1 month before the date of expiry of a current business registration certificate. Application made via GovHK should be made not later than 1 week before the date of expiry of the current business registration certificate. For example, if your current business registration certificate will expire on 20 May 2025 and you wish to apply for exemption from payment of business registration fee and levy for the year commencing on 21 May 2025, the application must be made on or before 20 April 2025 if it is submitted in person or by post. Application via GovHK must be made on or before 13 May 2025.
For new businesses, application for exemption submitted in person or by post must be made not later than 1 month after applying for the business registration. Application made via GovHK must be made not later than 7 weeks after applying for the business registration. For example, if you apply for business registration on 20 May 2025 and you wish to apply for exemption from payment of business registration fee and levy, the application must be made on or before 20 June 2025 if it is submitted in person or by post. Application via GovHK must be made on or before 8 July 2025.
The applicant will be informed of the result of his/her application in writing if the application is submitted in person or by post. If exemption is granted, an "Exempt Business Registration Certificate" will be issued with the reply. If the applicant makes his/her application via GovHK, he/she can view and download the result and the "Exempt Business Registration Certificate" (if exemption is granted) via GovHK. Before receiving our result, the applicant is still required to settle the business registration fee and levy on or before the specified date.
Exemption is only granted upon application and for one year ending on the expiry date of the exempt certificate. Fresh application for exemption must be made for each subsequent year in accordance with the exemption conditions and application procedures then in force.