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The Government published in the Gazette today (October 23) the Mines (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 2015, the Dangerous Goods (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 and the Dangerous Goods (Government Explosives Depots) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 to adjust 23 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 23 fees will be increased by about 9.1 per cent to 20.2 per cent," a spokesman for the Development Bureau said.
The Regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council on October 28. Subject to approval by negative vetting, the revised fees will come into effect on January 1, 2016.
Ends/Friday, October 23, 2015
Issued at HKT 11:00
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