| Revision of fees under Registration of Local Newspapers Ordinance |
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The Government published in the Gazette today (December 2) the News Agencies Registration (Amendment) Regulation 2016 and the Newspapers Registration and Distribution (Amendment) Regulation 2016 (the Amendment Regulations). The Amendment Regulations aim to revise the fees for registering local newspapers and news agencies, issuing licences for newspaper distributors, and searching, inspecting and obtaining certified extracts from the registers of local newspapers and news agencies under the Registration of Local Newspapers Ordinance (Cap. 268). "In line with the 'user pays' principle, it is the Government's policy that fees charged for government services should in general be set at levels adequate to recover the full cost of providing the services," a spokesman for the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said. "The fees were last revised in November 2014. In order to achieve full cost recovery gradually and to avoid a steep fee increase, the existing fees will be increased by about 10 to 15 per cent," the spokesman said. The Amendment Regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on December 7. Subject to negative vetting, the revised fees will come into effect on March 31, 2017. Ends/Friday, December 2, 2016 Issued at HKT 11:00 NNNN |