being $5,509,402 or 64.8% under 'Rents from short term tenancies - Urban area' due to the letting of more new tenancies than anticipated; $1,723,736 (10.4%) under 'Crown rent - Land Office leases' due to increased collections as a result of the revision of Crown rents on the expiry of renewable Crown leases; and $586,928 (20.5%) under 'Markets, pool grounds, public pleasure grounds and swimming pools' mainly because amounts offered for market rents were higher than anticipated and because extra revenue was derived from a new market opened at Yeung Uk Road in January 1977.
Head 10 - Land Sales
Five of the seven subheads produced substantially more than anticipated and one substantially less. The largest individual excess was $49,366,374 (246.8 %) under 'Re-grants of expired 75 year or shorter leases - Urban area' because a number of property owners in Nathan Road chose to pay regrant premiums in a lump sum to facilitate assignment of the properties after redevelopment. Other significant excesses were $27,857,000 (10.7%) under 'Sales by public auction and tender- Urban area' because higher prices than anticipated were obtained for a number of valuable non-industrial sites at Tsim Sha Tsui East, Wan Chai reclamation and Hollywood Road/Upper Lascar Row, sold during the year; $6,237,016 (124.7%) under 'Private treaty grants - Urban area' mainly because of one exceptionally large transaction involving approximately $5.2 million in connection with an area at Hong Kong Airport which was completed during the year; $21,456,289 (71.5%) under 'Modification of existing leases, exchanges and extensions Urban area' because more property owners than anticipated sought to modify lease conditions for redevelopment and a number of important cases involving high premium payments were settled during the year; and $36,691,375 (74.6%) under 'Modification of existing leases, exchanges and extensions - New Territories' because of increased activity in the land market. There was however a shortfall of $7,119,090 (33%) under 'Private treaty grants - New Territories' because some substantial grants allowed for in the original estimate could not be completed during the year.
Head 11 - Reimbursements other than Appropriations-in-Aid
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Of the eleven subheads for which estimates were included, eight produced more and three less than anticipated. There were three significant variations, namely; a shortfall of $705,900 (88.2%) under' Advances to tenants of condemned buildings' because the number of buildings declared dangerous declined and the original estimate for recoveries of such advances was pitched too high; an excess of $1,015,971 (2,031.9%) under Public Works 'Other' reimbursements due mainly to recovery of works cost of donated projects not allowed for in the original estimate; and an excess of $2,853,653 (91.1%) under Miscellaneous 'Other' reimbursements, partly as a result of two maintenance of currency value adjust- ment payments totalling some $1.7 million which were received from the Asian Development Bank and which had not been estimated for, and partly because of the general difficulty of estimating for the many miscellaneous items of revenue which make up this subhead.
Head 12 - Excess Appropriations-in-Aid
Total amounts credited to this head, including credits to 16 subheads for which no estimate was provided were sub- stantially higher than anticipated. There was one shortfall of $327,000 (the whole provision) in the case of 'Kowloon- Canton Railway' partly because an anticipated increase in goods traffic did not materialise due to an interruption of traffic between 25 August and 10 October 1976 caused by the subsidence of Bridge No. 11 at the Shing Mun River, delay in the construction of the Fo Tan Sidings and delay in the delivery of two locomotives and partly because passenger revenue was below expectations due mainly to wet weather particularly at weekends during the summer, and the suspension of through traffic between 25 August and 10 October 1976. Large excesses occurred under ‘Post Office' ($44,753,175 or 47.9%) mainly due to a combination of higher traffic levels and increased overseas and local charges and under 'Public Works Department: Water Supplies' ($25,516,435 or 122.1%) because although collections from 'Chargeable water' were smaller than anticipated this was more than offset by substantial savings in expenditure due to a reduction of desalting plant operating costs, as a result of the improved water storage situation during the year, leading to an excess of appropriations-in-aid over gross expenditure.
There were also significant excesses under 'Commerce and Industry Department' ($357,608 as against a 'nil' estimate) mainly due to an increase in income from bonded warehouse supervision charges because charges were levied on some warehouses previously exempt and because a number of new bonded warehouses were established; and an increase in denaturing fees because more denatured methyl alcohol was used as a result of the re-imposition of duty on methyl alcohol, offset to some extent by a reduction in income from liquor and tobacco licences.
Education Department ($1,833,625 as against a ‘nil' estimate) due to an increase in income from examination fees and school fees because more people than anticipated sat for examinations and enrolled in evening classes; 'Govern- ment Supplies Department' ($2,058,162 as against a ‘nil' estimate) because the number and value of items sold by public auction or tender was greater than originally anticipated and because of increased sales of drugs and medicines to charitable organisations and hospitals; 'Immigration Department' ($1,785,729 or 38.5%) mainly because the demand for travel documents increased and the income from this source was greater than had been anticipated at the time when the estimate was prepared; 'Judiciary' ($1,738,907 as against a 'nil' estimate) mainly because of amendments to the Fourth Schedule of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance in December 1975 and to the Supreme Court (Fees) Rules, effective in December 1975, which increased commission and court fees respectively but which had not been taken into account at the time when the original estimates were prepared; 'Labour Department' ($783,667 as against a ‘nil' estimate) mainly because income from the 'Mines Division' increased following an upwards revision of explosives removal permit fees in September 1976; 'Legal Aid Department' ($595,276 as against a 'nil' estimate) mainly attributable to an unforeseeable increase in the number of cases financially finalised and a general increase in costs awarded and recovered; 'Marine Department' ($2,337,998 as against a 'nil' estimate) mainly because collections
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7. Total gr
was $252,170 by heads, th
Head of Exp
21 H.E. The 22 Agricultu 23 Audit De 24 Census a 25 Civil Avi
26 Colonial
27 Colonial 28 Commer 29 Defence:
30 Defence:
31 Defence: 32 Defence: Air Forc 33 Defence: (The Vol
34 Educatio 35 Fire Serv 36 Governm 37 Home A 38 Housing 39 Immigra 40 Independ Corrupti 41 Informat
42 Inland R 43 Judiciary 44 Kowlon- 45 Labour ] 46 Legal De 47 Legal Ai 48 Marine I 49 Medical 50 Miscella 51 New Ter 52 Office of and Legi
53 Pensions 54 Police: F 55 Police: F
Police F 56 Post Offi
57 Printing 58 Prisons]
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