Persons assessable on behalf of a non-resident
Profits of shipowners, aircraft- owners and charterers
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48. (1) A non-resident person shall be assessable either directly or in the name of his agent in respect of all his profits arising in or derived from the Colony of any trade, profession or business carried on in the Colony whether such agent has the receipt of the profits or not, and the tax so assessed whether directly or in the name of the agent shall be recoverable by all means provided in this Ordinance out of the assets of the non-resident person or from the agent. Where there are more agents than one they may be assessed jointly or severally in respect of the profits of the non-resident person and shall be jointly and severally liable for tax thereon.
(2) Every person chargeable with tax as agent, or from whom tax is recoverable in respect of the profits of another person, may retain out of any assets coming into his possession or control on behalf of such other person or in his capacity as agent so much thereof as shall be sufficient to produce the amount of such tax, and he shall be and is hereby indemnified against any person whomsoever in respect of his retention of such assets.
49. (1) Where a person carries on a business of ship- owner or aircraft owner or charterer and any ship or aircraft owned or chartered by such person calls at a port in the Colony the full amount of the profits arising from the carriage of passengers, mails, livestock and goods shipped in the Colony shall be deemed to arise in the Colony: Provided that this section shall not apply to goods which are brought to the Colony solely for transhipment.
(2) The following provisions shall apply to the deter- mination of such profits—
(a) the profits arising in Hong Kong from shipping or air transport business for any accounting period shall be the sum bearing the same ratio to the sums receivable in respect of carriage of passengers, mails, livestock and goods shipped in the Colony as the total profits for the said period shown by that person's accounts bear to the total sums receivable by him in respect of the carriage of passengers, mails, livestock and goods: Provided that where the said total profits have been computed on a basis which differs materially from that prescribed in Chapter IV for the ascertainment of profits, the ratio of profits shall be adjusted so as to correspond as nearly as may be to the ratio which would have been arrived at if the profits had been computed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter IV relating to the ascertainment of profits;
(b) where the provisions of paragraph 2(a) of this section cannot for any reason be satisfactorily applied, the profits arising in the Colony may be computed on a fair percentage of the full sum receivable on account of the carriage of passengers, mails, livestock and goods shipped in the Colony: Provided that where any person has been assessed for any year of assessment by reference to such percentage, he shall be entitled to claim at any time within one year of the end of such year of assessment that his liability to tax for that year be recomputed on the basis provided by paragraph 2 (a) of this section;
(c) where the Commissioner decides that the call of a ship or aircraft belonging to a particular shipowner or charterer at a port of the Colony is casual and that further calls by that ship or aircraft or others in the same ownership
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