XN000022-1996-10-30 — Page 8

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"The Amendment Ordinance mainly aims to facilitate trade operation, to streamline enforcement action and to improve the control of dutiable commodities for revenue protection It also introduces a compounding scheme to replace prosecution of minor offences involving dutiable commodities with an administrative penalty system," the spokesman said.

"Under the scheme, if a person enters Hong Kong at an entry point carrying with him dutiable goods in excess of the duty free concessions and he fails to make a declaration or makes a false declaration, he commits an offence and the Commissioner of Customs and Excise has the power to compound that offence.

"The maximum limit of the duty payable in respect of the dutiable goods is $10,000 and the administrative penalty is five times the duty payable. The person has the right to choose not to have the offence compounded but to be tried in court.

"Upon compounding the offence, the full duty in respect of the dutiable goods relating to the offence will be deemed to have been paid. Safeguards for the protection of the right of the person to be compounded have now been set out in the amendment regulations."

Under the amendment regulations, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise has to serve a notice to the person to be compounded setting out in detail the following:

the offence committed;

the description of the goods involved;

the duty payable on the goods;

the maximum statutory penalty if the offence is tried in court;

the offender's right to opt for the compounding scheme to discharge his liability by paying an administrative penalty, or to have the case tried by court; and

that the record of compounding may be brought to the attention of the court in the event that offences under the Ordinance are committed in future.

The Amendment Regulations will be gazetted on Friday (November 1) and will be tabled in the Legislative Council on November 6.

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