Consular Fees Order in force at the time. We could not
Course expect that the Hong Kong Government would
provide the facilities and staff for the issue of passports
and not receive any payment for this service. The Home
Office, who at present meet the cost of supplying all blank
UK passports for issue both in the UK and at consular
posts abroad have, very reasonably, made it clear
that they would not wish to be responsible, for the cost of
what is likely to be a vast quantity of passports needed for
BN(O)s in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government accept that
the UK consular fee for the issue of a passport would have
to be charged instead of their Hong Kong fee, but they have
proposed that the present financial arrangements should other
wise continue unchanged, ie that they should meet the
cost of the blank passports and the administrative costs
of the issuing operation and should retain any balance of
income.
8.
Regulation 9 of the current Consular Fees Regulations
1981 provides that, 'Moneys received in respect of fees may be
applied to defray official expenses or may be applied in
any other manner authorised by the Secretary of State'
There appears therefore to be no reason why either the Hong
Kong Government or the Home Office should bear any financial
loss from the issue of BN(O) passports. Finance Department
were asked for advice on the possible financial arrangements and
they in turn consulted the Treasury. The latter have now
confirmed that they see no objection to the cost of the
blank passports and Hong Kong's administrative costs being
met out of the revenue from the passport fees, but (contrary
to what we had been led to believe from their earlier telephone
discussions with Finance Department) they would expect any
surplus to be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund as
extra receipts (CFERs) and n ot be retained by the Hong
Kong Government.
We shall now have to consult Hong Kong again.XX
Х
1.1xx 19.
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