TNAG-2685-FCO40-3886-Hong-Kong-Her-Majesty-s-Overseas-Civil-Service-(HMOCS)-poli-1993 — Page 176

Shav

benefi

January 1993

Peter M Bowen Esq

Inland Revenue

Personal Tax Division (Schedule E)

Sapphire House

550 Streetsbrook Road

Solihull

B91 1QU

HONG KONG HMOCS OFFICERS:

COMPENSATION PAYMENTS

Thank you for your letter of 4 January.

The answers to the questions which you raised in your letter are as follows:-

1)

HMOCS officers in Hong Kong do hold employment with the Hong Kong Government, rather than the Crown, in respect of the duties which they perform in Hong Kong and the renumeration which they receive for those duties is wholly payable by the Hong Kong Government. Paragraph 3 of the Special Regulations by the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Misc No 520 of 1954) states that:-

"Members of the Service who occupy any public office shall be known as serving Members and will receive the pay and other terms of employment (including superannuation) attached to the offices which they hold under the governments or authorities by whom they are employed in accordance with the laws or regulations of those governments or authorities. Membership of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service will not of itself carry any renumeration or emolument."

Membership of HMOCS has always been separate from employment in the civil service of the dependent territory to which the individual officer belonged and does not constitute employment by the UK Government; the British Government declined to establish an overseas service directly employed by itself. The sole employer of the officers concerned is the government of the dependent territory in which they hold their respective offices.