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Company fined for not informing IRD of staff leaving HK

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A company was fined today (November 4) for failing to notify the Commissioner of Inland Revenue (CIR) about an employee's cessation of employment with the company and departure from Hong Kong, and for failing to withhold money to be paid to the employee.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the above two charges in the Western Magistrates' Courts and was fined $ 9,000 for each offence, making a total fine of $ 18,000.

The defendant employed and paid salary to the employee during the period from April 1995 to December 31, 2000. However, the defendant failed to give an advance notice of one month to the CIR regarding the employee's cessation of employment and departure from Hong Kong as required under section 52(6) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRO). Also, the defendant failed to withhold payment of money to the employee for a period of one month after giving the aforesaid notice, as required under section 52(7) of the IRO.

The offences were discovered when the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) was unable to recover salaries tax in the sum of $ 129,511.

A spokesman for IRD reminded employers to comply with the provisions of section 52(6) and (7) of IRO to avoid possible prosecution. The maximum penalty for each offence is $10,000.

End/Monday, November 4, 2002

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