Hong Kong Business Registration Certificates
General Information
Under the provisions of the Hong Kong Business Registration Ordinance,
every person carrying on any business* must register his business
within one month of the commencement of the business. Failure
to do so may result in a fine and imprisonment.
* - "Business" means any form of trade, commerce,
craftsmanship, profession, calling or other activity carried
on for the purpose of gain and also means a club.
Application for Business Registration
Business carried on by an individual or a partnership
A new business carried on by an individual or a partnership must be registered with Business Registration Office within
1 month of its commencement. If a business is carried on by
an individual, Form 1(a) should be completed. In the case
of a partnership, Form 1(c) should be completed. These forms
should be submitted together with photocopies of the Hong
Kong identity cards or passports of the proprietor or all
the partners.
If the sole proprietor (or all the partners in the case of
a partnership) is not a Hong Kong resident, he (they) must
appoint an agent who resides in Hong Kong to act on his (their)
behalf for the purposes of business registration. An appointment
letter for the agent and a copy of the agent's Hong Kong Identity
Card must be submitted together with the business registration
application form. In the appointment letter, which should
be signed by both the principal and the agent, full particulars
of the agent must be stated including his name, Hong Kong
identity card number and residential address must be stated.
Business carried on by a limited company
All limited companies must first be registered with the Hong Kong Companies
Registry located at Queensway Government Offices. Applications
for business registration should be made within 1 month of
the date of incorporation or registration with the Companies
Registry. Form 1(b) should be submitted with a photocopy of
the Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Registration
of the Overseas Company issued by the Companies Registry.
An overseas company that commences to carry on business in
Hong Kong before the procedure for registration with the Companies
Registry (as a Non-Hong Kong Company) has been finalised may still apply for business registration
within one month of such commencement of business. For these
cases, Form 1(b) should be submitted together with a copy
of the Overseas Certificate of Incorporation (or its equivalent)
and a certified copy of an English or Chinese translation
if the original is not in English or Chinese.
For opening a branch
A branch business must be registered with the Business Registration
Office within one month of its commencement. In this case,
Form 1(d) should be completed.
For recommencement of a business
To recommence a sole proprietorship or partnership business
which has ceased previously, one must make a new application
for business registration within one month of the recommencement.
Validity and Renewal of Business Registration Certificate
Validity of a BRC
Business Registration Certificates are normally valid for
1 year but business operators may select for issue of certificates
that are valid for three years instead of one. Once it is
made, a selection will remain valid until such time as it
is revoked in writing. For businesses with one or more branches,
the selection will also be applicable to both the main business
and all the branches, old and new.
For a new business, selection should be made in the application
form for registration. As for a business already on the register,
selection should be made in the form of a written notice to
the Commissioner or by completing a form IRBR84. In order
that the next renewal certificate can be issued on a 3-year
basis, the selection must be made at least one month before
the current certificate of the business expires.
Renewal of Business Registration
For registered business, a business registration renewal demand
note will be sent by the Business Registration Office approximately
1 month before the current Business Registration Certificate
expires. Upon payment, the demand note will become a valid
Business Registration Certificate. If you do not receive such
a demand note, you should inform the Commissioner in writing
within 1 month of the expiry of your current Business Registration
Certificate.
If you wish to renew your business registration in person,
you should approach the Business Registration Office. You
should take with you your old Business Registration Certificate
and request a duplicate demand note be issued. If your business
address has changed but the Business Registration Office has
not been advised, you should also inform the Commissioner
of your new address (see below for more details).
If you are renewing your business registration by mail, you
should send a photocopy of your old business registration
certificate with a crossed cheque made payable to "The
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region"
to the Business Registration Office. A receipted duplicate
Business Registration Certificate will be mailed to your business
address soon afterwards. Again, if your business address has
changed and the Commissioner has not been notified, you should
also attach an advice of the new address.
Business Registration Fee and Levy
Certificate with Date of Commencement from 1 April
2003
1-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$2,000 |
$600 |
$2,600 |
Branch Business |
$73 |
$600 |
$673 |
3-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$5,200 |
$1,800 |
$7,000 |
Branch Business |
$189 |
$1,800 |
$1,989 |
Certificate with Date of Commencement between 16 May
2002 and 31 March 2003
1-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$0 |
$600 |
$600 |
Branch Business |
$0 |
$600 |
$600 |
3-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$3,200 |
$1,800 |
$5,000 |
Branch Business |
$116 |
$1,800 |
$1,916 |
Certificate with Date of Commencement between 1 April
2002 and 15 May 2002
1-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$0 |
$250 |
$250 |
Branch Business |
$0 |
$250 |
$250 |
3-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$3,200 |
$750 |
$3,950 |
Branch Business |
$116 |
$750 |
$866 |
Certificate with Date of Commencement before 1 April
2002
1-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$2,000 |
$250 |
$2,250 |
Branch Business |
$73 |
$250 |
$323 |
3-year Certificates |
Fee |
Levy |
Total |
Main Business |
$5,200 |
$750 |
$5,950 |
Branch Business |
$189 |
$750 |
$939 |
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