To impose special levies on transactions on the Commodity Exchange and Unified Exchange.
[29 October 1987]
(Format changes—E.R. 2 of 2021)
This Ordinance may be cited as the Exchanges (Special Levy) Ordinance.
In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—
Commission (監察委員會) means the Securities and Futures Commission established by section 3 of the Securities and Futures Commission Ordinance (Cap. 24); (Added 71 of 1993 s. 2) facility letters (提供貸款通知書) means the facility letters entered into in October 1987 under which money is agreed to be loaned to the Hong Kong Futures Guarantee Corporation Limited to finance the settlement of obligations of the Corporation to clearing members of the Hong Kong Futures Exchange and, if the facility letters are replaced by another agreement or agreements, means that agreement or those agreements; Futures Exchange Company (期貨交易所公司) means the Exchange Company under the Commodities Trading Ordinance (Cap. 250); leviable transaction (可徵費交易) has the same meaning as in section 79A(4) of the Commodities Trading Ordinance (Cap. 250); Secretary (局長) means the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury; (Replaced L.N. 106 of 2002) securities (證券) has the same meaning as in the Securities Ordinance (Cap. 333); special levy fund (特別徵費基金) means the fund composed of money paid to the trustee under sections 3 and 4 and includes money earned by the fund; Stock Exchange Company (證券交易所公司) means the Exchange Company under the Stock Exchanges Unification Ordinance (Cap. 361); trustee (受託人) means the Director of Accounting Services; Unified Exchange (聯合交易所) has the same meaning as in the Stock Exchanges Unification Ordinance (Cap. 361).The Futures Exchange Company shall pay to the trustee or his agent a special levy of $30 for each leviable transaction in the Stock Index Market of the Futures Exchange Company.
The Stock Exchange Company shall pay to the trustee or his agent a special levy of 0.03%, rounded to the nearest cent, of the amount of consideration for each purchase and each sale of securities recorded on the Unified Exchange.
Subject to subsection (2), the Secretary may by notice in the Gazette vary the amount or rate of the special levy payable under section 3 or 4.
The amount or rate of special levy, as the case may be, as varied under subsection (1) shall not exceed—
in the case of the special levy under section 3, $30 for each leviable transaction in the Stock Index Market of the Futures Exchange Company;
in the case of the special levy under section 4, 0.03%, rounded to the nearest cent, of the amount of consideration for each purchase and each sale of securities recorded on the Unified Exchange.
The Secretary may make an order (suspension order) relating to the payment of special levies under sections 3 and 4.
For so long as a suspension order is in force, no special levy shall be payable under sections 3 and 4.
A suspension order may specify the period for which the order shall be in force.
A suspension order may be amended only by order of the Chief Executive in Council. (Amended 31 of 1999 s. 3)
(Added 71 of 1993 s. 3)
Subject to subsection (2), the trustee or his agent shall pay money out of the special levy fund in accordance with the facility letters, subject to, where a suspension order is in force under section 4A, any rules as may be made under section 8(d).
The Secretary may, after the repayment of all the loans made under the facility letters, direct the trustee or his agent to dispose of the balance, if any, in the special levy fund—
by transferring the whole or any part of the balance to the compensation fund established under Part VIII of the Commodities Trading Ordinance (Cap. 250) or section 99 of the Securities Ordinance (Cap. 333); or
by applying the whole or any part of the balance for any other purposes that the Secretary may, on the recommendation of the Commission, deem appropriate having regard to the interest of the investing public.
(Replaced 71 of 1993 s. 4)
The cost of administration of the special levy fund shall be a charge on the general revenue.
The Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2) does not apply to this Ordinance.
The Commission may make rules respecting—
remission of the special levies collected by the Exchange Companies to the trustee and imposition of charges for late remission of the levies;
administration and audit of the special levy fund;
examination and audit of the Exchange Companies respecting the collection and remission of the special levies; and
the making of payments out of the special levy fund. (Added 71 of 1993 s. 5)
(Amended 71 of 1993 s. 5)
The Chief Executive in Council may, after the repayment of all the loans made under the facility letters and the disposal of the balance, if any, in the special levy fund, by order in the Gazette declare that such repayment has been made and such balance has been disposed of. (Amended 31 of 1999 s. 3)
On the date of publication in the Gazette of the order made under subsection (1), this Ordinance shall be deemed to be repealed.
(Added 71 of 1993 s. 6)
Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a reference in this Ordinance to a repealed Ordinance, or an expression in a repealed Ordinance, is a reference to the repealed Ordinance or that expression (as the case may be) as it existed immediately before the repeal of the repealed Ordinance.
Any transfer under section 5(2)(a) effected after the compensation fund referred to in that section ceases to exist shall be effected in favour of the compensation fund within the meaning of Part XII of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571).
The reference to the Commission in sections 5(2)(b) and 8 (in the case of paragraphs (b) and (d)) shall on the commencement* of Part II of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) mean the Commission within the meaning of section 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to that Ordinance.
(Added 5 of 2002 s. 407)