There is no single piece of legislation which governs charities in Hong Kong,
nor is there any system of oversight or regulation to ensure that donations are
properly applied to the purposes for which they are solicited. There is also no
statutory definition of what constitutes a charity or a charitable purpose.
Exemption from income or profits tax can be claimed from the Inland Revenue
Department by an approved charitable institution or trust of a public character,
but that department is not responsible for registering charities, or for
monitoring their conduct. There is also no statutory requirement in Hong Kong
for charitable organisations to submit annual reports or accounts reporting
their finances. Instead, the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department will only call
for accounts, annual reports or other documents for the purpose of reviewing the
exemption status of a particular organisation so as to ensure that the
organisation is still charitable and its activities are compatible with its
objects, but this inspection of accounts of charitable organisation is not
mandatory under the existing law.
In a number of other jurisdictions there is legislation governing charities, in
some cases empowering an organisation to supervise charities and ensure that
they are administered correctly. Some legislation enables the supervisory body
to advise charitable institutions on matters of good governance and to issue
guidelines or recommendations on the practice to be observed by charities and
those concerned with their management or administration.
The Commission has been asked to review the law and regulatory framework
relating to charities in Hong Kong. A sub-committee has been appointed under the
chairmanship of the Hon Mr Bernard C Chan, GBS, JP. Ms Kitty Fung, Senior
Government Counsel, is the Sub-committee's Secretary. The sub-committee
published a consultation paper on 16 June 2011 containing its
recommendations for reform.
If you wish further information on this project, please write to the Secretary of the Law Reform Commission by fax, post or email.
The Commission's offices are at:
20/F Harcourt House
39 Gloucester Road
Wanchai
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2528 0472
Fax: (852) 2865 2902
Email: hklrc@hkreform.gov.hk