Lawmakers challenged plans to raise the fee for a temporary liquor licence but did not object to another batch of fee rises, which officials said were unrelated to people's livelihoods.
Proposed increases for 11 types of fees and charges range from 8.5 to 20 per cent. Other items affected include storage fees for firearms, court fees and registration fees for solicitors and barristers.
A temporary liquor licence is now $240 a day, and it is proposed that it be increased to $290. At a Legco sub-committee meeting, lawmakers said the 20 per cent rise was excessive. The cost of processing each application is $1,633. Only 63 temporary licences have been issued in the past 11 months, according to the Government.
Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, of the Liberal Party, who represents the catering sector, said the fee had been reduced two years ago and he could not see why it had to be increased now. Liberal Party leader James Tien Pei-chun said the daily fees should be charged on a decreasing scale. Police Superintendent Roger Wong Che-kwong said the processing cost was high because it entailed a district commander going to the premises to estimate whether there was any danger in people consuming alcoholic beverages there.
The 11 items have not been adjusted for five years and it was proposed that the new fees should come into effect on January 12.