The Inland Revenue Department, moving in step with the SAR government's Digital 21 initiative, has started a HK$45 million project to speed up the processing of tax returns.
The department awarded the contract in May to information technology consulting and services firm Atos Origin, which expects to complete the project by March next year.
Under the terms of its contract, which were announced yesterday, the Netherlands-based firm will also manage and provide regular technical support over the next 10 years.
Atos Origin Hong Kong general manager Witman Hung said: 'The new system will establish a comprehensive, centralised repository for all documents, enabling faster retrieval of data and quicker response to inquiries.'
He said the project would mark a high level of operational improvement for the department, emulating recent advances by government revenue agencies in Australia and the United States.
'The [Inland Revenue Department's] document management system will deliver more efficient service to taxpayers through a reliable, scalable infrastructure that can support the agency's growing volume of daily transactions,' he said.
