Legal notices for onboarding of Mandatory Provident Fund industry schemes to eMPF Platform gazetted
To prepare for the onboarding of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) industry schemes to the eMPF Platform and to specify commencement dates of certain provisions in the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Amendment Ordinance 2021), the Government published in the Gazette today (January 23) the following legal notices:
(i) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Specification of Dates for Purposes of Section 19M(2)(a)) (Amendment) Notice 2026 (Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notice 2026);
(ii) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19U(4)) (Amendment) Notice 2026, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19Y(3)) (Amendment) Notice 2026, and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19Z(4)) (Amendment) Notice 2026 (collectively Fee Control (Amendment) Notices 2026); and
(iii) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Commencement) Notice 2026 (Commencement Notice 2026).
The Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notice 2026 specifies March 26, 2026, and April 30, 2026, as "material day" for the BCT (MPF) Industry Choice administered by the Bank Consortium Trust Company Limited (BCT) and the BEA (MPF) Industry Scheme administered by the Bank of East Asia (Trustees) Limited (BEA) respectively, such that BCT and BEA are mandated to use the eMPF Platform to perform scheme administration functions in relation to these MPF schemes. On cost savings and fee-setting of the MPF scheme to be charged by the MPF trustee on scheme members, the Fee Control (Amendment) Notices 2026 appoint June 26, 2026, and July 30, 2026, as respective "material day" for the constituent funds of the MPF schemes mentioned above, such that BCT and BEA are mandated to make corresponding reduction in their fees charged on scheme members in relation to the constituent funds of these MPF schemes.
The Commencement Notice 2026 appoints April 30, 2026, as the day on which sections 80, 100 and 106 of the Amendment Ordinance 2021 come into operation, such that the transfer of accrued benefits between trustees could be streamlined. The Commencement Notice 2026 also appoints October 5, 2026, as the day on which the remaining provisions set out in section 1(3)(b) of the Amendment Ordinance 2021 come into operation, such that the eMPF Platform Company Limited is mandated to maintain a new central register whilst repealing the two existing registers on personal accounts and unclaimed benefits maintained by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
"With the onboarding of all MPF schemes to the eMPF Platform, it is anticipated that over 10 million MPF scheme members could enjoy fee reductions, representing more than 90 per cent of all scheme member accounts. At the same time, the Government will make use of the favourable conditions created by the eMPF Platform to implement other MPF reform initiatives, including the Phase One Proposal of MPF 'Full Portability' for which legislative amendments were completed last year," a spokesperson for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said.
If scheme members/employers have any questions regarding the detailed operation of the eMPF Platform, they may visit the Platform's official website (empf.org.hk), or call the Platform's customer service hotline (183 2622).
The aforementioned legal notices will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on January 28, 2026.
Source: AI-found images
Hong Kong Customs' "Clear Sky" operation combats illicit cigarette smuggling activities involving air passengers and related illicit cigarette storage centres
Hong Kong Customs mounted an enforcement operation codenamed "Clear Sky" to combatillicit cigarette smuggling activities involving air passengers and related illicit cigarette storage centres between March 3 and today (March 11), and cracked down on a transnational syndicate that smuggled illicit cigarettes through air passengers. A total of about 10.9 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $49 million and a duty potential of about $36 million were seized. Thirty persons connected with the cases were arrested.
In response to the trend that illicit cigarette syndicates have been making use of air passengers to smuggle illicit cigarettes, Customs strengthened enforcement against the smuggling of illicit cigarettes at the airport and related storage centres.
During the operation, Customs detected 18 illicit cigarette smuggling cases involving passengers at the airport and seized a total of about 800 000 suspected illicit cigarettes. Eighteen passengers, aged between 29 and 63 and arriving in Hong Kong from the East and Southeast Asian regions, were arrested.
Following intelligence analyses and in-depth investigations of the cases, Customs discovered that a cigarette smuggling syndicate had been using industrial buildings and remote metal huts as storage and distribution centres. The illicit cigarettes would berepackaged and subsequently supplied to the local area or transported to logistics centres for transshipment to regions with higher tobacco duties for profit.
Customs then mounted a series of enforcement actions in the city and raided a total of five suspected illicit cigarette storage centres in four industrial building units in Tuen Mun and Kwai Chung and one metal hut in San Tin. A total of about 10.1 million suspected illicit cigarettes were seized and 12 persons, aged between 33 and 66, were arrested.
Twenty of the arrestees have beeen charged with dealing with or possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes, or failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
Moreover, in the fourth quarter of 2025, Customs arrested 49 persons for smuggling in illicit cigarettes at the airport, and 47 of them were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment terms of between four weeks and nine months at the Magistrates' Courts. Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflect the seriousness of the offences.
It is believed that the supply chain of illicit cigarettes has been effectively intercepted at the source and disrupted within the territory. Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analyses for interception at source as well as through its multipronged enforcement strategy targeting storage, distribution and peddling to vigorously combat illicit cigarette activities.
Under the DCO, any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs' "Clear Sky" operation combats illicit cigarette smuggling activities involving air passengers and related illicit cigarette storage centres Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs' "Clear Sky" operation combats illicit cigarette smuggling activities involving air passengers and related illicit cigarette storage centres Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs' "Clear Sky" operation combats illicit cigarette smuggling activities involving air passengers and related illicit cigarette storage centres Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
