Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland
With the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland approaching, Hong Kong Customs has stepped up patrols at popular shopping spots in various districts since yesterday (April 29) and reminded traders to comply with the requirements of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), with a view to safeguarding rights of local consumers and visitors.
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Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Apart from patrolling popular shopping spots, Customs officers will also drive publicity at medicine shops, dried seafood and ginseng shops, jewellery shopsand hawker pitches in different tourist shopping areas such as Yau Tsim Mong, Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan and Causeway Bay. Retail shops and workers in the tourist industry will be reminded to comply with the requirements of the TDO.
Customs officers will also distribute pamphlets at land boundary control points to remind local consumers and visitors that they should patronise shops with a good reputation.Consumers should have a good understanding of a product's specifications and make comparisons before purchase.They are also reminded to check carefully the total price and unit price of the goods before making a payment, and to retain transaction receipts and related recordswhich can be served as the basis in case a complaint is lodged in the future.Consumers are additionally reminded to check with the trademark owners or their authorised agents if the authenticity of a product is in doubt.
Customs is concerned about visitors being misled into making purchases by unfair trade practices, and has established a Quick Response Team to handle urgent complaints lodged by short-term visitors. The complaints will be promptly referred to investigators to handle with priority.
Under the TDO, any trader who adopts unfair trade practices, including making false trade descriptions in relation to goods, misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices as well as bait and switch practices, or sells or possesses for sale any goods with a forged trademark, commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report suspected violations of the TDO 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 steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Hong Kong Customs steps up consumer protection work during Labour Day Golden Week of Mainland Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Leasing arrangements announced for public market stalls in May
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (April 30) that open auctions for a total of 579 stalls in 47 public markets will be held in May. Market stalls not taken at open auctions will be available to the public for renting at their upset prices on May 22 on a first-come, first-served basis.
(1) Open auctions
The types of stalls to be auctioned this time cover cooked food, frozen meat, fresh meat, fresh fish, frozen (chilled) poultry, fruits, vegetables, food-related dry goods and wet goods, non-food-related dry goods and wet goods, tradesman/service trades, siu mei and lo mei, newspaper, etc. The tenancy agreement is a three-year fixed term from June 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on the sizes, locations and vacancy periods of the individual stalls. The upset prices for the stalls in an open auction will be initially fixed at 80 per cent of the open market rent (OMR) if the stalls have been vacant for over six months, and at 60 per cent of the OMR if the vacant period has been over eight months. Relevant information is available on the FEHD website.
The date of the auctions and the number of stalls are as follows:
Kowloon (1)
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Auction date: May 8 (Friday) (am)
Number of stalls: 85
Kowloon (2)
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Auction date: May 8 (Friday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 81
Kowloon (3)
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Auction date: May 11 (Monday) (am)
Number of stalls: 58
New Territories (1)
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Auction date: May 12 (Tuesday) (am)
Number of stalls: 40
New Territories (2)
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Auction date: May 12 (Tuesday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 72
Hong Kong Island and Islands District (except Aberdeen Market) (1)
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Auction date: May 13 (Wednesday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 116
Hong Kong Island and Islands District (except Aberdeen Market) (2)
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Auction date: May 14 (Thursday) (am)
Number of stalls: 116
Aberdeen Market
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Auction date: May 14 (Thursday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 11
The open auctions will be held at Room 410, 4/F, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The admission tickets will be issued 30 minutes prior to the commencement of each auction. Persons who want to attend the auctions must wait at the waiting area of the auction venue and produce their Hong Kong identity card or passport for registration. The registered person will then be provided with an admission ticket for the auctions. In addition, eligible bidders after verification will be issued with a bidding paddle for the auction. The FEHD has also invited representatives of the Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption to monitor the auctions at the auction venue in order to ensure that the open auctions are conducted in an orderly and fair manner.
(2) Renting at upset prices on first-come, first-served basis
The tenancy agreement for market stalls renting on a first-come, first-served basis is a three-year fixed term from July 1, 2026; while the tenancy agreement for the market stalls at Stanley Waterfront Mart is a four-month fixed term from June 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on their sizes, locations, vacancy periods and the reduced upset prices from the last open auction of the individual stalls.
In addition, the FEHD Sunlight Market will be available to the public for renting on a first-come, first-served basis. The licence agreement for market stalls in the Sunlight Market is a 24-month fixed term starting from July 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the licence agreement. The licence fee of the stalls varies depending on their sizes.
Members of the public who are interested in renting a market stall at its upset price should approach the following FEHD offices, as appropriate, to apply in person from 9.30am to 12.30pm or 2.30pm to 4.30pm on May 22 (Friday):
Districts in which the market stalls are located |
Venues for selection of market stalls |
Hong Kong Island and Islands District |
Hawkers and Markets Section (Hong Kong and Islands) Office, 8/F, Lockhart Road Municipal Services Building, 225 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
Kowloon |
Hawkers and Markets Section (Kowloon) Office, Room 301-302, 3/F, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon |
Kwai Tsing District |
Kwai Tsing District Environmental Hygiene Office, 9/F, Kwai Hing Government Offices, 166-174 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Chung, New Territories |
North District |
North District Environmental Hygiene Office, 4/F, Shek Wu Hui Municipal Services Building, 13 Chi Cheong Road, Sheung Shui, New Territories |
Sai Kung District |
Sai Kung District Environmental Hygiene Office, 7/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex, 38 Pui Shing Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories |
Sha Tin District |
Sha Tin District Environmental Hygiene Office, Units 1201-1207 and 1220-1221, 12/F, Tower 1, Grand Central Plaza, 138 Sha Tin Rural Committee Road, Sha Tin, New Territories |
Tai Po District |
Tai Po District Environmental Hygiene Office, 3/F, Tai Po Complex, 8 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po, New Territories |
Tsuen Wan District |
Tsuen Wan District Environmental Hygiene Office, 3/F, Yeung Uk Road Municipal Services Building, 45 Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories |
Tuen Mun District |
Tuen Mun District Environmental Hygiene Office, 1/F, Tuen Mun Government Offices Building, 1 Tuen Hi Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories |
Yuen Long District |
Yuen Long District Environmental Hygiene Office, 2/F, Yuen Long Government Offices, 2 Kiu Lok Square, Yuen Long, New Territories |
Relevant information on renting at upset prices on a first-come, first-served basis, will be available on the FEHD website after the open auction.
A spokesman for the FEHD said, "Bidders or applicants for the market stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. To allow more people to bid for or select the stalls and increase customer choices by enhancing the diversity in terms of the variety of stalls, there will be a restriction on the number of stalls to be rented in the same market by a single tenant. Any person who is currently a stall tenant is not allowed to bid in the first round of auction for any stall in the same market, and will only be allowed to bid for one stall in the second round of auction or to select one stall in the same market on a first-come, first-served basis (except Stanley Waterfront Mart). The existing tenants under the new three-year fixed-term tenancy scheme (i.e. those persons who became stall tenants through the market open auctions after August 2022) are allowed to bid for a stall in the auction or select a stall on a first-come, first-served basis in the same market, but shall vacate the current stall and return it to the FEHD before the effective date of commencement of the new tenancy agreement."
Details of the open auctions and the public market stalls concerned (including stalls for open auction at reduced upset prices) have been uploaded to the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/open_auction_coming.html). Details on renting public market stalls on a first-come, first-served basis will be uploaded to the FEHD website after open auctions (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/FCFS/index.html). Interested bidders or applicants may visit the department website or contact the respective District Environmental Hygiene Office.
Source: AI-found images
