The department collected $7 414 million
of revenue in 2003-04, representing a decrease of 2.0
per cent against that for 2002-03 as a result of a decrease
in duties and fees revenue. The revenue for 2004-05
amounted to $7 737 million, representing an increase
of 4.4 per cent against that for 2003-04 as a result
of an increase in duties and trade declaration charges.
A summary of the revenue collected in 2003-04 and 2004-05
is at Appendix 8. For 2003-04, the drop in revenue was,
apart from the decrease in attendance fee collection
due to the implementation of the Open Bond System in
mid-2003, mainly attributable to the reduction in hydrocarbon
oils consumption and the consumption on alcoholic beverages
due to the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome which led to a drop in local consumer spending.
For 2004-05, the increase in revenue is mainly attributable
to the increase in alcoholic beverages consumption due
to the general revival in local consumer spending and
the increase in collection from import and export declaration
charges due to an increase in the total number of trade
declarations.
Expenditure
2. The total expenditure of the department
in 2003-04 amounted to $1 916 million, of which 84.7
per cent was on Personal Emoluments, 12.3 per cent on
Departmental Expenses and 3.0 per cent on Capital Account
Expenditure, representing a decrease of 0.2 per cent
over that for 2002-03. The total expenditure of the
department in 2004-05 amounted to $1 853 million, of
which 84.6 per cent is on Personal Emoluments, 14.4
per cent on Departmental Expenses and 1.0 per cent on
Capital Account Expenditure, representing a decrease
of 3.3 per cent over that for 2003-04. A summary of
the total expenditure is at Appendix 9. The decrease
in expenditure in the last two years is due to the effect
of the civil service pay cuts in 2004 and 2005 and the
reduction in operating expenses mainly as a result of
the deletion of posts and the changes in cashflow requirements
for capital account items.
3. By programme area, the department’s
expenditure is distributed as follows :
Actual
Expenditure
($M)
2003-04
Actual
Expenditure
($M)
2004-05
(a)
Control and Enforcement
1 185
1 139
(b)
Anti-narcotics Investigation
133
128
(c)
Intellectual Property Rights and Consumer Protection
218
226
(d)
Revenue Protection and Collection
138
127
(e)
Trade Controls
242
233
Seizure Management
4. The management and disposal of
seized goods remained one of the department's major
tasks as a result of successful enforcement activities.
In 2003-04, the department has a total storage space
of 67 997 m2 for holding seized goods and
vehicles of which 62 509 m2 are in government
godowns and the remaining 5 488 m2 in private
godowns. The department has acquired an additional storage
space of 6 213 m2 in the Government Logistics
Centre in Chai Wan in 2004-05 in return for the phasing
out of some storage space in several old government
godowns. There is also a schedule for the department
to relocate the vehicle detention center from Kai Tak
to Sha Tin in 2005 as a result of the intended site
re-development of the former.
5. After the forfeiture, the seized
goods are disposed of by auction or destruction. In
2003-04, the department disposed of 102 740 items of
confiscated goods, including cigarettes, optical discs,
drugs, garments and vehicles. Proceeds from the sale
of forfeited goods amounted to $22 million. On going
effort is made to speed up disposal action after the
seized goods are confiscated.
