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審 計 署 署 長 Director of Audit 圖文傳真 Facsimile : 2583 9063 香港灣仔 26th Floor 告士打道七號 Immigration Tower 入境事務大樓 7 Gloucester Road 二十六樓 Wanchai, Hong Kong 電 話 Telephone : 2829 4200 7 April 2016 The President of the Legislative Council, Legislative Council Complex, Hong Kong. Sir, In accordance with the paper tabled in the Provisional Legislative Council on 11 February 1998 on the Scope of Government Audit in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — ‘Value for Money Audits’, I have the honour to submit my Report No. 66 on the results of value for money audits completed in accordance with the value for money audit guidelines laid down in the paper. These guidelines are also attached. Yours faithfully, David Sun 公 共 審 計 盡 力 盡 善 Excellence in Public Auditing CONTENTS The Director of Audit’s Report No. 66 contains the following chapters: Chapter Subject 1 Efforts of the Rating and Valuation Department in safeguarding revenue on rates and government rent 2 Fresh food wholesale markets 3 Retrofitting of barrier-free access facilities for grade-separated walkways 4 Admission schemes for talent, investors and workers 5 Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts 6 Monitoring of safe operation of lifts and escalators 7 Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales 8 Procurement and inventory management of ICT products and services — 2 — VALUE FOR MONEY AUDIT GUIDELINES Value for money audit Value for money audit is an examination into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which any bureau of the Government Secretariat, department, agency, other public body, public office, or audited organisation has discharged its functions. Value for money audit is carried out under a set of guidelines tabled in the Provisional Legislative Council by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee on 11 February 1998. The guidelines were agreed between the Public Accounts Committee and the Director of Audit and have been accepted by the Administration. 2. The guidelines are: — firstly, the Director of Audit should have great freedom in presenting his reports to the Legislative Council. He may draw attention to any circumstance which comes to his knowledge in the course of audit, and point out its financial implications. Subject to the guidelines, he will not comment on policy decisions of the Executive and Legislative Councils, save from the point of view of their effect on the public purse; — secondly, in the event that the Director of Audit, during the course of carrying out an examination into the implementation of policy objectives, reasonably believes that at the time policy objectives were set and decisions made there may have been a lack of sufficient, relevant and reliable financial and other data available upon which to set such policy objectives or to make such decisions, and that critical underlying assumptions may not have been made explicit, he may carry out an investigation as to whether that belief is well founded. If it appears to be so, he should bring the matter to the attention of the Legislative Council with a view to further inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee. As such an investigation may involve consideration of the methods by which policy objectives have been sought, the Director should, in his report to the Legislative Council on the matter in question, not make any judgement on the issue, but rather present facts upon which the Public Accounts Committee may make inquiry; — thirdly, the Director of Audit may also consider as to whether policy objectives have been determined, and policy decisions taken, with appropriate authority; — 3 — — fourthly, he may also consider whether there are satisfactory arrangements for considering alternative options in the implementation of policy, including the identification, selection and evaluation of such options; — fifthly, he may also consider as to whether established policy aims and objectives have been clearly set out; whether subsequent decisions on the implementation of policy are consistent with the approved aims and objectives, and have been taken with proper authority at the appropriate level; and whether the resultant instructions to staff accord with the approved policy aims and decisions and are clearly understood by those concerned; — sixthly, he may also consider as to whether there is conflict or potential conflict between different policy aims or objectives, or between the means chosen to implement them; — seventhly, he may also consider how far, and how effectively, policy aims and objectives have been translated into operational targets and measures of performance and whether the costs of alternative levels of service and other relevant factors have been considered, and are reviewed as costs change; and — finally, he may also be entitled to exercise the powers given to him under section 9 of the Audit Ordinance (Cap. 122). 3. The Director of Audit is not entitled to question the merits of the policy objectives of any bureau of the Government Secretariat, department, agency, other public body, public office, or audited organisation in respect of which an examination is being carried out or, subject to the guidelines, the methods by which such policy objectives have been sought, but he may question the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of the means used to achieve them. 4. Value for money audit is conducted in accordance with a programme of work which is determined annually by the Director of Audit. The procedure of the Public Accounts Committee provides that the Committee shall hold informal consultations with the Director of Audit from time to time, so that the Committee can suggest fruitful areas for value for money audit by the Director of Audit. — 4 — CHAPTER 1 Rating and Valuation Department Buildings Department Home Affairs Department Lands Department Efforts of the Rating and Valuation Department in safeguarding revenue on rates and government rent Audit Commission Hong Kong 5 April 2016 This audit review was carried out under a set of guidelines tabled in the Provisional Legislative Council by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee on 11 February 1998. The guidelines were agreed between the Public Accounts Committee and the Director of Audit and accepted by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Report No. 66 of the Director of Audit contains 8 Chapters which are available on our website at http://www.aud.gov.hk Audit Commission 26th floor, Immigration Tower 7 Gloucester Road Wan Chai Hong Kong Tel : (852) 2829 4210 Fax : (852) 2824 2087 E-mail : [email protected] EFFORTS OF THE RATING AND VALUATION DEPARTMENT IN SAFEGUARDING REVENUE ON RATES AND GOVERNMENT RENT Contents Paragraph EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 – 1.11 Audit review 1.12 – 1.13 General response from the Government 1.14 – 1.15 Acknowledgement 1.16 PART 2: GENERAL REVALUATIONS 2.1 General Revaluation purpose and process 2.2 – 2.4 Collection of rental information 2.5 – 2.15 Audit recommendations 2.16 Response from the Government 2.17 — i — Paragraph PART 3: INTERIM VALUATIONS 3.1 Interim valuation procedures 3.2 – 3.5 Interim valuations of altered properties 3.6 – 3.25 Interim valuations of advertising signs 3.26 – 3.32 Timeliness of interim valuations 3.33 – 3.39 Audit recommendations 3.40 – 3.41 Response from the Government 3.42 – 3.43 PART 4: RATES EXEMPTION FOR RURAL PROPERTIES 4.1 Exemption from assessment to rates for village houses 4.2 – 4.9 within designated village areas Exemption from payment of rates for village houses 4.10 – 4.19 outside designated village areas Exemption from assessment to rates for agricultural land 4.20 – 4.21 and buildings Audit recommendations 4.22 – 4.24 Response from the Government 4.25 – 4.28 PART 5: COLLECTION OF RATES 5.1 AND GOVERNMENT RENT Collection and recovery of rates and government rent 5.2 – 5.7 Audit recommendations 5.8 Response from the Government 5.9 – 5.10 — ii — Appendices Page A : Properties exempted from assessment to rates 80 B : Properties exempted from payment of rates 81 C : Rating and Valuation Department: Organisation chart 82 (31 December 2015) D : Analysis of 105 designated village areas by districts 83 (31 December 2015) E : Major steps in processing applications 84 for exemption from payment of rates F : Key dates of 14 bona vacantia cases 85 (30 September 2015) G : Acronyms and abbreviations 86 — iii — — iv — EFFORTS OF THE RATING AND VALUATION DEPARTMENT IN SAFEGUARDING REVENUE ON RATES AND GOVERNMENT RENT Executive Summary 1. The Rating and Valuation Department (RVD) is responsible for the assessment and collection of rates under the Rating Ordinance (Cap. 116) and government rent under the Government Rent (Assessment and Collection) Ordinance (Cap. 515). Currently, rates and government rent are respectively charged at 5% and 3% of the rateable value which is the estimated annual rental value of a property. For the assessment and collection of rates and government rent under the Ordinances, the RVD maintains records of all properties that have been assessed to rates and those liable for assessment to government rent in a Valuation List and a Government Rent Roll respectively, which are updated through General Revaluations (GRs), interim valuations and deletions. The RVD conducts GRs annually to bring the rateable values of all properties up to date to reflect changes in market rental values. It may also at any time make interim valuations of newly-built properties and properties which have undergone structural alterations, and make deletions to remove properties which have ceased to be liable for assessment to rates/government rent. As at 1 April 2015, the Valuation List contained 2.43 million assessments with a total rateable value of $608.6 billion and the Government Rent Roll contained 1.89 million assessments with a total rateable value of $354.1 billion.

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