Cap 414 s 23 Contributions to the Fund (MERCHANT SHIPPING (LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION FOR OIL POLLUTION) ORDINANCE)

Contents of Section

Chapter:	414	Title:	MERCHANT SHIPPING (LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION FOR OIL POLLUTION) ORDINANCE	Gazette Number:	L.N. 327 of 1999
Section:	23	Heading:	Contributions to the Fund	Version Date:	05/01/2000

(1) Contributions shall be payable to the Fund in respect of oil carried by sea to ports or terminal installations in Hong Kong.
(2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not the oil is being imported, and applies even if contributions are payable in respect of carriage of the same oil on a previous voyage.
(3) Contributions shall also be payable to the Fund in respect of oil when first received in any terminal installation in Hong Kong after having been carried by sea and discharged in a port or terminal installation in a country which is not a Fund Convention country.
(4) The person liable to pay contributions is-

(a) in the case of oil which is being imported, the importer; and

(b) in any other case, the person by whom the oil is received.

(5) A person shall not be liable to make contributions in respect of the oil imported or received by him in any year if the oil so imported or received in that year does not exceed 150 000 tonnes.
(6) For the purpose of subsection (5)-

(a) all the companies in a group of companies shall be treated as a single person; and

(b) any 2 or more companies which have been amalgamated into a single company shall be treated as the same person as that single company.

(7) The contributions payable by a person for any year shall-

(a) be of such amount as may be determined by the Director of the Fund under Article 12 of the Fund Convention and notified to him by the Fund; (Amended 46 of 1997 s. 18)

(b) be payable in such instalments, becoming due at such times, as may be so notified to him,

and if any amount due from him remains unpaid after the date on which it became due, such amount-

(i) shall from that date bear interest, at a rate determined from time to time by the Assembly of the Fund, until it is paid; and

(ii) shall, together with such interest, be recoverable as a civil debt due to the Fund.

(8) The Chief Executive in Council may by regulations require persons who are or may be liable to pay contributions under this section to give security for payment to the Chief Executive or to the Fund; and such regulations may-

(a) contain such supplemental or incidental provisions as appear to the

Chief Executive

in Council expedient; and

(b) provide that a contravention of specified provisions of the regulations shall be an offence and may provide penalties therefor not exceeding a fine of $5000. (Amended 64 of 1999 s. 3)

(9) In this section and section 24, unless the context otherwise requires-
"company" (公司) means a body incorporated under the law of Hong Kong, or of any other country;
"crude oil" (原油) means any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally in the earth whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation, and includes-

(a) crude oils from which distillate fractions have been removed; and

(b) crude oils to which distillate fractions have been added;

"fuel oil" (燃油) means heavy distillates or residues from crude oil or blends of such materials intended for use as a fuel for the production of heat or power of a quality equivalent to the American Society for Testing and Materials' Specification for Number Four Fuel Oil (Designation D 396-69), or heavier;
"group of companies" (公司集團) has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Companies Ordinance (Cap 32), and in the case of a company incorporated outside Hong Kong, has a corresponding meaning subject to any necessary modifications;
"import" (進口) means import into Hong Kong;
"importer" (進口商) means the person by whom or on whose behalf the oil in question is entered for customs purposes on importation;
"oil" (油、油類) means crude oil and fuel oil.
(10) In this section, "sea" (海) does not include any of the waters of Hong Kong within the meaning of section 3 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap 1). (Replaced 26 of 1998 s. 44)

(Enacted 1990)