According to Part 1 of Schedule 10 of the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance (“IRO”), advance ruling will not be made or Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”) may decline to make such ruling on the following:

A ruling is not to be made on how a provision of IRO applies if the provision relates to:

a.	the imposition or remission of a penalty;
b.	the correctness of a return or other information supplied by a person;
c.	the prosecution of a person;
d.	the recovery of a debt owing by a person; or
e.	the computation of income or loss under section 50AAF or 50AAK of IRO.

IRD may decline to make a ruling if:

a.	the application seeking the ruling would require IRD to determine or establish any question of fact.
b.	IRD considers that the correctness of the ruling would depend on the making of assumptions, whether in respect of a future event or any other matter;
c.	the matter on which the ruling is sought is subject to an objection or appeal, whether in relation to the applicant or any other person; or
d.	the matter on which ruling is sought is the subject of a return which has been or is due to be lodged.

IRD may refuse to make a ruling if:

a.	IRD considers that the arrangement in relation to which the ruling is sought is not seriously contemplated by the applicant;
b.	the application is frivolous or vexatious;
c.	IRD considers that the applicant has not provided sufficient information in relation to the application; or
d.	IRD considers that it would be unreasonable to make a ruling in view of the resources available with IRD.

 

Although not specifically stipulated in Part 1 of Schedule 10 of the IRO, an application for a ruling would be generally declined in the following circumstances:

a.	the ruling application contains alternative proposals or courses of action on the part of the applicant;
b.	the matter is primarily one of fact and the circumstance are such that all the pertinent facts cannot be established at the time of the application for the ruling;
c.	the ruling requires an opinion as to generally accepted accounting principles or commercial practices;
d.	the matter is the law concerned with the administration of the tax system; or
e.	the issue involves the interpretation of a foreign law.

Advance Ruling Application Time Frame

IRD will endeavour to respond within 6 weeks of the date of receipt of the application, provided all relevant information is furnished and further consultation with the applicant is unnecessary. In case additional information is required, the 6-week response period will count from the date when full information is received by IRD.

Source：Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department’s website

- https://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/dipn31.pdf