Page 5 - Retailers2013_Summer_SP_t2

Message from Legislative Councillor Functional Constituency Representative for Wholesale & Retail

立法會議員之話 批發及零售界功能組別代表

Hon. Vincent Fang, SBS, JP

方剛先生

近期最熱門的政圈以外關注點，相信要數已於7月19 日生效的《2012年商品說明（不良營商手法）（修 訂）條例》了！本人了解同業對這條例的關注，特別 在10月3日舉辦有關條例簡介會，但邀請函發出才一 個星期，全場350座位已全部滿座！由於傳真和電郵 繼續湧進辦事處，同事已經四出尋找可以容納更多人 的場地，惟這刻，仍未覓得更大的場地！為讓各同業 能進一步了解條例的執行詳情，辦事處會將整個簡介 會過程，包括問答部分，進行錄影，然後製作光碟送 予同業，希望能夠有助同業對條例的認識。

這條新法例，相信稱之為「零售行業23條」都不為 過。立法的主要導火綫是消費者投訴被誘騙進行消費 的個案上升，所以，立法的本意是要打擊「不良營商 的手法」，保障消費者。因此，儘管絕大部分的零售 同業都是守法商人，但為了維護香港這購物天堂和商 界的聲譽，大家基本上都支持立法打擊害群之馬。祗 不過，政府的立法原意雖好，但出來的細節卻往往過 緊，連守法商人的經營空間都會受到限制，或無辜跌 入法網，這條不良營商商品說明條例正正是這樣，結 果，令香港的營商環境愈來愈困難！

修訂的商品說明條例，主要是將法例的覆蓋面擴大到 服務行業，及將蓄意「就服務作出虛假商品說明」、 「誤導性遺漏」、「具威嚇性營業行為」、「餌誘式 廣告宣傳」、「先誘後轉銷售行為」以及「不當地接 受付款」六項定為禁止行為，而且有機會成為刑事罪 行。祗是，這六項行為的解讀可以非常廣泛，法例生 效才兩星期，已經令許多業界無所適從，尤其最近發 生的食物內容與名稱不相稱的問題，如「老婆餅、菠 蘿飽、陽澄湖大閘蟹、純蜂蜜」等，即使是食物標籤 內容準確，也可能會觸犯「誤導性遺漏」；而限量銷

The amended Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) Ordinance, which took effect on 19 July, is attracting a lot of interest in the community and is second only to other political issues. In view of the intense concerns amongst the wholesale and retail trade, I shall organise a briefing session on the subject on 3 October. The response from the trade to the briefing was phenomenal! Within a week of announcing the event, the 350 available seats were fully booked. My colleagues are now trying to look for a bigger venue to accommodate the high demand. Meanwhile, I wish to inform you that the briefing session including the Q&A will be video taped, recorded onto a CD Rom and distributed to the trade in order to improve understanding amongst the wholesale and retail businesses about the new provisions in the law.

Describing the newly amended law as the "Ar ticle 23 for the retai l trade" is no exaggerat ion. The increase in complaint s about consumer s being mis led and cheated has prompted the amendment of the law and the objec t ive was to tack le unscrupulous trade practices and protect consumers' rights. The retail trade, which is largely law-abiding, is supportive of the initiative which should help uphold Hong Kong's reputation as a trustworthy shopping destination. However, even though the initiative was well intentioned, the actual changes introduced were in many cases over the top and much tougher than necessary. As a result, even merchants who conduct their business fairly and equitably could fall victim to the new regulations. In one stroke, the amended Trade Description Ordinance has worsened the business environment of Hong Kong.

The main thrust of the legislative amendments was to widen the net to cover the service industry and to prohibit six major trading practices including "false trade descriptions in respect of services made in consumer transactions", "misleading omissions", "aggressive commercial practices", "bait adver tising", "bait-and-switch" and "wrongly accepting payment". However these six practices cover a very wide range of activities and only two weeks after implementation of the law, the trade was thrown into disarray and confusion. A lot of well known brand names and products such as "pineapple bun", "hairy crab from Yangcheng Lake" and "pure honey" etc could potentially infringe the new provisions. Even if these products comply with the trade descriptions they may be accused of "missing omissions". For

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