Privacy Policy

Finance Bureau respects personal data privacy and is committed to fully implementing and complying with the data protection principles and all relevant provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

Kinds of Personal Data Held

Finance Bureau (FB) holds the following types of personal data -

• Employment-related Personal Data on serving officers and former employees -- these personal data include records of personal and family particulars, education and qualifications, employment history, salary and allowances, terms and conditions of service, housing, medical records, leave and passages, training, investments, outside employment, appraisal reports, promotion board assessments, conduct and discipline and retirement and pension.
• Tax appellants and tax representatives -- these personal data include the personal particulars of appellants or their representatives who have lodged appeals under the Inland Revenue Ordinance; tax information and documents supplied by these data subjects to the Board of Review (Inland Revenue) in connection with their appeals and records of the Board*s deliberations on the appeals.
• Appointment to Boards and Committees -- these personal data include the personal particulars of candidates nominated for appointment/re-appointment to the Board of Review (Inland Revenue) and the Board of Inland Revenue provided by the nominating parties and nominees, and assessments on the suitability of the candidates for appointment/re-appointment.
• Consultants -- these personal data include personal particulars and curricula vitae (CV) of individual consultants employed by bidding consulting firms, which form part of the firms' proposals, submitted by departments to the Central Consultants Selection Board or the Secretary for the Treasury for the selection and appointment of consulting firms for consultancy services.
• Other records -- these include administration records and personal particulars of members of the public who make requests under the Code on Access to Information and the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, make enquiries or complaints or put forward their views and comments, to the Bureau.

Main Purposes of Personal Data Keeping by FB

• Personal data of current or former employees are held for a range of employment-related purposes including appointments, personnel checking, postings and transfers, grant of allowances and employment benefits, incremental credit, training and career development, promotion, discipline, continuation in or removal from office, pensions and provision of testimonials. Some personal particulars may be published in Government publications.
• Personal data of tax appellants and tax representatives are held to facilitate the deliberation of appeals by the Board of Review (Inland Revenue).
• Personal data of candidates for appointment to the Board of Review (Inland Revenue) and the Board of Inland Revenue are held to facilitate appointments to these Boards.
• Personal data of consultants are held to facilitate the award of consultancies.
• Other records are kept for various purposes which vary according to the nature of the record, such as dealing with enquiries or complaints or collecting views and comments from members of the public.

Practices

The Principal Executive Officer (G) is the Personal Data Controlling Officer responsible for monitoring and supervising compliance with the Ordinance within FB.

The Treasury Officer (Bureau Management) has been designated as the Personal Data Privacy Officer, responsible for overseeing the handling of requests made under the Ordinance for access to or correction of personal data, except for those relating to tax appeals lodged under the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

The Clerk, Board of Review (Inland Revenue) is responsible for handling personal data access or correction requests relating to tax appeals lodged under the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

The Bureau maintains the following to ensure compliance with the Ordinance -

• A Central Register of requests made under the Ordinance
• A Data Protection Log Book, as provided for in section 27 of the Ordinance
• Access request forms for access to/correction of personal data held by FB

Data access or correction requests may be made by letter or on a request form* obtainable from the Access Clerk, Bureau Management Unit, Finance Bureau, 5/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong. Requests should be addressed to :

Treasury Officer (Bureau Management),
Finance Bureau,
Central Government Offices,
Hong Kong.

However, requestors who wish to make personal data access or correction requests in relation to tax appeals lodged under the Inland Revenue Ordinance should do so by letter or on a request form* obtainable from the Clerk, Board of Review (Inland Revenue). Requests should be addressed to :

The Clerk, Board of Review (Inland Revenue),
Unit 1003, Tower II,
Lippo Centre,
89 Queensway,
Hong Kong.

Charges

Unless approved otherwise a charge will be made to cover the cost of photocopying personal data at the standard rate prescribed by the Director of Accounting Services. Currently, the rate is $6.5 per photocopy, and $1.5 per copy for any additional photocopies after the first 20 photocopies in the same document.

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