Hong Kong Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Definition of transaction

Legal area

Court

31 Oct 2018

LEE KWOK WA AND OTHERS v. THE SECURITIES AND FUTURES COMMISSION

Citation

[2018] HKCFA 45
Court

Court of Final Appeal
Case number

FACV7/2018

Section 300 must be construed broadly: 'transaction' can cover a series of interrelated acts and an overall scheme; a defendant need not be a direct party to the counterparty transaction for liability under s300 where the fraudulent or deceptive device, scheme or course of business is employed in relation to that transaction; s300 therefore covers schemes involving misuse of inside information and can apply to securities not listed in Hong Kong where substantial activities constituting the offence occurred in Hong Kong; however where conduct plainly falls within the specific insider dealing r…
30 Oct 1998

YICK FUNG ESTATES LTD. v. COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE

Citation

YICK FUNG ESTATES LTD. v. COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCIA2/1998

The Court held that (1) s.18E(1) does not restrict the Commissioner to a basis period of 12 months for traders who commenced before 1 April 1974; the discretion can extend beyond 12 months; (2) a unilateral change of accounting date can constitute a "transaction" within s.61A, s.61A requires objective consideration of the seven matters and may apply where the dominant purpose is tax benefit, and (3) s.61A can operate to override specific provisions where necessary to negate avoidance. On the facts the Board's decision on s.61A was upheld and the Commissioner was entitled to assess the extende…
30 Oct 1998

COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE v. YICK FUNG ESTATES LTD.

Citation

COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE v. YICK FUNG ESTATES LTD.
Court

Court of First Instance
Case number

HCIA1/1998

The court held that s.18E(1) does not restrict the Commissioner to a basis period of 12 months for old traders and thus the Commissioner may compute assessable profits by reference to a basis period exceeding 12 months; independently, s.61A covers unilateral changes of accounting date and, applying the objective seven‑factor test, may be invoked where the sole or dominant purpose is to obtain a tax benefit; s.61A can override other provisions of the Ordinance. On the facts the Board was correct on s.61A but erred on the construction of s.18E(1).

Hong Kong Case Law

LEE KWOK WA AND OTHERS v. THE SECURITIES AND FUTURES COMMISSION

YICK FUNG ESTATES LTD. v. COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE

COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE v. YICK FUNG ESTATES LTD.