Next month, Hong Kong residents are set to receive the second batch of consumption vouchers, which the government had previously announced would only be given to those who met a more stringent set of requirements than the first. But many in the city have already begun to receive text messages notifying them that they have been disqualified from the scheme.
A large number of those who have reported getting the message are returnees, residents who had emigrated to another country, especially around the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, but have since moved back to Hong Kong.
One of them is a retiree in his 60s who wished to be identified only by his initials, CK. He said that he received a text message from the government on Monday, saying, “As you have submitted a valid claim request for early withdrawal of your mandatory provident fund/benefits under occupational retirement scheme on the grounds of permanent departure from Hong Kong, we consider that you do not meet the requirement on ‘not having permanently departed from Hong Kong nor having such intention’.”
“You are therefore not eligible under the Scheme and will not be disbursed with consumption vouchers,” the message added.
Authorities had previously announced that they were introducing a new criterion for registrants of the scheme, which is that they have not permanently departed from Hong Kong and do not intend to do so.
They said one way they would evaluate this criterion was by checking if a registrant had submitted a valid claim request, on or before June 13, for the withdrawal of their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) or the benefits under an occupational retirement scheme before the age of 65, which was granted due to permanent departure from Hong Kong.
CK said he was shocked to receive the message.
He said that while he had emigrated from Hong Kong more than 20 years ago and did withdraw the money from his MPF account on the grounds of permanent departure, he had since moved back to Hong Kong and has been living in the city for the past 12 years.
He also rejoined the MPF scheme and had been contributing to it until he retired two years ago. CK added that he has not withdrawn the money from his MPF account since.
“I am extremely annoyed by the fact that this useless government executes policies in such a shoddy manner. If you use MPF as a criterion, you should check my current MPF account status,” he said.
CK also said that he had been paying taxes up until his retirement.
While the government does allow residents to challenge their disqualifications from the scheme by providing proof that they have no intention of permanently departing from Hong Kong, CK said it was a troublesome and time-consuming task.
“I had to call the customer service hotline eight times just to speak to them and find out how to get my case reviewed,” he added.
Similar complaints from other returnees who say they have been unjustly disqualified can also be found online.
In response, the government released a statement late Tuesday saying that the secretariat for the scheme had recently started to send text messages through the phone number +852 6059 1120 to notify existing registrants who have submitted valid claim requests for the early withdrawal of their MPF or benefits under occupational retirement schemes on the grounds of “permanent departure from Hong Kong” that they do not meet the requirement of “not having permanently departed from Hong Kong nor having such intention”.
Therefore, they do not meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme, the statement read.
“The government understands that the situation of some registrants may have changed after submitting the above-mentioned application (such as having returned to Hong Kong for years),” said a spokesman.
“Hence, if individual registrants who have received the relevant SMS consider that they have neither permanently departed from Hong Kong nor have such intention, they may follow the instruction in the SMS and submit a representation in writing within 14 days upon receipt of the SMS. The secretariat will take into account the justifications and evidence provided to review whether they meet the eligibility criteria of the scheme.”
The spokesman said that registrants who wished to submit representations may download the “Application Form for Review” from the scheme’s website or obtain it through its hotline at 185000.
He added that the completed application form can be submitted, together with a copy of the SMS notification and other relevant documents, to the secretariat through the following channels:
(1) by post to the “Consumption Voucher Scheme Secretariat” at P.O. Box 185000, General Post Office, Hong Kong;
(2) by fax (number 3106 0701);
(3) by email (enquiry@consumptionvoucher.gov.hk); or
(4) by hand to the “Consumption Voucher Scheme Secretariat” on 17/F, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon. (Registrants may also submit the form to any of the temporary service centers by July 23. The addresses and office hours of the temporary service centers are available on the scheme’s website.)
He said the secretariat will send an SMS to confirm receipt of the review application and, under normal circumstances, the applicant will be notified in writing of the review result within six weeks.
Reader Interactions