Underlying Sub-Category Data Used to Compile Schedule 3 of the IRD Annual Reports
Dear Inland Revenue Department,
I write pursuant to the Code on Access to Information to request disclosure of the underlying data used by the Department to compile and aggregate the statistical schedules published in the Department's Annual Reports.
The Department's published Schedule 3 of the Annual Reports presents, as a single named line item within the corporations profits tax sector breakdown, the final tax assessed on all corporate taxpayers allocated by the Department to the sectors listed in Schedule 3 for each year of assessment covered.
I request disclosure of:
1. the disaggregated sub-categorisation to the most granular level of the Schedule 3 sectors maintained in the Department's internal records — including sub-classifications, by HSIC code recorded for the relevant taxpayer, or by any other internal taxonomy applied by the Department below the level of the published sector heading — for each of the years of assessment 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25. For example, the sub-categories adding up to “Banking”, “Manufacturing - Others” or “Miscellaneous.”
2. number of notices of assessment issued within each disaggregated sub-category, and
3. the amount of final profits tax assessed within each disaggregated sub-category of the sectors listed in Schedule 3.
I note that the Department itself publishes aggregated statistical data annually in its Annual Reports and the associated schedules, which demonstrates that the underlying data is held, is queryable, and is regularly processed by the Department for reporting purposes. The present request seeks only the more granular disaggregation of that same data prior to the aggregation step applied for publication.
The information requested is purely statistical and administrative in nature. No personal particulars, business names, individual file references, or any information capable of identifying any individual taxpayer or business is requested. The information sought relates exclusively to aggregated counts, amounts, and classification descriptions derived from data that the Department already holds and processes as a matter of routine administrative record in connection with its assessment functions under the Inland Revenue Ordinance. There is no basis upon which any exemption under the Code on grounds of personal privacy, taxpayer confidentiality under section 4 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, or any other ground could properly be applied to information of a purely aggregate and statistical character of the kind requested.
I would be grateful to receive the information in electronic format, preferably as a structured data file (such as a spreadsheet or CSV), where practicable.
Yours faithfully,
CKY
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Dear Sir/Madam,
We refer to your email of 13 April 2026.
Your request is being processed and we are unable to give a substantive
reply at this stage. Pursuant to paragraph 1.16 of the Code, we will
advise you further in relation to your request on or before 30 April 2026.
Inland Revenue Department
From: "CKY" <[FOI #1575 email]>
To: "FOI requests at Inland Revenue Department"
<[Inland Revenue Department request email]>
Date: 13/04/2026 04:32 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Underlying Sub-Category
Data Used to Compile Schedule 3 of the IRD Annual Reports
Sent by: [FOI #1575 email]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Inland Revenue Department,
I write pursuant to the Code on Access to Information to request
disclosure of the underlying data used by the Department to compile and
aggregate the statistical schedules published in the Department's Annual
Reports.
The Department's published Schedule 3 of the Annual Reports presents, as a
single named line item within the corporations profits tax sector
breakdown, the final tax assessed on all corporate taxpayers allocated by
the Department to the sectors listed in Schedule 3 for each year of
assessment covered.
I request disclosure of:
1. the disaggregated sub-categorisation to the most granular level of the
Schedule 3 sectors maintained in the Department's internal records —
including sub-classifications, by HSIC code recorded for the relevant
taxpayer, or by any other internal taxonomy applied by the Department
below the level of the published sector heading — for each of the years of
assessment 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25. For example, the
sub-categories adding up to “Banking”, “Manufacturing - Others” or
“Miscellaneous.”
2. number of notices of assessment issued within each disaggregated
sub-category, and
3. the amount of final profits tax assessed within each disaggregated
sub-category of the sectors listed in Schedule 3.
I note that the Department itself publishes aggregated statistical data
annually in its Annual Reports and the associated schedules, which
demonstrates that the underlying data is held, is queryable, and is
regularly processed by the Department for reporting purposes. The present
request seeks only the more granular disaggregation of that same data
prior to the aggregation step applied for publication.
The information requested is purely statistical and administrative in
nature. No personal particulars, business names, individual file
references, or any information capable of identifying any individual
taxpayer or business is requested. The information sought relates
exclusively to aggregated counts, amounts, and classification descriptions
derived from data that the Department already holds and processes as a
matter of routine administrative record in connection with its assessment
functions under the Inland Revenue Ordinance. There is no basis upon which
any exemption under the Code on grounds of personal privacy, taxpayer
confidentiality under section 4 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, or any
other ground could properly be applied to information of a purely
aggregate and statistical character of the kind requested.
I would be grateful to receive the information in electronic format,
preferably as a structured data file (such as a spreadsheet or CSV), where
practicable.
Yours faithfully,
CKY
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Dear Sir/Madam,
Code on Access to Information
Re: Application No. 467/2026
We refer to your application of 13 April 2026, seeking access to
the information regarding the underlying data used by the Inland Revenue
Department (“IRD”) to compile and aggregate the statistical schedules
published in its Annual Report for each of the years of assessment from
2021/22 to 2024/25.
For the years of assessment 2021/22 to 2023/24, the number of
notices of assessments issued to Corporations and the amount of final tax
assessed, broken down by business sectors, is attached below. Please note
that some of these statistics are different from those shown in Schedule 3
of the Annual Report as the former do not include the amount of final tax
charged to corporate partners at corporate profits tax rate for Persons
other than Corporation cases. Besides, apart from business sectors of
“Wholesale, Import and Export”, “Property”, “Investment and Finance (other
than Banking)”, “Non-resident Corporations Trading through Agents
(including Consignment Tax)” and “Miscellaneous”, the IRD has not further
sub-categorized other business sectors.
We regret that we are unable to provide the information requested
for the year of assessment 2024/25 for the reason set out in paragraph
1.14 in Part 1 of the Code on Access to Information (“the Code”), which
states –
1.14 The Code does not oblige departments to -
• acquire information not in their possession
• create a record which does not exist
….
As the IRD Annual Report 2025-26 will only be published in late 2026, the
statistics on Profits Tax Contributions from Various Business Sectors
(Corporations) for the year of assessment 2024/25 shown in Schedule 3 of
this Annual Report have not yet been compiled at this moment. Therefore,
your request for the relevant information for the year of assessment
2024/25 cannot be acceded to.
If you are not satisfied with the above decision, you may ask the
IRD to review the decision by writing to the Commissioner of Inland
Revenue. Alternatively, you may complain to the Ombudsman, whose address
is –
30/F., China Merchants Tower
Shun Tak Centre
168-200 Connaught Road Central
Hong Kong
Telephone: 2629 0555
Fax: 2882 8149
Regards,
LAU Kin, Rosina
Chief Assessor (Special Duties)
Inland Revenue Department
From: "CKY" <[ATI #1575 email]>
To: "FOI requests at Inland Revenue Department"
<[Inland Revenue Department request email]>
Date: 13/04/2026 04:32 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Underlying Sub-Category
Data Used to Compile Schedule 3 of the IRD Annual Reports
Sent by: [ATI #1575 email]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Inland Revenue Department,
I write pursuant to the Code on Access to Information to request
disclosure of the underlying data used by the Department to compile and
aggregate the statistical schedules published in the Department's Annual
Reports.
The Department's published Schedule 3 of the Annual Reports presents, as a
single named line item within the corporations profits tax sector
breakdown, the final tax assessed on all corporate taxpayers allocated by
the Department to the sectors listed in Schedule 3 for each year of
assessment covered.
I request disclosure of:
1. the disaggregated sub-categorisation to the most granular level of the
Schedule 3 sectors maintained in the Department's internal records —
including sub-classifications, by HSIC code recorded for the relevant
taxpayer, or by any other internal taxonomy applied by the Department
below the level of the published sector heading — for each of the years of
assessment 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25. For example, the
sub-categories adding up to “Banking”, “Manufacturing - Others” or
“Miscellaneous.”
2. number of notices of assessment issued within each disaggregated
sub-category, and
3. the amount of final profits tax assessed within each disaggregated
sub-category of the sectors listed in Schedule 3.
I note that the Department itself publishes aggregated statistical data
annually in its Annual Reports and the associated schedules, which
demonstrates that the underlying data is held, is queryable, and is
regularly processed by the Department for reporting purposes. The present
request seeks only the more granular disaggregation of that same data
prior to the aggregation step applied for publication.
The information requested is purely statistical and administrative in
nature. No personal particulars, business names, individual file
references, or any information capable of identifying any individual
taxpayer or business is requested. The information sought relates
exclusively to aggregated counts, amounts, and classification descriptions
derived from data that the Department already holds and processes as a
matter of routine administrative record in connection with its assessment
functions under the Inland Revenue Ordinance. There is no basis upon which
any exemption under the Code on grounds of personal privacy, taxpayer
confidentiality under section 4 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, or any
other ground could properly be applied to information of a purely
aggregate and statistical character of the kind requested.
I would be grateful to receive the information in electronic format,
preferably as a structured data file (such as a spreadsheet or CSV), where
practicable.
Yours faithfully,
CKY
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[ATI #1575 email]
Is [Inland Revenue Department request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Inland Revenue Department? If so, please contact us using this
form:
[1]https://accessinfo.hk/change_request/new...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[2]https://accessinfo.hk/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
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2. https://accessinfo.hk/help/officers
Dear Rosina,
Thank you very much for your response, especially for your clarification. I was under the impression that Schedule 3 of the annual report would exclude all profit tax assessments charged to Persons Other Than Corporations, and had assumed these would be counted as "Unincorporated Business" in Schedule 4 instead. The distinction you provided was therefore helpful.
In furtherance to my previous request, I'd like to ask:
1) A tabulation of the same format, showing all levels of top- and sub-categories assigned to Persons Other Than Corporations, and in each category the number of taxpayers, the final tax amount assessed, all while excluding amounts charged to corporate partners at corporate profits tax rate, for the years between 2017-2024.
2) How does the IRD categorize and label taxpayers by business sectors as appearing in Schedule 3 of the Annual Reports ? Please detail the sorting process, terms and definitions for labelling that are used in the process of tabulation.
Yours faithfully,
CKY
This message is an acknowledgement of receipt of your e-mail. Your e-mail
will
be forwarded to the responsible officer for processing/reply.
We pledge to give reply to enquiries as soon as possible and generally not
later than 7 working days on simple matters and 21 working days on
technical
matters.
Please note that our online services are provided through the Internet
under
eTAX at GovHK. For details, please visit the following link:
www.gov.hk/etax
(The above message is generated by an auto-reply program)
Inland Revenue Department
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
本局現確認收到你的電郵。你的電郵會轉至有關負責人處理/回覆。本局承諾會盡快回
覆，簡單事宜一般需時不超過七個工作日，技術性事宜不超過二十一個工作日。
本局透過「稅務易」於「香港政府一站通」提供網上稅務服務。詳情請瀏覽以下連
結：www.gov.hk/etax
(以上訊息是由自動回覆系統發出的)
稅務局
香港特別行政區
Dear Sir/Madam,
I refer to your e-mail dated 30 April 2026.
Please be informed that your request is being dealt with. We will advise
you further in relation to your request on or before 20 May 2026.
Yours faithfully,
Ngan Chiu Ho Philip
Ag. Assessor, Profits Tax
Inland Revenue Department
Dear Sir/Madam,
We refer to your e-mail dated 30 April 2026, seeking access to the
information regarding all levels of top and sub-categories assigned to
“Persons Other Than Corporations” for the years of assessment from 2016/17
to 2023/24, as well as the process of categorization and labelling of
taxpayers by business sectors in Schedule 3 of the Annual Report published
by the Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”).
For the years of assessment 2016/17 to 2023/24, the number of
notices of assessments issued to all “Persons Other Than Corporations”
(excluding sole proprietorships) and the amount of final tax assessed,
broken down by business sectors and their sub-categories, is attached
below. Please note that the amount of final tax assessed excludes the
amounts charged to corporate partners at corporate profits tax rate.
Besides, the IRD has not further sub-categorized business sectors of
“Builders, Decorators and Civil Engineering Works”, “Hotels, Restaurants
and Amusement Centres”, and “Non-resident Businesses”.
Regarding the categorization and labelling of taxpayers by
business sectors in Schedule 3 of the Annual Report, please be advised
that officers of the IRD will manually assign an appropriate business
sector to each taxpayer based on the business activity information
reported in the taxpayer’s Profits Tax Returns and financial statements.
There are no fixed or standardized rules for categorizing and labelling
taxpayers during the processing of the returns.
Yours faithfully,
Ngan Chiu Ho Philip
Ag. Assessor, Profits Tax
Inland Revenue Department
From: "CKY" <[ATI #1575 email]>
To: "ATI requests at Inland Revenue Department"
<[Inland Revenue Department request email]>
Date: 30/04/2026 07:35 PM
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Underlying
Sub-Category Data Used to Compile Schedule 3 of the IRD Annual Reports
Sent by: [ATI #1575 email]
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Rosina,
Thank you very much for your response, especially for your clarification.
I was under the impression that Schedule 3 of the annual report would
exclude all profit tax assessments charged to Persons Other Than
Corporations, and had assumed these would be counted as "Unincorporated
Business" in Schedule 4 instead. The distinction you provided was
therefore helpful.
In furtherance to my previous request, I'd like to ask:
1) A tabulation of the same format, showing all levels of top- and
sub-categories assigned to Persons Other Than Corporations, and in each
category the number of taxpayers, the final tax amount assessed, all while
excluding amounts charged to corporate partners at corporate profits tax
rate, for the years between 2017-2024.
2) How does the IRD categorize and label taxpayers by business sectors as
appearing in Schedule 3 of the Annual Reports ? Please detail the sorting
process, terms and definitions for labelling that are used in the process
of tabulation.
Yours faithfully,
CKY