Business license for travel agency

Before the Business license for the agency is issued to the person, the Registrar of Hong Kong would check out the person’s background to find out of the person:

• has been condemned of an offense against any stipulation of the TAO,
• has been sentenced, in Hong Kong or anywhere else within the world, been involved in any offensive, dishonest, corrupt, or fraudulent deeds.
• is not financially stable, or is otherwise an individual who isn't fit and proper.

The agency business license in Hong Kong is mandatory for the person or business that desires to run an agency. There are two categories of travel agents as per the Hong Kong Travel Agents Ordinance and that they are explained briefly below:

• Outbound Travel Agent: this is often someone who prepares the transportation tickets and books the specified accommodations as per the budget of the travelers on behalf of those who are traveling from Hong Kong to an outdoor destination.
• Inbound Travel Agent: this is often someone who has got to arrange for the transportation tickets and book the accommodations for the visitors who are traveling to go to Hong Kong. This agent is additionally permitted to conduct any tour within Hong Kong while providing local transportation services to the visitors also.

Before an individual can apply for the Business License for an agency, there are some legal obligations that they need to follow. These are:

The first step is to line up a corporation and acquire the Certificate of Incorporation from the Companies Registry of Hong Kong. For the knowledge on the way to found out a business, ask the Hong Kong Company Registration page of the web site.

The premises where the business would run has to be suitable for the agency business and must further be solely dedicated to the operations of the travel operations only, as per the obligations of the Travel Agent’s Registry. This suggests that the space of the company can't be utilized for other business operations.

The candidate must be the TIC, also called the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong’s member. TIC may be a self-operating firm and is responsible for the development of the trade practices within the travel industry. It also formulates and enforces the codes of conduct and demands for the industry, collects statutory levies, handles the complaints and inquiries of the general public, etc.

A person has to be appointed and designated because the key executive of the business where the person would be in charge of the management of the corporation has to control the business. A director, secretary, a politician or maybe the partner is often designated because of the key executive of the company.

As per the Registrar of Travel Agents, this person also has got to be considered as a “fit and proper” person, which suggests there shouldn’t be any previous conviction of an offense or bankruptcy. Another crucial requirement is that the key executive must be a permanent resident, a citizen or an employment visa holder of Hong Kong.

Additionally, the person must be well-experienced within the travel industry with a minimum of two back-to-back years of an equivalent. alongside the key executive, the company must hire a full-time staff too.

In Hong Kong, an agency or agent has got to be a member of any of the subsequent eight travel associations where each organization has its novel aspects and caters to the actual needs of varied markets:

• Hong Kong Japanese Tour Operators Association
• Hong Kong Outbound Tour Operators’ Association
• Hong Kong Association of China Travel Organizers
• Hong Kong Taiwan Tourist Operators Association
• Society of IATA Passenger Agents
• International Chinese Tourist Association
• The Federation of Hong Kong Chinese Travel Agents
• Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents

The corporation must have HK$500,000 of minimum paid-up capital.

The application procedure of the business license of the agency comprises of submitting the subsequent information and documents to the Hong Kong Travel Agent’s Registry, which also includes the appliance fee of HKD 630 that's non-refundable:

• The Business License agency form.
• A genuinely certified copy of the document for the proof of the allotment of shares.
• A genuinely certified transcript of the document verifying the appointment of secretaries and directors.
• An estimation of the business allows a specific period of either six months or a year, with the estimated expenditure and estimated income given separately.
• A genuinely certified transcript of the record of ownership of the office premises or the stamped tenancy agreement.
• Genuine certified copies of the Travel Association Membership Certificate and therefore the TIC Membership Certificate.
• Genuine certified copies of the Articles of Association of the corporate, Certificate of Incorporation, and therefore the Business Registration Certificate.
• The aimed travel agency’s scope of business.
• The resumes of every key executive with the stress on their travel industry previous work experience.
• A genuine certified transcript of all the key executives’ travel documents or Hong Kong ID cards. The travel documents need to designate that the persons involved are permitted to urge employment anywhere or initiate a business in Hong Kong with no restraints.
• A transcript of the board resolution authenticating the designation of an approved one that would be representing the business while applying for the business license for the agency.
• A statement of particulars form.

When an application for the agency business license in Hong Kong is successful, it takes about three to four weeks to process it after which a business license for the agency would be issued by the Travel Agents Registry.

It must be noted that the candidate applying for this is able to get to collect it from the office face to face. to support the amount or validity of the license, the fee of HKD 485 per month has got to be paid to the Travel Agent’s Registry.

Note that this fee is only for a month, many agents pay for a period of 12-months for the travel agency business license in Hong Kong. Most importantly, the license has to be on display openly in the office at all times while the license number has to be indicated on every company advertisements, pamphlets, brochures, and documents.

For the renewal of the business license of the Hong Kong agency, the appliance has to be submitted a minimum of a month before the date of expiry, but less than two months. Just in case the form is submitted after the date of expiry, it might not be processed, and therefore the agency would wish to use for a replacement license again. Additionally, if the business continues to run even after the permit has expired, it might be noted as an offense.

The documents that are needed for the renewal process of the agency business license in Hong Kong are:

• A genuine certified copy of a legitimate Hong Kong TIC membership certificate.
• A genuine certified copy of the business registration certificate that's valid.
• Management accounts and/or audited financial statements, as per the specifications by the registry.
• A statement of particulars form.
• A ‘Renewal of License’ form.
• Any other document as required by the Registry.
• The successful application gets processed within three to four weeks where the travel agency’s diary of your business would be examined by the Travel Agent’s Registry to verify if it's a real TIC member. it's also to verify if the business meets the obligations that are particularized within the license while evaluating the renewal form.

If you've got all the specified documents, suit the procedures and have excellent records for serving within the travel industry, your application would be accepted. confirm you're well prepared and have all the documents and understanding of the method in situ, to make sure your company for the business license for your agency.