The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has established the Food Courts Subsidy Scheme under the Fifth Round of the Anti-epidemic Fund and is now accepting applications.  A one-off subsidy will be provided to eligible licence holders of food factories in operation in a food court inside a shopping mall that satisfies the definition in item (1)(b) under the Eligibility stated below according to the approved floor area of the licensed premises, as set out in the table below.

The application period and procedures are set out below:

Eligibility

1. An applicant is required to fulfil the following criteria:
   1. the applicant holds on or before 31 December 2021 a valid food factory licence (full or provisional licence) issued by the FEHD; AND
   2. the licensed food factory shall be located in a food court, which is defined for the purpose of this scheme, to mean a place inside a shopping mall comprising licensed food factories and adjoining seating area (with both tables and chairs/stools) provided by the property management/owner of the shopping mall for non-exclusive use by its visitors, which may include patrons of the licensed food factories; AND
   3. the related food factory licence is valid and the food business is in operation on the date of submission of the application and on the date of approval of the application; AND
   4. no application for transfer, voluntary surrender or cancellation of food business licence in respect of the licensed food premises is under processing in the period from the date of submission of the application to the date of approval of the application; AND
   5. the applicant holds the related valid licence in (a) above on the date of approval of the application (if the application for subsidy is submitted in respect of a provisional licence and the validity period of the provisional licence is less than one month on the date of submission of application, the related full licence has to be obtained either before the expiry of the provisional licence or close of application for the subsidy); AND
   6. the applicant is not subject to any bankruptcy or winding up procedure/proceedings/order at the time of the application and thereafter up to the grant of subsidy.
2. As an exceptional arrangement, an applicant not holding a valid food factory licence on 31 December 2021 may apply for the subsidy, provided that:
   1. in the case of a transfer of the food factory licence was made on or before 31 December 2021 -
      1. the application was approved after 31 December 2021, and the applicant is the approved transferee ; AND
      2. no subsidy has been granted by FEHD under this Subsidy Scheme to the original licence holder in respect of the licence transferred ; AND
      3. the applicant meets the eligibility criteria in items (1)(b), (1)(c), (1)(d), (1)(e) and (1)(f) above.
   2. in the case of a provisional licence held by the applicant in respect of the same premises which has, irrespective of the expiry date, expired -
      1. the applicant is successful in obtaining a full licence before close of application for the subsidy (i.e. 18 February 2022); AND
      2. the applicant meets the eligibility criteria in items (1)(b), (1)(c), (1)(d), (1)(e) and (1)(f) above.

Means of Application

• Obtaining Application Forms

  During the application period, eligible applicants may download the application form from the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk).  Alternatively, they may obtain the form in person at District Environmental Hygiene Offices (DEHOs) of FEHD during office hours.

  • Notes on filling in and submission of application forms

    Before completing the application form, please read carefully the form, the application criteria and the notes therein

    If the licensee of the food factory licence is not the operator of the food business conducted at the above licensed premises, the applicant shall submit declaration signed by every operator and provide respective copy of business registration document(s) obtained in respect of the food business(es) to declare the support for the licensee's application for the above subsidy scheme.

    Corporate applicant shall hold a valid Certificate of Incorporation under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) with status "live" as shown in the Integrated Companies Registry Information System of the Registrar of Companies throughout the application for this Anti-epidemic Fund subsidy. In addition, the applicant should not be bankrupt/wound-up or subject to any bankruptcy or winding up procedure/proceedings throughout application to the date of receiving the subsidy.

    Submission of Application Forms
    • Completed application forms should be submitted within the application period by the following means:
      1. Return the application form by post to the DEHO in the district where the licensed premises are located; or
      2. Submit the application form in person to the DEHO in the district where the licensed premises are located.
         

         The opening hours of District Environmental Hygiene Offices are as follow : Monday to Friday： 8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays Addresses and Telephone Numbers of District Environmental Hygiene Offices

    • An applicant may submit only one application form for each licensed premises. The provision of personal data in the application form is voluntary. Multiple applications will not be processed. An application will not be accepted if the prescribed form is not used or applicants tender late submission or provide insufficient or incorrect information.
    • The application form shall be submitted before 5:00 p.m. on 18 February 2022. For applications by post, the date of application will be determined according to the postmark date. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Processing of Application

• FEHD will in general issue an acknowledgement of receipt of application to the applicants upon receipt of applications. No matter the application is submitted by post or in person, FEHD will make use of the local mobile phone number entered in the application form to issue acknowledgment of receipt of application and provide the relevant application number through SMS. No acknowledgement and notification of application number through SMS will be made if a local mobile phone number is not provided.
• Applications will be processed and approved by the FEHD in the order they are received.

Release of Subsidy

• On approval of the application, each eligible licence holder of the premises operating food factory in food court inside a shopping mall mainly providing food to customers for their consumption on adjoining seating area (with both tables and chairs/stools) provided by property management/owner will receive a grant of one-off subsidy in accordance with the approved floor area of the licensed premises, provided that the applicant is not subject to any bankruptcy or winding up procedure/proceedings/order when the subsidy is to be granted.
• The subsidy will be released and sent to the licensee by a crossed cheque by post to the address of the licensed premises according to the record of the FEHD.  The target is that upon approval, the subsidy would be released within about two weeks from the date of receiving the application.

Other Points to Note

• Applicant is required to indicate on application form whether the food business at the licensed premises is operated by the licensee or not and provide the required document as appropriate.
• The FEHD will in general issue an acknowledgement of application to the applicant on receipt of application. No matter the application is submitted by post or in person, the FEHD will make use of the local mobile phone number entered in the application form to issue acknowledgment of receipt of application and the relevant application number through SMS. No acknowledgement and notification of application number through SMS will be made if local mobile phone number is not provided.
• The FEHD will only issue one-off subsidy in respect of each licence (if a full licence is subsequently issued to replace the provisional licence held by the applicant, both licences shall be considered as the same licence).
• The Government reserves the right to take appropriate action, including but not limited to refusing an application for subsidy or revoking any approval given and recovering any subsidy granted and all related expenses incurred if false information is given, false declaration is made, or there is a breach of Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F) or the directions issued thereunder, Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G), Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I) etc., or the additional administrative measures as suggested by FEHD for the anti-epidemic cause are not carried out, or there is a breach of the licensing conditions of the relevant food business licence.
• The FEHD may publish for public notification the addresses and licence numbers of those licensed food factories in which application under this Subsidy Scheme have been received or approved.
• It is an offence under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201) to offer advantages to government officers in relation to their official duties.
• Applicants may be required to attend an interview and provide documentary proof for the continuing operation of the food business.
• No fee is payable for obtaining or submitting an Application Form.
• For enquiry, please visit FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk) or contact respective District Environmental Hygiene Offices.
• The FEHD has not entrusted any organisations/persons to receive/process applications or assist in the submission of applications.

Enquiries

For enquiries, please contact Food Courts Subsidy Scheme Hotline at 2867 5153 or 2958 0694.