Ex-official among 33,019 who failed to complete eTAX filings amid unclear wording

More than 33,000 people failed to submit completed tax returns because of unclear wording in Hong Kong’s eTAX system, the ombudsman has found, with nearly 5,200 receiving penalty notices and two prosecuted.

Dr Luk Che-chung, a former chief executive of the Hospital Authority’s Hong Kong East area, was among the affected taxpayers and urged the government on Tuesday to learn from the incident.

In a report released on Monday, the Office of the Ombudsman said ambiguous instructions on the eTAX submission and signature interface led many users to believe that signing via the “iAM Smart” platform completed their filing, when in fact they had to return to eTAX until a confirmation page appeared.

Between May 2 last year and January 31 this year, 489,425 taxpayers attempted to submit electronic returns using a digital signature on iAM Smart, the investigation found.

Of these, 33,019 did not complete the submission process; 5,169 received penalty notices and two were prosecuted. About 14,000 successfully resubmitted on the same day as their initial attempt.

Under Hong Kong law, taxpayers must file returns within one month of issue so the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) can prepare assessments and approve deductions.