Central Registration System to be Implemented on 12th February 2005
Purpose
This circular provides further information on the Central Registration System announced in the Land Registry Circular Memorandum No. 2/04 issued on 26th November 2004.
Commencement Date
1. The commencement date for the Central Registration System is 12th February 2005 (the Commencement Date).
Fee reduction
2. The statutory fees for supplying land search and copies of land documents will be reduced from the Commencement Date. Details are in the attached Appendix 1.
3. Holders of existing search tickets issued by the Land Registry may apply for refund of unused tickets at the Information Counter of the Customer Centre on 19th Floor, Queensway Government Offices (QGO) or at any of the New Territories Search Offices on or after the Commencement Date.
New memorial form
4. The Land Registrar has specified a new memorial form under Regulation 5(1) of
the Land Registration Regulations. The new form is available for sale on 19th Floor QGO and any of the New Territories Land Registries from 24th January 2005. The price is HK$15 for each book of 100 sheets.
Plan attached to an instrument lodged for registration
5. To obtain the best quality of electronic imaging, customers are reminded to attach a paper plan instead of a plastic or linen one to an instrument lodged for registration.
Inspection of manual land records
6. By virtue of section 75 (e)(iv) of the Schedule to the Land Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 2002 (which repealed Regulation 21(1)(f)(iv) of the Land Registration Regulations), inspection of plans attached to memorials will not be available from the Commencement Date. For plans deposited under various Ordinances /Conditions / Government Leases or referred to therein, inspection will be available at the Customer Centre on 19th Floor, QGO.
Owners incorporation services
7. For Owners Corporations, from the Commencement Date filing and registration of documents and inspection and applying for copies of records will be at the New Territories Search Offices for the New Territories districts and for all other districts at the Reports on Title and Owners Incorporation Office on 28th Floor, QGO.
Delivery of instruments for registration
8. Customers' co-operation in delivering instruments for registration either before 8th February 2005 or from the Commencement Date will help us with migration of existing information to the Central Registration System between 8th and 11th February.
9. As requested by the Land Registry Circular Memorandum No. 2/04, it will assist if lodging parties prepare a list showing the order of lodgement of documents submitted together. A sample list is attached in Appendix 2.
10. Applications for refund of franked payment forms of instruments which have not been lodged before the Commencement Date, can be submitted at the Information Counter of the Customer Centre on 19th Floor, QGO or at any of the New Territories Search Offices.
IRIS Online Services
11. The Direct Access Services (DAS) will terminate at 19:00 on 8th February 2005 when the DAS system will cease operation. The Integrated Registration Information System online services through the Internet (IRIS Online Services) will start from the Commencement Date from 08:30 hr to 00:30 hr and thereafter daily between 08:30 hr to 00:30 hr, including Sundays and public holidays. The Land Registry may vary the hours for different types of services.
12. Application forms for enrolment as an IRIS Online Services Subscriber are now available at the Information Counter at 19th Floor, QGO. The form can also be downloaded from the Land Registry website ( http://www.landreg.gov.hk) starting from 28th January. A step-by-step demonstration and tutorial of the IRIS Online Services is available from the Land Registry's website. The classroom training organised by the Contractor starts on 27th January 2005. Invitation for enrolment has been issued to current DAS subscribers. The client workstation specifications of the IRIS Online Services are set out in Appendix 3 for reference. For enquiries, please contact our support team at 2867 5886.
13. New IRIS Online Services Subscriber Account Numbers, the respective Login IDs and passwords will be delivered to existing DAS Subscribers (and Government users of DAS) before 8th February 2005.
14. When ordering a land search through the IRIS Online Services, customers will be provided with an estimated number of pages of the land register concerned. Since the number is a calculated estimate for reference only, occasionally there may be a variance between that number and the number of the pages actually provided.
15. Initially, the IRIS Online Services will be provided in English only. The Chinese version of the IRIS Online Services will be released at a date to be announced later.
Subscription of Memorial Day Book and Monthly Memorial Information on Mortgage Transactions
16. There will be no change to arrangements for delivery of Memorial Day Book and Monthly Memorial Information on Mortgage transactions. Diskettes containing the Memorial Day Book information will be available to subscribers either from our QGO office or delivered by courier. For Monthly Memorial Information on Mortgage Transactions subscribers, the diskettes will be delivered by courier.
Colour imaging of plans
17. Since the commencement of the colour imaging of plans in March 2002, all the plans of registered instruments have been converted into electronic colour images. In some cases, the number of plans shown on the IRIS screen and the receipt may not reflect the actual number of plans produced and charged for. Please be assured that the actual number of plans produced and the amount of fees charged are correct. We will resolve this technical problem as soon as we can.
Customer service hotline
18. For enquiries on the use of the IRIS Online Services, please contact the customer service hotline at 3105 0000 starting from 12th February 2005.
19. For enquiries, please contact our Customer Service Manager, Mrs Cindy LAM (now changed to Miss Cherie CHOW), at 2867 2882 (now changed to 3105 0000) or e-mail to us at csa@landreg.gov.hk.
( Kim Salkeld )
Land Registrar
Appendix 1
Fees Reduction in the Land Registration Fees Regulations
to be implemented on 12th February 2005
| Fee Item in the Schedule of the Land Registration Fees Regulations | Existing Fee ($) | Revised Fee ($) |
|---|---|---|
Item 11 Supplying information in the form of a computer printout or any other form indicating - | ||
| (a) current particulars of a property | 15 | 10 |
| (b) historical and current particulars of a property | 30 | 25 |
| Item 13 Supplying a copy, imaged copy, or a hard copy from a microfilm, or in any form by any method, of the whole document of any instrument, memorial or Government lease- | ||
| (a) for each memorial and any instrument annexed thereto supplied | 120 | 100 |
| (b) for each Government lease supplied | 190 | 120 |
Appendix 2
| Sample |
|---|
Lodgement List
Date : ________________
Name of Lodging Party : _____________________________________
| Order of lodge-ment | Nature of Instrument | PRN No. / Address (including Block, Floor & Flat) / Lot No. (including Block, Floor & Flat ) of premises affected |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mortgage | PRN No. A1234573 |
| 2. | Discharge of Mortgage | Flat A, 20/F Tower 1, Lucky Mansion, No. 12 Mong Kok Road Kowloon. |
| 3. | Assignment | Flat A, 20/F Tower 1, Lucky Mansion, No. 12 Mong Kok Road Kowloon. |
| 4. | Mortgage | Flat A, 20/F Tower 1, Lucky Mansion, No. 12 Mong Kok Road Kowloon. |
| 5. | Letter of Nomination | D.D. 1 Lot No. 32 |
| 6. | Provisional Agreement for Sale & Purchase | D.D. 3 Lot No. 223 (Re. G/F) |
| : : : | : : : | : : : |
Appendix 3
IRIS Online Services
Client Workstation Requirement Specifications
1. Recommended configuration of computer
| CPU: | Intel P-III 550Mhz or above. |
| RAM: |
|
| Hard Drive: |
|
| Operating System: |
|
2. Connection
- 56Kbps dial-up connection is the minimum.
- Broadband connection (1.5Mbps or above) is recommended for downloading or browsing document images.
3. Accessories
- Modem is required if dial-up connection is used.
- Chinese input device is optional.
- Printer is optional.
4. Browser Software
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 1 5.5 2 or 6.0 3 , 4
- 128 bits SSL enabled
- Java Plug-in version 1.3.1.06 to 1.3.1.13 (for subscribers requiring e-cert logon)
- E-payment can be executed only if "accept cookie" is set in the "Privacy Setting" category.
5. Other relevant information.
- Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS) support is required for viewing special Chinese characters commonly used in Hong Kong.
- Image Viewer (supporting JPEG and TIFF CCITT fax 3 and CCITT fax 4 compression) is required for viewing document images.
- Hongkong Post e-Cert (Personal or Organizational) is required for subscribers requiring e-cert logon.
- Fax machine is required for receiving search results by fax.
- Email software and email account are required for receiving search results by email.