Hong Kong moves to strengthen its tax transparency regime as new legislation amending the automatic exchange of financial account information framework heads to the Legislative Council for its first reading on 1 April 2026.
The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has announced on 25 March 2026 that the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Automatic Exchange of Information) Bill 2026 has been published in the Gazette on 27 March 2026, with its first reading in the Legislative Council set for 1 April 2026.
The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Automatic Exchange of Information) Bill 2026 aims to enhance the administrative framework for automatic exchange of information in tax matters (AEOI) in Hong Kong.
The proposed changes include mandatory registration of reporting financial institutions with the IRD, stricter due diligence record-keeping requirements, and higher penalties to improve compliance and deterrence.
The amendments will take effect on 1 January 2027 and are intended to help Hong Kong maintain a favourable OECD peer review rating and preserve its standing as an international financial centre.
Hong Kong supports global tax transparency and efforts to combat cross-border tax evasion. Since 2018, it has conducted annual automatic exchanges of financial account information with partner jurisdictions under the Common Reporting Standard developed by the OECD, ensuring data confidentiality and enabling tax authorities to assess taxpayers and detect evasion.
