Hong Kong has gazetted six orders implementing tax agreements with the six jurisdictions, replacing parts of existing agreements with Norway and Jordan. The Legislative Council will consider the orders under negative vetting on 21 October 2026.
The Hong Kong Chief Executive in Council issued orders to put six income tax treaty agreements, namely with Barbados, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Norway, and Rwanda, into effect on 6 October 2026. The orders appeared in Legal Supplement No. 2 to Gazette No. 42, Volume 30, dated 16 October 2026.
This follows Hong Kong’s approval of six orders to implement tax treaties with the respective countries the same day.
Agreements with six jurisdictions
The Maldives, Norway, Rwanda and Jordan each signed income tax agreements in 2025. The Maldives deal appears as Legal Notice No. 118, Norway as No. 119, Rwanda as No. 120, and Jordan as No. 116. Barbados and Kyrgyzstan signed their agreements in 2026. The Barbados deal is Legal Notice No. 115, and the Kyrgyzstan deal, an income and capital tax agreement, is Legal Notice No. 117.
Older agreements that will be replaced
The Norway agreement will replace the Hong Kong and Norway Transport Tax Agreement of 2003. The Jordan agreement will also end part of the Hong Kong and Jordan Air Services Agreement of 2004. Once the new deal takes effect, paragraphs 1 through 7 of article 9 of that air services agreement will no longer apply.
What happens next
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will receive all six orders on 21 October 2026 for negative vetting. Under this process, the orders take effect unless lawmakers vote to reject them. The government will report further developments as they occur.
