Full legislation
s.9A
Attachment of income to satisfy order
(1AA)
In this
section—
Amendment
Ordinance
(《
修訂條例
》) means the
Attachment of Income Order (Application to Government and
Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2007 (
20
of 2007
);
(Added
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
attachment
order
(
扣押令
) means an order made
under subsection (1);
designated
payee
(
指定受款人
) means, in
relation to a maintenance order, the person named in that order as
the person to whom the maintenance payments are to be made;
income
source
(
入息來源
) means a person by
whom the income of the maintenance payer is payable and includes the
Government;
(Added
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
maintenance
payer
(
贍養費支付人
) means, in
relation to a maintenance order, the person against whom that order
is made;
specified
payee
(
指明受款人
) means, in
relation to an attachment order, the person named in that order as
the person to whom an amount attached by that order is to be
paid.
(1)
Where a maintenance order has been made against a maintenance payer
and—
(a)
(i)
a court is satisfied that the payer has without
reasonable excuse failed to make any payment which
he is required to make by the maintenance order;
or
(ii)
a court is satisfied that there are reasonable
grounds to believe that the payer will not make full
and punctual payment in compliance with the
maintenance order; or
(iii)
the payer and designated payee agree to the making
of an order under this section; and
(b)
there is any income capable of being attached payable to
the payer,
the court may, in accordance with rules made under subsection
(6), order the income to be attached as to the whole or part of the
amount payable under the maintenance order and the amount attached
to be paid to the specified payee.
(Replaced
20 of 2001 s. 3
)
(1A)
For the purpose of subsection
(1
)(
a
)(
ii)
, in deciding
whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the maintenance
payer will not make full and punctual payment in compliance with the
maintenance order, the court shall take into account all the
circumstances of the case, including (but not limited to
)—
(a)
the payer’s past record and conduct in discharging his
reasonable financial obligation towards the designated payee
before any maintenance order is made;
(b)
the payer’s past record and conduct in connection with the
making of maintenance payments to the payee pursuant to the
maintenance order or an undertaking in any proceedings;
and
(c)
the risk of the payer dissipating his property.
(Added
20 of 2001 s. 3
)
(2)
(Repealed
20 of 2001 s. 3
)
(2A)
The court may, at any time after a maintenance order has been made,
including in the same hearing in which the maintenance order is made
or varied, make an attachment order.
(Added
20 of 2001 s. 3
)
(2B)
An attachment order may be made by the court on its own motion or
on the application by the maintenance payer or the designated payee
or both.
(Added
20 of 2001 s. 3
)
(3)
An attachment order is an authority to an income source to make the
payment in accordance with the order, and the receipt of the
specified payee is a good discharge to that income source.
(Replaced
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
(3A)
Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), that subsection
applies to income that is wages or salary payable to a maintenance
payer by the Government, and accordingly paragraph (a) of the
proviso to
section 23(1)
of the Crown Proceedings
Ordinance (
Cap. 300
) is not to be
construed as precluding the court from making an attachment order in
respect of such wages or salary.
(Added
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
(4)
Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), that subsection
applies to income that is wages payable to a maintenance payer by a
person other than the Government, and accordingly
section
66
of the Employment Ordinance (
Cap. 57
) is not to be construed as precluding the
court from making an attachment order in respect of such
wages.
(Replaced
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
(5)
Where—
(a)
pursuant to an attachment order, an employer is required to
make a deduction from the wages of his employee in any wage
period; and
(b)
that deduction, together with any deduction authorized to
be made under
section 32
of the Employment
Ordinance (
Cap. 57
) by the
employer from the employee’s wages in the same wage period
would in total exceed the whole of the wages payable to the
employee in respect of that wage period,
then the amount liable to be deducted by the employer pursuant to
the attachment order shall be treated as being reduced by such an
amount that the total of all deductions made by the employer does
not exceed the whole of the wages payable to the employee in respect
of the wage period.
(6)
The Chief Justice may make such rules of court as he considers
necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to
subsection (1), and rules made under this subsection may in
particular provide
for—
(a)
the matters to be contained in any application for an
attachment order, and the manner of filing and service of
such an application;
(b)
compliance with an attachment order;
(c)
the obligations on the part of the income source;
(Replaced
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
(d)
the obligations of the maintenance payer when an attachment
order is in force or in the event of an attachment order
ceasing to have effect for any reason;
(e)
the recovery
from
the maintenance payer of the clerical and administrative
costs incurred in complying with an attachment
order;
(f)
the variation or discharge of an attachment
order;
(g)
the enforcement of an attachment order.
(6A)
Rules made under subsection (6) may empower the court to dispense
with or relax any procedure or abridge any time limit specified in
the rules if the court is satisfied that it is fair and reasonable
to do so in the circumstances of the case.
(Added
20 of 2001 s. 3
)
(7)
Rules made under subsection (6) may provide that the contravention
of any rule shall constitute an offence punishable by a fine at
level 2 and by imprisonment for 1 month.
(8)
The Chief Justice may specify the form of any document which is to
be or may be filed in proceedings under subsection (1).
(9)
Any attachment
order—
(a)
made by the court before the commencement date* of the
Amendment Ordinance in respect of the wages or salary
payable to a maintenance payer by the Government;
and
(b)
which has not been discharged or declared invalid by the
court as at that commencement date,
has effect from that commencement date as if it were made under
subsection (1) as read with subsection (3A).
(Added
20 of 2007 s. 5
)
(10)
An
application—
(a)
for an attachment order in respect of the wages or salary
payable to a maintenance payer by the Government;
(b)
that is pending immediately before the commencement date*
of the Amendment Ordinance; and
(c)
in which an attachment order has not been made as at that
commencement date,
is to be determined in accordance with this section as amended by
the Amendment Ordinance.
(Added
20 of 2007 s. 5
)