The letters a Hong Kong company can't afford to miss
The deadlines that hurt small Hong Kong companies rarely arrive by email. They come by post, to the registered office, and the law treats them as delivered when they get there. Here are the letters that matter, the deadlines inside them, and what to expect from whoever opens your post.
Updated 29 October 2026 · by LAULEGA LIMITED, licensed TCSP (TC000573)
Every Hong Kong company has a registered office "to which all communications and notices may be addressed" (Cap. 622 s.658(1)), and a document "may be served on a company by leaving it at, or sending it by post to" that office (s.827). For a founder who lives elsewhere, that's the whole problem in two sentences: the letter counts once it's at the address, whether or not you ever see it.
Here are the letters worth worrying about, roughly in order of how much damage a missed one can do.
1. "Is your company still in operation?"
If the Registrar of Companies has reasonable cause to believe a company isn't operating, the Registrar can post it a letter asking whether it is, addressed to the registered office (s.744). What follows is set out in the Ordinance:
| Step | What happens | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Registrar, believing the company isn't operating, posts a letter to the registered office asking whether it is | s.744(1), (2) |
| 2 | No reply within one month (or a reply saying it isn't operating) | s.745(1) |
| 3 | Within the next 30 days: a second letter by registered post, and a notice in the Gazette that the company will be struck off | s.745(2) |
| 4 | Three months after the Gazette notice, unless cause is shown, the name can be struck off | s.746(1) |
| 5 | A notice of the strike-off is gazetted, and the company is dissolved | s.746(2), (3) |
Once dissolved, the company no longer exists. Getting it back means an application to the Court for restoration, by a director, member, creditor or another person with an interest (s.765). That's slow and costly next to replying to a letter. This is the clearest case of a deadline hiding in the post: a one-month window that starts when an envelope lands at an address you may never visit.
2. The Business Registration renewal notice
Before your Business Registration certificate expires, the Commissioner sends a notice calling for the fee and levy (Cap. 310 s.7(1)). If it hasn't arrived by the expiry date, you must tell the Commissioner in writing within one month (s.7(2)), and failing to is an offence. Our guide to the Business Registration certificate covers renewal in full.
3. Tax returns and letters from the Inland Revenue Department
Profits tax returns, employer's returns and the department's questions arrive by post too, each with its own deadline. We don't cover tax on this site; Certanta's guide to profits tax return deadlines sets them out. The mail point is simple: a return you never saw still counts as issued.
4. Court and tribunal papers
A claim against your company can be served by leaving it at, or posting it to, the registered office (s.827). Court rules then set time limits for responding, counted from service and often short. If anything from a court or tribunal arrives, treat it as urgent and take legal advice the same day.
5. Companies Registry letters about your filings
The Registry also writes about filings, the annual return above all. A late annual return carries higher registration fees and can lead to prosecution; see 818HI's guide to the annual return deadline.
6. Banks and payment providers
Banks and payment providers write to the address they hold for regular reviews of your company's documents, card and security changes, and notices about the account itself. No statute sets these deadlines; the letter does. Missing a request for updated documents can cause trouble with the account, so read these letters as they arrive rather than in a batch at year end.
What good mail handling looks like
No law sets standards for a mail service, so judge it on what the letters above need:
- Opened and scanned within a business day, not just an envelope photo. The one-month clocks above start when the letter arrives, not when you read it.
- Official mail picked out: anything from the Registry, the Inland Revenue Department, other government departments or a court should reach you the day it's scanned.
- Registered post signed for and scanned like everything else; the second strike-off letter comes that way (s.745(2)(a)).
- Originals kept, and forwarded on request; a court may want to see them.
- Someone to tell: the provider should have a current email and phone number for you, and you should keep them current.
For what these services usually cost, and what's normally extra, see what a virtual office costs.
An example (invented)
Northgate Prints Limited sells art prints online. Its director lives in Seoul and hasn't been to Hong Kong this year. A Registry letter asking whether the company is in operation arrives at the registered office. The provider scans it the same day and emails the director, who replies the following week, well inside the one-month window. No second letter, no Gazette notice.
Had the letter sat unopened for six weeks, the one-month window would have closed, and the Registrar would then have had to send the registered letter and publish the Gazette notice within 30 days.
Government letters, scanned within one business day
LAULEGA's registered address service opens and scans government mail to your client portal free, within one business day, and tells you when something official arrives. Other post is held for three months and scanned on request.
See the virtual office All pricesFrequently asked questions
Does a letter count as received if nobody opens it?
For service on the company, generally yes. Under section 827 of the Companies Ordinance, a document may be served on a company by leaving it at, or posting it to, the registered office. That's why the registered office needs someone opening the mail.
What happens if I ignore a Companies Registry letter asking whether my company is in operation?
If there's no reply within one month, the Registrar must, within the next 30 days, send a second letter by registered post and publish a Gazette notice (Cap. 622 s.745). Three months after that notice the company can be struck off, and it is dissolved when the strike-off is gazetted (s.746).
Can a struck-off company be restored?
Yes, by an application to the Court by a director, member or creditor, or another person who appears to the Court to have an interest (Cap. 622 s.765). It's far slower and costlier than replying to the original letter; ask your adviser.
What if my Business Registration renewal notice doesn't arrive?
Tell the Commissioner in writing within one month of the certificate's expiry (Cap. 310 s.7(2)). Failing to do so is an offence.
Is all mail scanned free with LAULEGA's virtual office?
Government mail, from the Companies Registry, the Inland Revenue Department and other departments, is opened and scanned to your portal free within one business day. Other mail, such as bank statements and court post, is held for three months and scanned on request at HK$3 a page.
How fast should a virtual office scan official mail?
No law sets a standard. Given the one-month windows above, aim for within one business day of arrival. That's LAULEGA's standard for government mail.
This guide summarises the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) and the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) as published on e-Legislation on 29 October 2026. It does not cover tax deadlines or court rules. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own facts, ask your adviser. The example company is invented. Written and reviewed by LAULEGA LIMITED, a licensed trust or company service provider (TCSP licence TC000573).