Fines, penalties and forfeitures pump HK$2.1 billion into government coffers

Fines worth HK$2.1 billion (US$268.39 million) flowed into Hong Kong’s coffers in 2025‑26, nearly 26 per cent more than initially forecast, following an increase in cigarette penalties and a surge in forfeitures. According to budget estimates analysed by the South China Morning Post, the HK$2.1 billion income amounted to 0.3 per cent of the government’s total revenue. The funds were primarily from court fines and forfeiture orders, statute penalties, forfeitures from breaches of contracts and agreements with the government, fixed fines for traffic offences, illegal parking and idling engines, as well as civil servant payments for disciplinary issues. In response to an SCMP inquiry, a spokeswoman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said the amount received under “forfeitures” varied over the years depending on the number and nature of the cases, and “there has been no fixed pattern”. The amount was 25.8 per cent or HK$442 million more than the original estimate of HK$1.7 billion, with the government attributing the surge to bigger fines and “higher-than-expected” revenue from forfeiture cases. Of the HK$2.1 billion, HK$762 million came from court fines and statutory penalties, which was HK$196 million more than the original estimate. Authorities said the increase arose from amendments to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance that took effect last September and fines from the Securities and Futures Commission. From September 19 last year, the penalty for carrying more than the permitted duty-free amount of tobacco products was increased to HK$5,000 from HK$2,000. For forfeitures, the revised estimate jumped by 353.9 per cent to HK$404 million from the original prediction of HK$89 million. Looking ahead, the government expected more revenue from traffic-related fixed penalties in the wake of increases that took effect on January 1. Authorities expected the income from fixed penalties for traffic and road safety offences in the 2026-27 financial year would increase by nearly HK$170 million. The figure comprises HK$110 million collected over illegal parking and HK$59 million from higher fines on 19 other traffic offences. This is despite an expected 8.6 per cent dip in overall fines, forfeitures and penalty income. The city’s treasury received HK$147 million more in the revised estimates of the 2025-26 financial year than the HK$2 billion pocketed in 2024-25. However, the estimated revenue for the 2026-27 financial year stood at HK$1.97 billion. From January 1, the fixed penalty for illegal parking has been increased to HK$400 from HK$320, while that for 19 road safety and traffic congestion-related offences has been raised to between HK$480 and HK$1,500 from HK$320 to HK$1,000. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming called the notion of officers not issuing parking tickets during Chinese New Year a “myth” on a radio programme last month, saying it was the force’s responsibility to enforce traffic laws. “Not issuing parking tickets on the first day of Chinese New Year is a myth,” Chow said. “Police officers will execute discretion with their professional judgment.” He also said at an annual review press conference last month that he had no opinion on what would be the appropriate amount of penalty for traffic offences. The police chief added that the number of illegal parking tickets issued dropped last year compared with 2024 and 2021. “I understand that many residents will think the force is relentless in enforcing the law against illegal parking, but allow me to say we tackle traffic offences by major enforcement projects,” Chow said. In 2025, the force issued 2.068 million illegal parking penalty tickets, which was nearly 500,000 fewer than the 2.54 million tickets handed out in 2024. “If we look at 2021, from 3.3 million tickets to now, we are talking about a 30 per cent drop over the past five years,” Chow said.