3. Some tricky sellers may provide wrong information to mislead their customers. How am I protected against false descriptions made by sellers?

As mentioned in the previous Q&A, the Sale of Goods Ordinance provides that any goods sold must correspond to their samples and descriptions which are provided by their sellers and/or printed on their packages.

The Trade Descriptions Ordinance ("TDO") (Cap. 362 of the Laws of Hong Kong) also sets out to protect consumers from traders who either deliberately or accidentally mislead customers. It is illegal for traders to describe what they sell falsely, either in writing, in advertisements (including those on radio or television) or by word of mouth.

Under section 7 and section 9 of the TDO, it is an offence to apply a false trade description and a forged (fake) trademark to any goods. Any person who contravenes these regulations is liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.

Gold or Platinum articles

There are also regulations under the TDO dealing specifically with gold and platinum articles.

Under the Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Gold and Gold Alloy) Order (Cap.362 A) and Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Platinum) Orders (Cap. 362C), all articles made of gold, gold alloy, or platinum must bear a mark indicating the fineness of gold or platinum content in the form and manner specified. Articles made of different parts of gold or platinum of different fineness, or partly of gold or platinum and partly of other metal must also be clearly marked as such.

Watches

Under section 2 of the Trade Descriptions (Place of Origin) (Watches) Order (Cap.362D), the place in which the movement of a watch (i.e. the main part of a watch without the watch band) was manufactured or produced is to be regarded as the place in which the watch has been manufactured or produced. However, this requirement does not apply to any watch that has been exported, or is intended to be exported, from Hong Kong to the Mainland under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and that is qualified for a zero tariff under the Arrangement.

Food and Drugs

Schedule 3 of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap.132W) states that unless there is exemption in the Regulations or otherwise stated, the following information should be marked in either English or Chinese language or in both languages on the label of pre-packaged food:

name of the food;
list of ingredients;
indication of "use by" or "best before" date;
statement of special conditions for storage or instructions for use;
name and address of manufacturer or packer;
count, weight or volume of food.

If Chinese and English languages are used in labelling, the food name and the ingredient list of the pre-packaged food shall be labelled in both languages.

Regulation 4A of the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap.132W) provides that prepackaged food shall be marked and labelled in the manner prescribed in Schedule 3. The items listed in Schedule 4 are exempt from the requirements of this regulation to the extent specified in that Schedule.

Schedule 3 states the requirement of “Count, weight or volume” in Paragraph 7 and the appropriate language in Paragraph 8.

Regulation 4B provides that prepackaged food shall be marked or labelled with its energy value and nutrient content in compliance with Part 1 of Schedule 5.

Items exempt from Part 1 of Schedule 5 are listed under Schedule 6.

Any person who advertises for sale, sells or manufactures for sale any prepackaged food which -

(a) is not marked or labelled in compliance with regulation 4A(1) or 4B(1); or

(b) has on its label any nutrition claim that does not conform to regulation 4B(5), commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 5 ( Criminal Procedure Ordinance (Cap.221) - Schedule 8) and to imprisonment for 6 months.

Schedule 7 provides for the nutrient reference values for different nutrients for the purpose of nutrition labelling and Schedule 8 states the conditions for nutrient content claim.