A bill to improve the Mandatory Provident Fund System's operation and enforcement will be gazetted tomorrow and tabled to the Legislative Council on January 9, the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau says.

One major proposal of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2007 is to rectify the existing law's deficiency by explicitly imposing criminal and civil liability on employers who default on employees' MPF contributions or fail to enrol in MPF schemes in the first place.

Other legislative proposals will provide better deterrence against non-compliant employers and enhance MPF schemes' supervision.

They include:

* raising the maximum penalty for non-enrolment or non-payment of MPF contributions to a $350,000 fine and three years in jail;

* raising the maximum penalty for non-payment of staff's MPF contributions that have been deducted from staff's salaries to a $450,000 fine and four years in jail;

* creating a new offence against the employers who provide false or misleading pay-record information given to staff; and

* improving the approval mechanism for the controllers of MPF trustees.

The bureau said today the legislative amendments will enhance protection of scheme members' interests and it is essential to review the MPF system from time to time to ensure it continues to serve existing and potential scheme members' needs.

The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority has recommended the bill's proposals having regard to operational experience and stakeholders' views.