Online searches on documents kept by the Companies Registry will be available round-the-clock in the third quarter of this year, and fees for the new services will be published.

The Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 2004, to be gazetted tomorrow, will revise the existing fee structure to cater for searching company records kept by the registry under its new Integrated Companies Registry Information System.

Phase one of the system, which allows customers to conduct online searches on the documents kept by the registry over the Internet round-the-clock, is at an advanced stage of development and is expected to come into service in the third quarter.

Under the system, company documents kept by the registry will be stored in digitised form and company searches will be conducted on a 'per document' basis as opposed to the existing 'per microfiche' basis.

All the fees in the order are set on the basis of the 'revenue neutral' principle. This means the income level under the system will be more or less the same as the existing level.