Frequently Asked Questions about Electronic Submission System (PIP Portal)

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Part A - General

A:ESS is an information system developed and operated by the Official Receiver’s Office (“ORO”) to receive submissions of documents in electronic form from stakeholders including bankrupts, private insolvency practitioners (“PIPs”) and creditors.
A:PIP Portal of the ESS is a portal through which ESS receives submissions of documents in electronic form from PIPs.
A:PIP Portal of the ESS operates 24 hours daily and 7 days a week all year round, except for scheduled maintenance and unexpected downtime and/or otherwise announced.
A:There are three types of accounts in the PIP Portal of the ESS, namely:
  1. Principal Administrator Account (“PA Account”)
  2. Subsidiary Administrator Accounts (“SA Account”)
  3. Basic User Account (“BU Account”)
A:The PA Account user is with authority to create and manage the SA Account and the BU Account. PA Account and SA Account users shall be responsible for the user administration of accounts within the organization, while BU Account users shall be responsible for preparing documents to be submitted to the ORO vide PA Account users.
A:The following person is eligible to register a PA Account in the PIPs Portal of the ESS: -
  1. a person appointed as a trustee-in-bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6);
  2. a person appointed as a liquidator as defined under section 2(1) of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32); or
  3. A recognised professional of an organisation that has been awarded a contract to provide specific service in insolvency cases for ORO. Specific services mean the completion of preliminary examination in bankruptcy cases.
A:The primary services of the PIP Portal in Phase 1 include:
  1. compiling and submitting form B1/B2/B3 on bankruptcy cases;
  2. compiling and submitting monthly returns of cases administered by PIPs;
  3. compiling and submitting documents collected at preliminary examinations of bankrupts during the initial interview; and
  4. retrieving detailed ledgers on a need basis.
A:Yes. ESS only provides an alternative means for PIPs to submit documents readily to ORO and will not replace the traditional means of submission for the time being. However, PIPs are encouraged to use ESS as far as possible as ESS is a more convenient, efficient, free and green means for submission of documents to ORO.
A:No. Only the submissions made via ESS would be kept in ESS.

Part B – Application for PA Account

A:No. The registration is free of charge.
A:If you are an eligible person as mentioned in Question 6, you can complete the specified application form (as set out in Annex B to the Guideline for Registration of Electronic Submission System) for registering the PA Account in the ESS. The completed form, together with any supporting documents should be submitted to ORO by email, by post, or by hand to the Help Centre at 2/F, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong.
A:For applicant who intends to create Subsidiary Administrator Accounts and/or Basic User Accounts for an organization which the applicant is affiliated with, the following documents are required to be provided together with the application form to the ORO:
  1. a letter of authorization prepared on a letterhead of the organization, with the signature of the authorized/approved signatory and/or from the organization, and with the official stamp (if any) authorizing the representative(s) (i.e. the proposed Principal Account user) to make a registration application; and
  2. other relevant supporting documents set out below as appropriate:
    1. For law firms:
      • Copy of a valid business registration certificate issued under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310).
    2. For other commercial organizations:
      • Copy of Business Registration Application Form registered, or copy of an extract of information of a business on the Business Register issued, under the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310); and/or
    3. Copy of latest Annual Return registered and kept in the Companies Register in accordance with the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622).

However, if the applicant does not intend to create Subsidiary Administrator or Basic User Accounts, no supporting documents are required to be submitted together with the application form.

A:It takes at least five working days for ORO to complete the vetting process and issue the notification of preliminary eligibility results for registering a PA Account, upon submission of duly completed application form with all required supporting documents (as set out in Annex D to the Guideline for Registration of Electronic Submission System). If the applicant is eligible for registration, the applicant will be notified by email to attend an identity authentication process in-person at a time and place to be specified by the ORO.
A:If the applicant is eligible for registering a PA Account in the ESS, the applicant will be notified by email to attend an identity authentication process in-person at the Help Centre at 2/F, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong). Alternatively, the applicant may authorize a personal representative to complete the identity authentication process as appropriate.
A:If the applicant attends the Help Centre in-person, the applicant will be required to bring along the following for verification at the Help Centre:
  1. the applicant’s original personal identity document, for example Hong Kong Identity Card (“HKID card”) or passport; and
  2. copies of documents/certificates showing the applicant’s professional qualification(s), if any.
If the applicant wishes to appoint a personal representative to complete the identity authentication process on the applicant’s behalf, the appointed personal representative is required to bring along the following documents to the Help Center:
  1. letter of authorization signed by the applicant duly authorizing the appointed personal representative to complete the identity authentication process on the applicant’s behalf;
  2. copy of the personal identity document (such as HKID card or the passport) of the applicant;
  3. the personal identity document of the appointed personal representative, for example HKID card or passport, for verification at the Help Center in person; and
  4. copies of documents/certificates showing the professional qualification(s) of the applicant, if any.
A:If your application is approved by the ORO, you will be notified by email attaching with an assigned login name and an account activation hyperlink. The applicant is required to complete the account activation processes by setting the login passwords before using the ESS services. While the user shall reset the password as soon as possible, the login name is uniquely generated by the ESS and the user cannot change it.

Part C – Creation of SA Accounts and BU Accounts

A:Once your PA Account has been approved, you will be able to create SA and BU Accounts within the ESS for your organization.
A:The ORO allows, as a default, a maximum of ten SA Accounts for each organization. If an organization needs more than ten SA Accounts, ORO’s approval for additional SA Accounts with justifications should be sought by the PA Account user.
A:The ORO allows, as a default, a maximum of twenty BU Accounts per each organization. If an organization requires to create more than twenty BU Accounts, ORO’s approval for additional BU Accounts with justifications should be sought by PA Account users.

Part D – Account Administration and Password Security

A:All individual accounts in the PIP Portal of the ESS can change their own passwords in accordance with the prescribed password policy using “Forgot Password” function in login page and follow the steps as indicated to reset the password
A:All individual account users can click “Forgot password” in login page and follow the steps as indicated to reset the password.
A:The PA Account will be locked by the system if it is inactive for more than 180 calendar days. The PA Account user can regain access to the ESS by using the “forgot password/account reactivation” function and follow relevant steps to set up a new password.
A:The SA Account or BU Account will be automatically suspended if it is inactive for more than 180 calendar days. Reactivation of the suspended the SA Account or BU Account can only be made by the PA Account user.
A:You or your authorized representative should notify the ORO of the reasons in writing with supporting documents within ten working days as far as practicable. Such notification should be sent to ess-helpdesk@oro.gov.hk.
A:PIP Portal of the ESS supports the “authentication” function of iAM Smart. If you have an iAM Smart account. You can use this function to login your ESS account.
A:Please follow the steps below:
  1. Click “Login with iAM Smart” in the login page.
  2. ESS will redirect user to a webpage that is hosted in iAM Smart System.
  3. Use iAM Smart Mobile App to scan the QR code on the webpage
  4. iAM Smart System will redirect you to ESS with “Authorisation Code” included
  5. ESS will pass the “Authorisation Code” to iAM Smart System
  6. iAM Smart System will return the “Access token” which includes your tokenised account identifier and online service to use tokenised account identifier to perform user matching at local user database
A:No. The PIP Portal of the ESS is currently designed to support only web browsers on computers, and does not have mobile device compatibility.

Part E – System Requirements

A:The PIP Portal of the ESS is compatible with computers only. The system requirements of computer are as follows:

CPU: 2 Cores (2.0 GHz per core)
Memory: 8GB
Storage: 10GB free storage

Operation System: Microsoft Windows 10 or above, MacOS, Linux
Browser: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox or Safari (MacOS)
Software: Adobe Acrobat Reader

HTML version: HTML5
Encryption: TLS 1.2
JavaScript: Enabled
Cookies: Enabled
Chinese Character Support: Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set (HKSCS-2016)

Part F – Help and Support

A:
  1. Visit https://www.oro.gov.hk/pdf/eng/electronic_submission_system/pip/guidelines.pdf for access to the “Guideline for User Registration of the Electronic Submission System” and the ESS user manual.
  2. Send enquiry to the designated email account (ess-helpdesk@oro.gov.hk).
  3. Call the general hotline: 2867 2448.
  4. With prior appointment at 2867 4614, visit the Help Centre on 2/F, High Block, Queensway Government Offices, 66 Queensway, Hong Kong.