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THE AMENDED Trade Descriptions Ordinance (the Ordinance), which takes effect today (July 19), will bring about a landmark change in Hong Kong business and consumption practices. But how effective will it be in protecting consumer rights? This hinges on how vigorously the government enforces it.Now the Ordinance does not merely apply to ordinary commodities. Its scope has been extended to the provision of services. It outlaws false trade descriptions in the course of trade. It criminalises unfair trade practices such as misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices, bait advertising, bait-and-switch and wrongly accepting payment.Businesses in various sectors have responded to the new Ordinance and tried to meet its requirements. Supermarkets no longer boast that their goods are "best value for money". Beauty parlours refrain from marketing their treatments as "guaranteed for a lifetime" or "effective forever". Tutorial schools avoid expressions like "the most" and "the greatest" when advertising for new students. Travel agents' leaflets no longer promise that a tour will not be cancelled. We might say that advertisements in our city appear to have been cleansed.The new Ordinance is aimed at protecting customers, so businesses across the city have been galvanised into action. And they must now take consumer rights into consideration. This is a positive change. However, how much new protection the Ordinance will offer customers depends on how vigorously the authorities - especially the Customs and Excise Department - enforce it. According to the Customs, there are about 140 officers responsible for this task. They all have experience in carrying outundercover operations and bringing prosecutions against offenders. Furthermore, experts from othercommon law jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, have helped train Hong Kong's front-line officers. There is reason to believe that the Customs is ready for this task.But there are many grey areas in the new Ordinance. They have arisen from the government's concessions made to the business sector when amendments to the Ordinance were being considered. Given these grey areas, arguments are expected to arise in the early days of its enforcement. However, that the new Ordinance doesn't have a cooling-off period clause has come as the greatest disappointment. For this, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung is chiefly to blame.In explaining why he was not in favour of a cooling-off period clause, Gregory So said that it would change trade patterns so much that it would severely affect businesses and consumers. He argued that we should not make any rash decisions about the issue, and vetoed the idea. But in fact, offering customers a cooling-off period in the course of trade is nothing new - it has long been common practice in other economies. To address the technical difficulties raised by Gregory So, the government could easily look to the considerable experience of foreign countries. Why is it that what is feasible in other economies is infeasible in Hong Kong? Gregory So owes the public an explanation.And we would like to comment on the promotional and educational efforts the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) made for the newOrdinance. They have been almost invisible. When a minimum wage was first introduced in Hong Kong, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, in a high-profile campaign to raise awareness about the issue, used a large number of examples to illustrate to businesses and citizens what they had to do to comply with the law. The efforts made by the CEDB are clearly inadequate in comparison.營商消費邁入新里程欠冷靜期難保障消費者新修訂的《商品說明條例》（下稱《條例》）今日（7 月19 日）生效，迷你倉沙田將對本港的商業和消費模式帶來里程碑式轉變，消費者權益增添多少保障，要視乎執法力度。《條例》除了針對一般貨品，規管對象擴展至服務業，禁止在消費服務交易中作出虛假商品說明，並增加新罪行，禁止一些不良營銷手法，包括誤導性遺漏、具威嚇性營業行為、餌誘式廣告宣傳、先誘後轉銷售行為及不當地接受付款等。近期各行百業為了適應和符合《條例》規定，紛紛相應調整，例如超市不敢再自詡「最抵價」；美容業不敢再以「終身保證」、「永久有效」作招徠；補習社招生棄用「最多」、「最強」等字眼做廣告；旅行社單張廣告不再寫「保證成團」等，顯現出一副「廣告淨化」的景象。《條例》目的在保障消費者，業界已經被調動起來，對他們而言，消費者權益成為需要面對的現實問題，這是積極轉變，不過，消費者權益確實增添多少保障，還看政府、主要是海關的執法力度。據海關介紹，約有140 名人員執法，他們都有「放蛇」或檢控經驗，亦曾邀請英國、澳洲等普通法國家的專家培訓前線人員，有理由相信，海關已經為執法做好準備。新商品條例在修訂之時，政府採納商界意見，有所退讓，使《條例》有不少灰色地帶，預期執行之初會有不少爭議。《條例》最使人失望之處，是沒有引入冷靜期，這個缺失，商務及經濟發展局長蘇錦樑要負主要責任。蘇錦樑以冷靜期會改變交易模式，對商戶和消費者影響重大，因此有需要詳加考慮，云云，否決引入冷靜期。其實，冷靜期於商品服務交易，其他經濟體早已有之，蘇錦樑所謂的技術性問題，外地肯定有大量經驗可供參考，然則其他經濟體能，本港為何不能？蘇錦樑欠市民一個解釋。另外，商務及經濟發展局對《條例》的宣傳、教育，社會完全感受不到，回顧實施首個法定最低工資之時，勞工及福利局高調宣傳，臚列大量個案，讓業界和市民基本掌握事態而知所遵行，相對而言，商務及經濟發展局的做法明顯不足。Glossary hinge /hInd ?/ ondepend on something completely bait-and-switch a selling method where advertisements for low-priced products are used to attract customers, who are then persuaded to buy something more expensive clause an item in a legal document that says that a particular thing must or must not be done