The long-running Shanshui Cement saga reached a major milestone on 12 May 2025, when Coleman J handed down a 236-page judgment in China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd v Zhang Caikui & Ors [2025] HKCFI 1868, dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims in their entirety.

In a dispute that has already reached the Supreme People’s Court in Mainland China once and the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on three separate occasions, First Laser Ltd (“FL”), owned by the Macanese tycoon Ngan In Leng (“Ngan”), has since 2001 been locked in litigation with Fujian Enterprises (Holdings) Ltd (“FEHL”), a window company of the Fujian Provincial Government.

In Randeep S Grewal v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2025] HKCA 398, the Court of Appeal (CA) confirmed that where an employee renders their services is irrelevant to whether their income is sourced from Hong Kong, unless any of the statutory modifications to the general charging provision applies. This issue – which could potentially affect the salaries tax of any employee in Hong Kong who does any work overseas – was controversial until the first instance decision in Goepfert (1987) but has never been considered by an appellate court until now. Reviewing the history of Hong Kong salaries tax since the War Revenue Ordinance of 1940, and also interpreting the charging provision as a purposive unity, the CA concluded that Goepfert is now the law and can only be repealed by legislation.

We are very pleased to announce that Toby Landau KC (England & Wales) has joined Temple Chambers as an Arbitrator Member.