1. The customs authorities in Taiwan have announced plans to verify the authenticity of the private importer's name during the declaration process. This concerns measures for the import of Business-to-Consumer (B2C) shipments with a value lower than TWD 50,000 (USD 1,666). Business-to-Business shipments (B2B) are excluded from these measures.
Effective September 21, 2018, private shipments in Taiwan valued from TWD 2,001 to TWD 50,000 will be checked during a trial period. The telephone number (preferably mobile telephone number) of the Taiwanese private individual must be stated in the import declaration. It is therefore important that you state the telephone number in the appropriate field when booking your shipment and that you inform your Taiwanese private customers about this new legislation. Taiwanese individuals will need to register through https://eccs.tradevan.com.tw/ or through the EZWAY App (available for Android and IOS).
As of January 1, 2019, this legislation will apply to all shipments with a value up to TWD 50,000, so also for shipments that qualify for the low value exemption (< TWD 2.001)
If your Taiwanese customer does not register as described above, a copy of identification and clearance clearance will need to be provided to DHL before the shipment can be cleared and released. This will delay your shipment.
2. The Taiwan Ministry of Finance and the Taiwanese customs authorities have announced that with effect from January 1, 2018, the value limit for the exemption from import duties and taxes (de minimis) has been lowered from TWD 3000 to TWD 2000 (Taiwanese dollar). Importers can still make use of the option to import shipments with a value lower than 2000,- TWD up to 6 times per six months without paying import duties and taxes.
An exemption value of 3000,- TWD applies to B2B shipments containing samples. This exemption can be used indefinitely by the importer, provided that it is clearly stated on the consignment invoice that the samples are without commercial value (samples without commercial value).
3. Taiwan Customs has announced new restrictions on de minimis shipments (B2B and B2C). Importers can only make use of this exemption from import duties and taxes a maximum of 6 times per six months. When that number is exceeded, import duties and taxes will be levied in full. This restriction is effective July 1, 2017.
The half-yearly period always starts on January 1 and July 1. The calculation of the 6 de minimis import shipments is based on the date of import. If the number of 6 de minimis shipments per six months is exceeded, a formal declaration is still made, in which import duties and taxes are levied. This can cause a delay.
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