Taiwan R.O.C.

• Labeling Requirements
• Licensing
• Required Documents
• Import Procedures
• Taxes/Tariffs
• Contacts

LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Regulations Governing the Labeling of Alcohol Products (2008-05-08): The following information must be provided on all labels, in Traditional Chinese (except for brand names of imported alcohol products, names and addresses of the foreign manufacturers, and any geographical indications):

1. Brand name: The brand name should be printed in a large, broad or bold typeface. The typeface shall be larger than that of other labeling. Brand names that are solely labeled or combined with other words, patterns, marks, or numbers, shall convey no erroneous impression or inference as to the age, origin, identity, or other characteristics of the product
2. Product type (i.e. beer, grape wine, brandy, whisky, rice spirits, etc.)
3. Alcohol content: The alcohol content shall be labeled by degrees, %, % vol., or % by volume, and shall be stated by a number. The tolerances allowed for the alcohol content referred to in the preceding paragraph is 0.5 degree.
4. Origin of imported alcohol products: Before making custom declarations, importers shall submit the certificate of origin issued by the government or the competent authority authorized by the government of the place (country) of production. TTB is the competent authority for US products.
5. Names and addresses of manufacturer and importer.
6. Volume: The net contents of alcoholic beverage shall be stated in liter, centiliter, milliliter, l (L), cl, or ml.
7. Warning Statement such as "Excessive drinking endangers health" is mandatory. Please see Article 11 of the labeling regulations for other approved statements. The link is below.
8. Expiration date: For alcohol products having an alcohol content of 7% or less, an expiration date or bottling date shall be indicated; provided, where only the bottling date is indicated, the period of validity shall be specified;
9. Other labeling required to be included by the central competent authority
10. Manufacturers/importers may label the year, age, or geographical indication of the wine and spirits.

Please see the National Treasury Agency’s page on regulations governing the labeling of alcoholic beverages. Type in the word “alcohol” in the search engine at the following website: http://www.nta.gov.tw/en/index.asp

GM (Genetically Modified) Food Labeling:

Taiwan requires that certain products containing over five percent GM ingredients must be labeled according to the GM Foods Labeling Regulation. Wine, however, is not currently listed among the food products required to have this information.

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LICENSING

Pursuant to Item 1, Article 9 of the Trade Law, entities are able to import or export after being registered with the Bureau of Foreign Trade as an importer/ exporter.
Registrations for importers/exporters can be submitted through the Trade Service Department of the BOFT (Bureau of Foreign Trade) in Taipei and Kaohsiung as well as the Joint Service Center of MOEA (Ministry of Economic Affairs) in central and south Taiwan.

Registration can be done in person, by mail, by fax, or by internet. Below are the steps potential importers should take in order to complete the registration process.

In person:

Complete and attach the “Application for Registration as an Importers/Exporter” with any relevant documents, and submit to any of the locations mentioned above.

Via fax:

Complete the “Application for Registration as an Importer/Exporter” and any relevant documents and fax these to the Trade Service Department of the Bureau of Foreign Trade (Fax numbers: 02-2321-7241, 02-2396-5836) or the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Kaohsiung Office (Fax number: 07-281-1396). A fax reply will be generated after such application is approved by the BOFT. Data for the Importers/Exporter will be available through the BOFT website.

Via mail:

The completed “Application for Registration as an Importer/Exporter” and any relevant documents should be mailed together to the Trade Service Department (#1, Hu Kou St., Taipei Taiwan 100) or the BOFT Kaohsiung Office (7th Floor, #436, Cheng Gung 1st Rd, Kaohsiung Taiwan 801). Data for the Importers/Exporter will be available through the BOFT website.

Via internet:

Importers/Exporters can register online through the service available under “The e-Government Entry” (http://www.gov.tw). To successfully complete the registration process, any documents relevant to the application process should be faxed to the Trade Service Department of BOFT (Fax numbers: 02-2321-7241, 02-2396-5836) after the online application has been submitted. Data for the Importers/Exporter will be available through the BOFT website.

Inspection of food products and alcohol is conducted by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Effective January 1, 2010 the Bureau of Standards will be combined into a new called the Food and Drug Administration.

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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

The following is a list of the documents that are needed when importing into Taiwan (for Customs and inspection purposes):

IMPORTANT: New rules allow wine exporters to apply for a health certificate waiver. This application consists of two self-certification statements, one in English and one in Chinese, which must be filled out and accompany shipments when going through Customs. The Chinese document must be filled out by the importer, while the English version is to be completed by the exporter or producer. The implementing agency for this process is the National Treasury Agency.

Apart from these two documents, documents that must be presented at time of Customs clearance may include those below:

• Application for Inspection of Imported Alcohol
• Customs Declaration Import Form
• Air Waybill (AWB): There are two types of air waybills: Master Air Waybill (MAWB) and House Air Waybill (HAWB). Taiwanese Customs only requires a photocopy of this form. Those declaring by physical means shall submit both an AWB and a Customs Declaration Import form. The AWB will be returned to the applicant for claiming their goods, with a seal affixed, after the completion of the cargo clearance.
• Invoice/Commercial invoice: Two copies shall be enclosed (only one copy needed from government agency or state-run business applicants).
• Packing list: Not needed for bulk, mass or single-package cargoes (regardless of whether inspection is required or not).
• Import Permit: Applicants shall submit the Import Permit for import of restricted articles as defined in items 111, 112, 121 and 122 of the Lists of Restricted Imports issued by the CETRA, MOEA.
• Power of attorney: Must define the authorization of the clearance house/broker, and must be signed by the taxpayer. (Please note that each applicant (i.e. importer) shall authorize no more than three clearance houses (i.e. brokers) each year at the same Customs office; and the term of authorization shall last no more than one year.)
• Cargo Value Declaration: Two (2) Copies. To be submitted on the condition that special relation is stated in the declaration.
• Certificate of Origin
• Sanitary/Phytosanitary Certificate

The following are documents needed in order to process registration as an importer/exporter with the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT):

• One photocopy of Profit-seeking Enterprise Registration Certification
• Application for Preview on English Title for importers/exporters

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IMPORT PROCEDURES

Regulations Governing the Inspection of Imported Alcohol (2008-05-08) may be found online by typing in the word “alcohol” in the search engine at http://www.nta.gov.tw/en/index.asp  

Importers of alcoholic beverages may submit documentation of sanitary inspection or safety assurance issued by officials in charge of alcohol product inspection or professional alcohol associations of exporting countries to substitute for product inspection upon Customs clearance.

The importer, or an authorized "clearance house" shall fill out (or by printing out from the computer) the Customs Declaration Import Form and deliver or transfer the form to the Customs office.

Declarations shall be made to the Customs office within 15 days of the cargo arriving on Taiwanese territory.

The Taipei Customs Office (TPCO) is the Customs authority responsible for cargo clearance within Taipei, and provides 24-hour services of declaration services, cargo inspection, classification/estimation, taxation and releasing for fresh goods by airmail and express cargoes. Please see the Directorate General of Customs’ website (http://eweb.customs.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=21) for further information on the Keelung, TaiChung, and Kaohsiung Customs offices.

Declarations may be done in one of two ways: online or in person (physical declaration).

Inspection:

All imported alcohol is subject to pre-import inspection and possible analysis. They charge a fee for the inspection. The importer or their designee must provide the following:

• Application form for inspection of imported alcohol,
• Photocopy of the Customs import declaration.
• Declaration form for the basic information of the imported alcohol,
• Certificate of Origin,
• Other documents required for inspection
• Paper copies of the specimen label page or illustration

Products are subject to types of inspections (1) a full inspection where the product is physically examined or (2) the inspection authority will just examine the submitted paperwork. Some reasons that may result in a full inspection are the prior inspection results and history of the company submitting the application, previous problems with similar products, first time imports, non familiarity or unique products, the alcohol was transferred or sold prior to Customs release, intelligence concerning potential problems. The release-after-documentary examination will be considered, if the same exact product was examined and passed within the prior two years, the alcohol is accompanied by test reports, inspection certifications, etc. issued by a certified lab or competent government authority or professional alcohol organization recognized by the government of Taiwan, or other self certified documents that show that the product is in conformity with Taiwan hygiene standards.

Samples:

Imported products “not-for-sale” to be used as commercial samples, for exhibitions/trade shows, research and development (R&D), with a duty payable value below $1000USD are exempt from pre-import inspection. For samples with a payable duty over $1000USD, the importer may apply for an exemption to pre-import inspection once within a period of six months. For samples imported for R&D purposes valued over $1000USD, documents can be submitted that would exempt the inspection. The products still must meet all hygienic standards.

Gifts:

Alcohol beverages for private use or gifts are not subject to inspection when the volume is 5 liters or less.

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TAXES/TARIFFS
Before finding the tariff/duty amount for a particular product, companies need to identify the harmonized tariff schedule number for their product. The harmonized tariff schedule number can be located by using the Census Bureau's Schedule B search engine or by speaking with commodity expert at 
1-800-549-0595.

After identifying the harmonized tariff numbers for your product, go to the Ministry of Finance, Directorate General of Customs web page. http://eweb.customs.gov.tw/mp.asp?mp=21 On the left select “Tariff Database Search”. Then select “Tariff Database Download”. Scroll down and select your product using the harmonized tariff schedule number.

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CONTACTS

The information in this guide was obtained from external sources, including the websites of various governmental agencies and organizations, direct contact with those agencies and organizations, and from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Attaché reports. Consequently, the accuracy of this information depends upon the accuracy of the sources.

TTB is not responsible for the content of external websites.

This page was last reviewed on August 17, 2010. 

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