TAIPEI: Taiwan has given e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd six months to wind down its online marketplace Taobao’s operations on the island after it failed to apply for the permit required for a Chinese mainland company to do business there, Taipei authorities said here the other day.
An official at Taiwan’s investment commission said a fine of NT$240,000 (US$7,896) has also been imposed on Taobao in what is the second case of an Alibaba operation falling foul of the permit rules for mainland companies this year. In March, Alibaba.com was told to leave Taiwan within six months and fined NT$120,000 for a similar reason.
While the fine is small and Taiwan shoppers can continue to order goods via Taobao’s mainland base in future, the permits glitch is an unwelcome headache for Alibaba as its seeks to grow business outside its mainland base.
“Mainland companies registered overseas need to apply for mainland business permits in Taiwan,” said Emile Chang, the commission’s executive secretary. “Neither Alibaba nor Taobao have done so.”
Chang said both Taobao and Alibaba.com, the business-to-business online platform hit by a similar ruling earlier this year, had applied for regular licenses to operate in Taiwan as non-Chinese, foreign-owned. Alibaba.com has a registration in Singapore, while Taobao has a Hong Kong registration.
He noted the firms could still apply for Chinese mainland-owned company permits and potentially maintain operations in Taiwan.
In a statement provided via its Taiwan Taobao operations, Alibaba said it is “having positive ongoing discussions with the relevant Taiwan authorities … we hope to find a suitable way forward in order to continue to serve the needs of Taiwan consumers and merchants.”
