TAIPEI: Taiwan’s tax authorities plan to charge a duty on imported goods purchased online even if their value is under NT$3,000 (US$95). The amendment to this regulation is believed to be aimed at imposing taxes to goods bought online and sent to Taiwan by Taobao, China’s leading online shopping platform.
Taiwanese buyers who may themselves operate stores have until now avoided heavy taxes on large orders from China by having the goods shipped in several smaller packages. The new rule aims to render such practices useless.
Customs authorities often find large numbers of packages addressed to the same recipient at the same address arriving on the same flight, arousing suspicion that the recipient may be illicitly importing commercial goods.
During major promotions for internet shopping in China, the volume of parcels passing through customs increases 15% on average.
The Ministry of Finance established a “Taobao task force” in April last year to monitor the situation. From then to October, over 338,000 Taobao packages were sent to Taiwan, with total import tax amounting to NT$447.28 million (US$13.98 million). If the new rules had been in place, the figure would have been 20% to 30% higher.
Under the new rules, the finance ministry can investigate a buyer in Taiwan receiving multiple packages if two of three criteria match — same address, same recipient and same arrival flight, making it harder to smuggle commercial goods into the country in small amounts.
