Not to mention the time issue. It can take months to get shoes in certain sizes here. With no return. Amazon takes a week.
Perhaps they could try to compete. The buying experience here is the absolute s****.
Hi there,
I have been here less than a week now, and realized that a lot of the supplements Iām used to take are priced ridiculously here (some of it more than 3 times the price as when I order it back home). I know that packages with a total value under 2000 NT will not be taxed, but how does it work for anything above that? Iāve tried finding a tax tariffs list, but with no luck. The closest Iāve come is this page: http://customsdutyfree.com/Country_Guides/import-customs-duty-tax-for-Taiwan-ROC.html
However, it doesnāt give me any information about tax rate for supplements. Also, Iām not sure how the total tax is to be calculated. Is anyone able to help me out here, please?
Supplements are for personal use, so you can not import a massive quantity without alerting customs.
The amount of stuff you can import is therefor limited for each parcel.
Iām not starting a business here selling supplements or stocking years worth of it though, so I doubt that would be a problem? Unless they have a crazy low bar here for what can be considered personal use.
Normally itās the cost + transportation.
Interesting quote from the iHerb site.
"Effective July 1st, 2017: Duties and Taxes will not be levied for international purchased shipments as long as no more than 6 orders with a value below NTD 3,000 are purchased within a half-year period. (Half year periods begin Jan 1st and July 1st). Any order beyond 6 times within the same half year period will be levied Duties/Taxes despite order amount. More Details
Import tax and duties will be imposed on customers with order values exceeding $99.33 USD
General Information
Due to the fluctuations of the exchange rate, orders with value very close to the tax-free limit may be assessed Duties and Taxes (D&T) as the currency exchange rate may vary from the order date to the customs clearance date.
Please check with your local customs office in Taiwan to see if you can import the items, and if any additional licenses or permits are needed.
Customs Information
For information about customs, import duties, etc., visit: Customs Administration
Orders over USD $95.00 ( NTD 3,000) may be subject to D&T."
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Holy crap, that is some insanely strict rules. Have you got any experience with it? From what I understand, one has to apply for a permit to even just import a bottle of vitamin tablets, and can only import once within a 6-month period? Wowā¦
The info at iHerb probably just needs an update. I just placed an order right below 2000 NTD with them, as I wonāt take any chances. Could see another user has had to pay 30% tax on supplements.
Iām still not sure what over-the-counter drugs specifically covers, as Iām not from an English-speaking country. We only use the words prescription and non-prescription drugs, which is medicine. I suppose vitamins and herb supplements is not regarded as OTC drugs. However, looking at the page previously posted, they write that Glucosamine Sulfate is regarded as medicine here, whereas Glucosamine HCl is not. Theyāre definitely not making it easy for people.
This is straight from the customs office website, in Chinese tho.
OTC are non-prescription drugs. Taiwan has some OTC that are prescription in other countries and vice versa. Supplements are regulated stricter in Taiwan than other countries, especially import of them. The iHerb site at least warns you as per request of the Taiwan customs office, Ministry of Finance.
If you can afford the replacement cost send it from a us friend or family, under value it and let a friend or family put some use into the item.
Once I had a package stopped. I opened it up and showed them that it was obviously used. I did not lie here but when I showed the the marks and wear, they just gave it to me.
huh, a limit on who many times you can order? How can that be enforced. Are they going to keep a record on every package that comes into Taiwan? Is it by address. I have six eligible recipients in my family including kids plus about fifteen relatives who can sign.
Yes, they already track every item thatās sent, so itās a small effort to get the data from the forwarders, shipping companies, couriers, post office. Customs just needs to tap a database. And yes, customs agents will call you for information on the shipment.
Oh, and read the statement on the iHerb page, iHerb will charge the taxes after 6 shipments and/or over 3,000 NT$, so will other companies.
So has the NT$2,000 limit actually come in? The last news I can find is from back in May or June, when the September start date was still hypothetical and the government was taking feedback. iHerbās website doesnāt seem to know anything about it. My Chinese isnāt good enough to handle the government websites.
Also, is there information about just how much the duties are supposed to be? I guess somewhere thereās a website that lists the rates. (iHerb doesnāt seem to automatically add it to the bill; it just says duties will be charged later. Amazon wants to charge about 6% import fees on a Fitbit thatās valued around USD$150, but I donāt know if theyāve got that figure right, or how much itād vary based on product category.)
One more time, follow the link to the Taiwan customs page customs office link
And itās probably 3,000 NT$. iHerb (and other companies) is/are probably asked by Taiwanās MOF to declare and eventually withhold taxes.
The page has a phone number, call the customs office.
My guess is that frequent importers for personal use are being flagged and will be contacted if it looks like the quantity is more than for personal use.
I did. I also said that my Chinese isnāt good enough to follow the government site. And Iām not going to call a government office for an issue that is at the moment more idle curiousity than anything else.
So ā¦ the impression Iām developing is that the title of this thread is misleading, because the NT$2,000 limit hasnāt come into force. And I guess thereās no more recent information about whether or not itās going to come into force, but it has instead been cast into legislative procedural limbo.
In that case, I believe that means the only change is the āsix shipments per half-yearā factor. That part of the iHerb warning is new. For tariffs or duties or whatever they should be called, I think Iāve had them kick in at around NT$3,000 / US$100 for years - or more accurately, havenāt, because Iāve almost always kept orders under that amount.
I believe itās 3,000 NT$ and they are focusing on frequent importers.
My Chinese isnāt good either but the translation makes it clear that they try to crack down on misuse of āpersonalā use imports as they suspect itās for resale. They donāt mention an amount, just a frequency of importing during 6 months.
They already have a limit on food supplements and vitamins set.
This month will be a good test of the āfrequent importerā rule for me. I have 2 books and a movie on the way (separately). 3 packages in one month. Their total combined value is probably less than $2000 but the rules never said anything about that.