I’ve been buying snus online for a while now and had no problems. Customs even opened my package once. It was delayed (stupid) but it arrived. Now today I get a form saying I have to GO to customs in Taipei and show my ID to choose whether to destroy my snus or send it back, because it’s only legal to import much more lethal cigarettes. To import smokeless, they tell me, I need to be a business or have a license. So, where can I find an importer? Or, has anyone else had this problem? Is this just a case of bureaucracy saying “no” when really it’s fine they just don’t know how to do their jobs?
Are you sure the law changed? Last I check there is no laws specific to snus because it’s such a niche thing that it’s treated the same same as tobacco. Are you sure they are not just asking you to pay the tax of importing? And was the package declared as tobacco?
Customs officer specifically said to me no oral or nasal tobacco is allowed for individual import, and that only smoking tobacco is allowed. I asked her why I was able to do it so many times before and she said I just got away without being noticed. I don’t know if this is a new law or if indeed they just haven’t noticed before or if she is just wrong, but this was one of those expensive run-ins with Taiwan regulation that makes me hate living here.
Sorry for double posting. I really mostly want to find out if anyone else is having problems with this recently, so I can weigh the pros and cons of just trying again and hoping my order gets through. Bit expensive if it just gets stopped again, but this seems like a ridiculous and frankly just inaccurate interpretation of the import law, which I checked the first time and it said tobacco is okay to import.
This is what the law says.
The Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act
Article 45
…
Where the quantity of illegal tobacco or alcohol products produced or imported does not exceed a specific quantity and the products are for personal use, or where such tobacco or alcohol products are carried by inward passengers, the punishments imposed in the preceding two paragraphs of this article shall not apply.
When an inward passenger carries tobacco or alcohol products in excess of duty-free quantities and fails to declare the products to Customs, the excess quantities shall be forfeited to Customs, and Customs shall impose on the passenger a respective administrative fine of not less than NT$500 and not more than NT$5,000 for each ream of cigarettes, pound of cut tobacco, twenty-five cigars, or liter of alcohol, and in such case the penalties imposed under the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act shall not apply.
The specific amount referred to in Paragraph 3 will be announced by the central competent authority. [It is：cigarettes 捲菸5條（1,000支）、cigars 雪茄125支、cut tobacco 菸絲5磅]
This is another case of, depends on who you talk to.
I also just did a quick Google and PTT search and there seems to be no one out there selling snus or…the locals don’t call it snus and I don’t know what to search in Chinese. If you can get me the Chinese name, I could try again.
Yeah tando I’ve been reading through laws as well. Postal imports page brings me to customs, customs only says no e-cigarettes. I’ve found one site that says smokeless tobacco is banned in Taiwan, but it wasn’t a government website. I’ve seriously read several tobacco laws now and found nothing about it. So, I’ve emailed customs directly asking them to show me the regulation. I’ll let everyone know if that turns up anything. At this point, knowing Taiwan, the jobsworth at customs read the regulation that says no tobacco product candy etc. and decided that means no.
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Did you or the person who send it declare it as tobacco? And does it say what kind?
I’ve imported chewing tobacco, they didn’t open it, they just ask me to go to the office and pay the tax for the amount they declared.
It’s declared as “Swedish snus.” I guess usually the officer doesn’t know what that means, and sends it through, but this particular officer bothered to find out what it was. Where do you order from? If I can get packaging with just “tobacco” I’m sure it will get through. But the place I ordered from had import tax included, so that’s kind of inconvenient if I have to pay it but better than nothing.
My sister sends it to me.
I don’t think it’s actually illegal. I think you should ask to speak to his superiors to make sure. Which site do you use, I heard northerner is a good site.
BuySnus
As promised I’m just letting everyone know what customs answered when I emailed them:
“1.So far, our competent authority, National Treasury Administration, Ministry of Finance has banned smokeless tobacco, regardless for commercial or personal use. Therefore, smokeless tobacco is not allowed to import for personal use.
2.We hope the above information is helpful to you. If you have other questions regarding Customs import clearance procedure by post, please call (02)2705-5280 ext. 207 or contact us by e-mail at catpost@customs.gov.tw.”
Not that informative, but there it is.
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How much more information do you need?
I guess the exact regulation that prohibiting it.
Think you should have all you need there.
Oh, you’re pretty intolerable, aren’t you? I said I’d share the exact law for everyone, but they didn’t tell me.
Added:
It’s The Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act. The law prohibits importing tabacco products without a licence, but the exception is small amount of cigarettes, cigars, and cut tobacco mentioned in Article 45. You cannot import other tobacco products without a permission.
Original post
Related laws
藥事法第二十及二十二條
Pharmaceutical Affairs Act
Articles 20 & 22
菸害防制法
Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act
These are about electronic tobacco, but I guess they treat smokeless tobacco in a similar way.
Reference
http://tobacco.hpa.gov.tw/Show.aspx?MenuId=814
https://www.ey.gov.tw/News_Content4.aspx?n=E7E343F6009EC241&s=21E2081DD6739FEE
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