Going Local

A friend of mine has his company HQ overseas, and lives and work there, but often comes to TW on business. He wants to set up a representative office in Taiwan. Several advantages vis-a-vis payments, invoicing, tax refunds, etc.

Is there a government website that provides detailed instructions on how to set this office up? Or, should I direct him to the accountant (Anne Hu, I think) mentioned on this board?

I have read llary’s information. It is helpful, but focused largely on setting up a local office for work rights purposes. This friend of mine wants to set up a local office because he’s got some deals going that will result in substantial sales of his products in Taiwan.

Thanks,

Tomas

A representative office probably wouldn’t work in the situation you describe. A representative office isn’t a ‘real’ company and the kind of business activities you can engage in are limited. Basically a representative office is good in cases where you need a local office to handle contracts and act as liaison between local suppliers/customers and the main company but doesn’t actually do any real business. Your friend would most likely need to do a branch office in order to handle actual business transactions and get any tax advantages he’s after.

There’s really two options to go with. Either take a do it yourself approach like llary, in which case your friend will need to figure out the appropriate structure and make all the applications himself. Or contact one of the accountants who is experienced in setting up foreign owned businesses. I use Ann Hu’s services myself and another option is Joseph Ni who advertises on here. You’re looking at TW$60k or more (depending on the type of business etc. etc.) to setup this way, but you’ll have someone to explain all the options and who is experienced in handling any snags that come up.