Hi! I know similar questions have been asked here before, but I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. So here goes…
I’d like to have some consumer articles shipped to me from the US and/or Europe. Some of the items will be used for own consumption and others I will try to resell here. I have some questions/concerns about the customs procedures in Taiwan and am wondering in general how troublesome it is.
In particular, I’m aware that there is a NT$3K threshold under which amount (ie price of the goods) Customs will (ideally) not charge any import duties. Do any of you know how consistently this is applied in practice? For instance, some sources on the Internet say that the “customs value” (ie value of the goods plus shipping cost and insurance) is applied to determine whether it passes or exceeds the 3K threshold. But elsewhere I’ve read that the 3K refers to the actual price of the goods or at least this was implied. Also, if I get the box shipped privately (ie not directly from the seller, so I wouldn’t be able to document the actual value by invoice), how will Customs know that the price paid for the goods is below 3K? Finally, some comsumer articles such as cosmetics or foods will require labeling in Chinese for importation. Will this rule be enforced even if the shipment passes under the 3K threshold? Would this be different if a big shipment is split into two or more smaller ones, each under the value of 3K?
I’m really hoping that some of you might have some relevant experience regarding this either as business people or consumers. Thanks a lot for any advice you may have.
[quote=“llary”]Don’t ship personal and commercial stuff together, it will get taxed as all commercial and at the highest rate possible.
Are you shipping by air or sea? Are you using a freight forwarder, EMS or regular commercial shipper (DHL, UPS etc.)?[/quote]
All Excellent advice.
In addition, try and narrow down the HS# of the goods. Saves hassle at the port of entry.
Always provide more than enough documentation wrt to country of origin, freight charges, and end use attempts.
do one’s hw: verify all claims by fowarders and brokers of brokerage.
GC Rider:
Use a tariff base. Classify according to essential character of the goods.
The HS # is a ten digit form of classification for customs.
I use this site: cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commer … 2-eng.html
but there are numerous other sites.
The first 8 digits are international, the last two are for country specific stats.
Here, as usual, they have not much clue.
DHL are usually pretty good for customs documentation. At times a courier service can be the most efficient method of dealing with the blue meanies. For one time shipments or a few sample elements. However, a steady stream can oft be better done with a customs broker.
Shameless plug notwithstanding, transportation costs can sometimes be deducted from the value for duty.
I’m curious, what does a customs broker exactly do? I’ve seen CBs mentioned a few times on this forum and elsewhere, but I have no idea if or when I will actually need one. Are you currently acting as a CB in Taiwan? If yes, can I hire you and what are the costs? (Pls feel free to PM me if you like.) Thanks!
GC Rider:
A customs broker basically assigns an H.S. # to a good awaiting customs clearance, prepares any documents or permits needed, declares value for duty, pays any duty and taxes up front to the government of the country wherein the good is being imported or exported, and otherwise secures the release of said good with minimal delay at the port of entry. Also assumes fiscal responsibility for certain penalties that may arise after release, due to errors too numerous to mention here.
pm to follow.
If you are shipping more than around 100kg into Taiwan then I would recommend contacting DHL’s freight forwarding dept here in Taiwan. You can also apply for a 3rd party global account with them that will be much cheaper than sending goods as a retail shipping customer in the source country. If your goods are properly described and documented then you would not have any difficulty with customs because they handle most of the customs paperwork for you.
Unless you are only making a one-off shipment I would have a salesperson assigned by the shipping company because unsolvable problems get magically solved when someone’s commission is at stake.
If you are sending personal items by air it’s best to use EMS because it’s a pseudo government service that isn’t subject to checks as stringent as commercial shippers. However I don’t recommend to send commercial shipments by EMS because they are generally useless if you have any complex issue with customs. Sending by EMS is less likely to have stuff assessed for customs, but if it is assessed or held up then you’re in for a wild ride.
Should at some point you decide to go with a non-express shipper or forwarder then you absolutely need a customs agent. We have tried to handle our own customs paperwork and it’s not worth the hassle. The customs dept are extremely unhelpful to people trying to handle their own clearance because it makes extra work for them. Head to the Jilong customs office around 3pm and it looks like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie - they REALLY don’t like extra work. They are friendly with a handful of regular agents and while I wouldn’t go as far to say there is bribery involved there is definitely some back scratching from agents sucking up to customs workers.
so say I wanted to ship a large item from canada (around 200lb) by freight, who should I contact? will a customs broker be required and what kind of import duties should I expect?
the item is my own personal equipment, and is not being bought commercially .
In that case I would contact a moving service (google for international move shippers in the local area where you are sending from). They will handle the customs issues better than a regular shipper because there are different procedures for a personal shipment of household effects that qualifies under certain rules.
