Chapter III Examination, Inspection and Customs Clearance for Bonded Goods
Article 15
Bonded goods to be imported or exported by a park enterprise shall be entered in the chain warehouse(s) or the container inspection center(s), which is (are) located in the Park and jointly supervised by the Customs for the inspection thereof. However, in any of the following circumstances, the inspection of such goods may be conducted at the place or places to be designated by the Customs:
1. Where the good is huge either in size or in quantity and thus causes inconvenience for loading and unloading in the warehouse;
2. Where the good is hazardous or easy to decay, and the storage thereof in the warehouse will be detrimental to the safety control;
3. Where the good is a precision device and is easy to damage, destruction or deterioration if it is placed in the warehouse:
4. Where the goods are of bits and pieces articles having a total quantity of not more than ten (10) pieces and a total gross weight of not more than twenty (20) kilograms;
5. Where the goods are stored in a bonded warehouse or a logistics center established within the Park; or
6. Where a special approval is granted by the Customs under any other extraordinary situations.
Article 16
A park enterprise may not include non-bonded goods in the application for import of bonded goods. In the case of inclusion of non-bonded goods, an application for the payment of supplementary duties and taxes shall be filed with the Customs within 30 days after the Customs' release of such goods.
Article 17
Park enterprises shall have their respective goods entered into or released from the warehouses (factories) posted on the account books within three (3) days from the date of entry or release thereof, except for the bonded goods imported from abroad which shall be posted on the account books within seven (7) days from the date of release thereof by the Customs.
Article 18
A park enterprise may apply for re-export of its imported goods by reason of return or replacement of such goods or otherwise.
In re-exporting goods as set forth in the preceding Paragraph, the park enterprise shall prepare an application for export and complete the customs clearance procedure with the Customs in accordance with the procedures applicable to re-export of ordinary goods.
Article 19
The transaction whereby a manufacturer or firm in tax zone sells or supplies machinery, equipment, raw materials, supplies or semi-finished products to a park enterprise for its own use shall be regarded as export, according to Article 25 of the Act. The seller and the buyer shall jointly fill out an application for export and file the same together with necessary documents for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance. Upon approval of such applications, the Customs shall issue to the seller the duplicate copy of the export application for goods regarded as exports against which the seller may apply for tax offsetting, refund, exemption and/or reduction.
Regarding the preceding Paragraph, enterprises qualified for performing the self-check-and-inspection of goods to be entered in and/or released from the Park and for making a consolidated monthly report of such operations may report the transaction to the Customs as part of its consolidated monthly report, on or before the 15th day of the month following the transaction.
Article 20
Transactions whereby a bonded factory, a bonded warehouse, an enterprise located within technology industrial parks, a logistics center, or an enterprise in agricultural technology parks sells or delivers bonded goods to a park enterprise shall be regarded as export or import of goods, and the buyer and the seller shall jointly fill out an application for export or import of goods and file the same together with necessary documents for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance.
Transactions whereby a park enterprise sells or ships any bonded goods in its possession to a bonded factory, an enterprise in agricultural technology parks, or an enterprise located within technology industrial parks, or stores any such goods in a bonded warehouse or in a logistics center shall be regarded as export or
import of goods, and the buyer and the seller shall jointly fill out a customs clearance application and file the same together with necessary documents for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance.
The preceding two (2) Paragraphs shall be deemed export or import cases. Buyers and sellers who are qualified for performing the self-check-and-inspection of goods to be entered in and/or released from the Park and for making a consolidated monthly report, may report the transaction to Customs as part of their monthly totals report, on or before the 15th of the month following the transaction.
Any sale or delivery of goods by an enterprise in a free harbor zone to a park enterprise, or any sale or delivery of bonded goods by a park enterprise to an enterprise in a free harbor zone, shall be conducted in accordance with the Regulations Governing the Customs Clearance for Commodity of Free Trade Harbor Zone.
Article 21
In the event that the goods regarded as exported goods are to be returned to the seller for any reason, the buyer and the seller shall, within three months after the entry of the goods into the factory, jointly fill out an application for returning goods with the Customs for its approval; the certificate for such regarded export originally issued shall be withdrawn and revoked or amended; relevant authorities shall be notified of such withdrawal, revocation or amendment and proceed accordingly. Only when the amount of duties and taxes, which were offset, refunded, exempted or deducted, have been paid back, and a notice of such tax pay-back has been given to the competent tax authority can such returned goods be released from the Park.
In the case the return of goods set forth in the preceding Paragraph occurs beyond three months after the entry of such goods into the factory, the park enterprise shall fill out a customs clearance application and complete the customs clearance procedures with the Customs in accordance with the procedures for import of ordinary goods, and import duties and taxes shall be levied thereon in accordance with the relevant laws.
Upon occurrence of return of the goods regarded as exported and imported goods under the preceding Article, the seller and the buyer shall jointly fill out an application for returning goods and file the same together with necessary documents for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance.
Article 22
In exporting finished products, a park enterprise shall fill out a customs clearance application and complete the customs clearance procedures with the Customs in accordance with the procedures for export of ordinary goods.
The exported goods whose customs clearance is conducted in the Park as set forth in the preceding Paragraph shall be inspected by Customs at the designated warehouse or location. Customs shall, upon release of such goods, supervise the loading of such materials into sealed, bonded truck(s) / container(s) for transportation, issue a container (merchandise) shipping order, put the same in a sealed envelope and forward it along with the goods to the Customs at the place of export. The Customs at the place of export shall, after having verified the shipment, return the second copy of the container (merchandise) shipping order to the Customs to close the case. Park enterprise exports with export prices in excess of USD $20,000, or which are classified as Strategic High-tech Commodities, shall be brought out the border by enterprise-appointed personnel, who will complete the sealing and customs clearing with the Park Customs. They will then bring the export items, along with the items’ Park Enterprise Export Transport Form, to Customs at the export location, and complete the shipping arrival registration, at which point the items may be exported under monitoring. Note that items lost in transit, the park enterprise shall make supplementary payments for taxes and duties.
For importing or exporting goods, a park enterprise may choose to process the customs clearance procedures in accordance with the Regulations for Customs Clearance Processes with the Customs at the place where its import or export of goods is conducted.
Article 23
For the finished products of a park enterprise to be sold by a park enterprise to an export processing factory eligible for having its payable import duty and dues on credit, the seller and the buyer shall jointly fill out an application for export and import of finished products, and shall file the same together with necessary documents for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance formalities.
Recordation of duties and taxes for an export processing factory as set forth in the preceding Paragraph shall be processed in accordance with the "Regulations Governing the Offsetting or Refund of Duties and Taxes on Raw Materials for Export Products", with the date of Customs' endorsement and release of said application to be regarded as the date of export and import.
Article 24
In the event that any finished products sold under the preceding Article are returned, the case shall be handled in accordance with the following provisions;
1. The buyer and the seller shall jointly fill out an application for export/import and shall, within three months after the release of said goods from the Park, and file the same together with necessary documents for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance. If the original selling factory has received a certificate of regarded export, the Customs shall give a notice to the competent tax authority of such return.
2. Upon completion of the procedures set forth in the preceding Subparagraph, the Customs shall issue to the original buying factory a duplicate of the application for import against which said factory may apply for offsetting of the import duties and taxes.
Article 25
Where a park enterprise sells bonded goods to another park enterprise within the same Park, or in any other park, and the seller and the buyer shall jointly fill out an application to the seller’s Customs, along with necessary documents for clearance of goods for customs clearance.
Where a park enterprise sells goods to another park enterprise within the same Park, as set forth in the preceding Paragraph, the park enterprise shall fill out a customs clearance application for clearance of goods with the Customs for customs clearance and perform the self-check-and-inspection of goods to be entered in and/or released from the Park and make a consolidated monthly report of such bonding operations no later than the 15th of the following month in which such transaction is completed. Where goods are sold to the park enterprises of another park, such park enterprises may perform the self-check-and-inspection of goods to be entered in and/or released from the Park and make a consolidated monthly report of such bonding operations in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation.
Article 26
Where any bonded good is delivered by a park enterprise, in a manner other than an act of transaction, to a branch factory in another park, or to a park enterprise in the same park or in a different park, such transfer of bonded good shall be regarded as an export and import, the buyer and the seller shall jointly fill out an application for export and import and file the same together with the necessary documents for clearance of goods with the seller’s Customs for customs clearance. Such park enterprises may perform the self-check-and-inspection of goods to be entered in and/or released from the Park and make a consolidated monthly report of such bonding operations in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of this Regulation.
Article 27
Where a park enterprise sells or bestows its finished products as samples or giveaways to foreign or domestic manufacturers/firms and visiting customers, if such finished products are not included in the list of products subject to export/import control as published by the authority in charge of trade, the following provisions shall govern:
1. For products to be sold or bestowed to a manufacturer/firm in tax zone, the park enterprise shall file a customs clearance application with the Customs for customs clearance.
2. For products to be mailed or shipped to a manufacturer/firm abroad, a customs clearance application shall be filed with the Customs for customs clearance in accordance with the procedures for export of ordinary goods.
3. For products to be delivered to foreign visitors, or to be shipped outside the country by factory employees, or couriers or civil groups as gifts to foreign guests and the value of products doesn’t exceed the limit set by the authority in charge of trade in accordance with Regulations Governing Export/Import of Commodities, an "application for export of bonded goods of a park enterprise by hand-carry" shall be filled out, and after having been verified and sealed up by the Customs or by the bonding operation personnel of a park enterprise qualified for making a consolidated monthly report of bonding operations the products shall then be delivered to the foreign customers, factory employees, couriers or civil groups against their receipts for the shipment outside the Park. The case may be closed, within 1 month after the release thereof from the Park, against the export certificate to be issued by the Customs at the port of exportation. However, in the case that the products are released by the bonding operation personnel after his/her verification of an "application for export of bonded goods of a park enterprise by hand carry", a declaration of such cases shall be made to the Customs within three days after the release of such products from the Park.
4. For products to be purchased from a park enterprise by the government as gifts to foreign visitors or as gifts to be presented to foreigners by government officials making official visits abroad, the case may be deregistered against the certificate and receipt to be issued by the first-level governmental agencies subordinate to the Yuans of the central government.
In the event that any product as referred to in Subparagraph 3 and 4 of the preceding Paragraph is neither deleted from the export records nor shipped back to the factory, a customs clearance application shall be filed within ten days after expiration of the deadline date for closing the case, and such products shall be subject to the supplementary customs duties and taxes levied with respect to the way in which such products are released from the park.
Where any raw material, part or component, supplies or equipment of a park enterprise is delivered to a foreign customer, an employee of said park enterprise, or a courier for carrying such goods outside the country for test, maintenance and repair, and if such item is not included in the list of goods subject to export and/or import restrictions as published by the authority in charge of trade, and the value doesn’t exceed the limit set by the authority in charge of trade in accordance with Regulations Governing Export/Import of Commodities, the provisions of Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 1 of this Article shall mutatis mutandis apply.
The maximum value for the products and/or materials as set out in Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1 and in the preceding Paragraph of this Article shall be subject to the adjustment made by the Park Bureau together with the Customs based on the actual situations.
The application cases, as described in Subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1, may be conducted by way of electronic transmission.
Article 28
Whereas a park enterprise imports/exports ten or less pieces of goods with gross weights of 20kg or less each shall, upon import, fill out a “Park Enterprise Goods Air/Postal Mail Entry Application for Small-Quantities of Packed and Sealed Raw Materials” and file it for approval with the Customs at the place of entry, so that a person designated by the park enterprise may proceed with the customs clearance process and bring the goods in. If exporting such goods via postal mail, it shall go through the customs clearing process and receive inspection and approval by the Customs before proceeding with delivery by postal mail.
Should the above described goods become lost in transit, the park enterprise shall make supplementary payments for taxes and duties.
Article 29
Any goods to be imported from a tax zone to the bonded area of a Park may be exempted from processing the procedure for entry into the Park if no application for tax reduction, tax exemption, or tax refund is filed.
Where a park enterprise purchases a machine and will subsequently return or deliver back such a machine to a tax zone or exchange such a machine with another machine in a tax zone, the park enterprise shall fill out a "Permit for Release of Productive Machines, Implements and Materials from a Science Park" for release from the Park when delivering such a machine back to a tax zone.
Article 30
Where the finished products of a park enterprise are to be exported by another manufacturer or trading company, such exportation shall be governed by Article 22 hereof. After the finished products have been exported, the application for export thereof shall be delivered to the said park enterprise for deletion of such products from its inventory check account, and neither the manufacturer nor the trading firm which has handled the export of such products may be entitled to file a duty and tax refund application in respect of such exported products.
Article 31
Bonded goods to be sold domestically or delivered to a tax zone may be released from the Park only after an application for import thereof has been filed to the Customs and the supplementary import duty and taxes thereon have been levied by and paid to the Customs.
In the case the bonded goods, as prescribed in preceding Paragraph, are subject to import/export control as published, per a public notice, by the authority in charge of trade, an approval shall be obtained from the Park Bureau or relevant competent authority. In the event the bonded goods are to be sold to a manufacturer in a tax zone for further processing and export, such bounded goods shall be declared in a separate application to the Customs for the offset or refund of import duty and taxes after the reprocessed goods have been exported.
In the event that the bonded goods under the preceding two (2) Paragraphs are found damaged or not conforming to the specifications or quality requirements specified in the original sales agreement and must be replaced with new ones or indemnified by the park enterprise, such goods to be released for the replacement or indemnification from the Park may be exempt from import duty.
An application accompanied by relevant certificate(s) shall be filed, within one (1) month after the release of the original bonded goods involved, with and verified by the Customs. As for the machinery and equipment sold or delivered to a tax zone and subsequently returned to the Park for repair or assembly, the relevant provisions of the Customs Act shall govern.
For bonded products under Paragraph 1, import duty shall be levied thereon in accordance with one of the following manners:
1. For the products which can be manufactured or produced domestically, import duty thereon shall be levied based on the amount of the balance generated by deducting an amount, equal to 30% thereof, from the duty-paying value of such products at the time of their output from the manufacturing factory;
2. For the products which cannot be produced or manufactured in the domestic tax zone, import duty thereon shall be levied based on the value of raw materials or parts used in such products.
Article 32
For the bonded goods as set forth in the preceding Article, the selling park enterprise may conduct the self-check-and inspection of such goods and release them from the Park, and make a consolidated monthly report on such sales in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 and Article 6 hereof and the following provisions:
1. In the event the park enterprise pays to the Customs a security deposit with the sufficient amount to guarantee the tax payable, the park enterprise or both the buyer and the seller are entitled to jointly file the monthly report to the Customs.
2. To establish a register of monthly reportable and to record therein, prior to releasing the goods from the factory and in the sequence of such releases, the dates, the name, specifications, quantity, price of the goods of each lot of domestic sales and the estimated amount of the import duties and taxes levied thereon. The park enterprise shall be allowed to take the delivery from the factory in advance with a limitation that the total value of the goods so released shall not exceed the amount of the security deposit prepaid.
3. The park enterprise shall, before the 15th day of the following month, file an application for import for all the goods in the preceding month, and apply for the payment of supplementary import duties and taxes levied thereon.
Where the bonded goods, as referred to in the preceding Paragraph, are goods other than an act of transaction and must be kept in the original factory after Customs' release, the item-by-item declaration method must be adopted for Customs clearance. The provisions of the preceding Paragraph shall not apply.