The business scope of a shipping agency is as follows:
1. Issuance of passenger tickets or bills of lading and collection of fees or sea freights thereof on behalf of its principals;
2. Signing of charter parties and collecting of charter hire on behalf of its principals;
3. Soliciting of cargo and passengers;
4. Processing maritime and commercial port matters;
5. Taking care of vessels, crews, passengers or cargos, and process relevant matters of vessel inspection and repair;
6. Assisting in handling cargo claims, or the authorized relevant legal or arbitration matters;
7. Handling shipbuilding, vessel trading, charter brokerage, delivery and redelivery of ship, and assistance in handling various sea distresses; and
8. Handling other shipping agencies business as verified by the competent authority.
Any service provided by a shipping agency shall be performed under the name of the principal and shall be limited to the scope agreed upon by both parties.

When the principal of a shipping agency has the joint service with other operators, the shipping agency must make a registration in the shipping administration with enclosure of the co-operation contract or any supportive documents subscribed by the parties concerned and the photocopies of Certificate of Ship's Registry. Therefore, only the shipping agency completing the above-mentioned procedure can commence soliciting cargo and issue bills of lading with the name of the vessel under the co-operation contract.

If bills of lading issued by a shipping agency on behalf of principals, of which the cargo are not transported directly to destination by the same vessel, the transshipment port shall be shown on the bills of lading, unless otherwise agreed by the consignors.

If the shipping agency publicly solicits passengers and cargos, the shipping administration may randomly check the published advertisement and the status of business of the shipping agency.

Any shipping agency shall submit individual copies of the statement of accounts and the balance sheet to file to the shipping administration for future reference within 1 month after the deadline for the annual income tax report filed for profit-seeking enterprises.

When a shipping agency accepts agency business from a principal, it shall constantly investigate the principal's financial condition, international reputation and vessels' function and capability, in order to maintain normal operation and the order of shipping.

The shipping agency shall apply for joining local shipping agency association within 1 month after commencing operation.
The shipping agency may establish a branch office or liaison office at the county (city) where it operates the agency business pursuant to the stipulation under Article 8 and Article 9, or authorize the local shipping agency to execute the agency business.