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Chapter Law Content

Chapter III Management
Article 13
The unloading period of import goods for storage into the warehouse and the period for the withdrawal of Customs-released export goods out of the warehouse are limited to the period from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, except on holidays. The storage of export goods into the warehouse and withdrawal of Customs-released import goods from the warehouse shall be limited to the Customs office hours. However, the foregoing time limits are not applicable to a warehouse placed under the autonomous management system by the Customs, or to the procedure of examination and release alongside the aircraft, in express cargo handling zones, or other specific circumstances approved by the Customs.
Article 13-1
The warehouse gates, import warehouses, export warehouses, transit warehouses, sea-air or air-sea transit containers stripping areas, express consignments handling units, warehouses for cargo examined and released alongside an aircraft, exclusive sections for valuable goods, and warehouses for detained goods and other locations deemed necessary by Customs, shall be installed with surveillance cameras with capabilities of 24 hours non-stop video recording, dynamic vision sensing, playback and optical disc backup, and at least 30 days video storage. These cameras and their associated functions shall work functionally. The surveillance video shall be accessed by Customs officers from Customs offices or designated places for monitoring and reviewing instantly. The operators whose warehouses are located in the airport restricted area and dedicated to the storage of bulk goods or unpackaged cargoes in single kind might apply to Customs for exemption of above-mentioned installation.
Warehouse operaters shall extend the video storage od surveillance cameras to at least 90 days when the Customs deems it necessary.
Article 13-2
The security control of warehouses should include the following measures:
1.The warehouse gates shall set up security posts and deploy security guards or warehouse managers who control the entrance of persons and vehicles.If necessary,the Customs may require the installation of an automated gate control systems.
2.The operator should assign specific persons to supervise the warehouse.No one should be allowed to enter or leave the warehouse except he/she presents his/her badge or permission document.The employee of customs brokers,inspection and quarantine brokers or the consigner who enters the warehouse as an accompanyer for customs inspection,quarantine,sampling or examination, is prohibited to touch the goods unless he/she is escorted by officers or dedicated personnels of the operator authorized for autonomous management by Customs.After inspection or completion of other operation,he/she shall recover the package of goods to the original condition and leave immediately.
3.Except for express consignments,the security guard or the warehouse manager shall check the release notes or shipping documents when the released goods, cancelled goods or withdrawal goods approved by the Customs are taken out from the warehouses.
Article 14
All goods stored inside the warehouse shall be positioned with labels facing up and piled up by batch in the respective sections where they should belong. Identifying signs shall be posted on the walls of each respective area for clear identification. This requirement is not applicable to an automated warehouse approved by the Customs to carry out computer control and management or a special warehouse approved for the storage of bulk cargo, such as an oil tank or silo.
Article 15
In the matter of the unloading and storage of the cargo imported or trans-shipped and transited by sea into the warehouse, the operators shall compile the import manifest, discharge permit and special permit submitted by the cargo carriers and freight forwarders, so that the said goods may be unloaded and stored into the warehouse, while the operator which has no direct internet connection with Customs shall submit the hard copies of the said permits. In the matter of the unloading and storage of the cargo imported or trans-shipped and transited by air into the warehouse, the cargo carriers shall submit the flight import manifest to the Customs and apply for the permit; and, at the same time the carriers shall forward the said import manifest to the warehouse. However, where goods are to be unloaded and stored into a warehouse located outside the airport control zone, the cargo carriers or freight forwarders with the warehouse operator shall jointly submit an application form to apply for the air cargo special permit.
In the matter of the unloading and storage of the cargo imported or trans-shipped by air into the warehouse located inside the air cargo terminal, the warehouse operator shall discharge the goods from the containers or pallets within three days from the second day of storage. However, this requirement is not applicable to the import goods of military affairs' agencies and the goods are unable to be discharged from the containers or pallets, with the prior approval of the Customs.
Once the warehouse operator received and confirmed the unloading the imported, trans-shipped or transited cargoes, the operator shall proceed the warehouse entry process immediately.
After the cargoes in the preceding paragraph have been received by the warehouse, the operator authorized to process the air cargoes or express consignments shall transmit electronic notices to the Customs or the platform authorized by the Customs. However, the warehouse operator authorized to process sea cargoes may transmit the electronic notices, instead of unloading and storing message, to the platform authorized by the Customs.
A warehouse authorized to hold transit goods shall apply for the approval of the Customs in writing in advance and execute the unpacking, shipment batch breakdown, and airline (postal) label tagging operations of the transit goods within the exclusive transit goods section under the supervision of a Customs officer.
When transit goods which are imported and exported by ocean carriers require container loading within warehouse and section for transit goods inside warehouse for imports or other location approved by the Customs, the warehouse operator shall apply for the approval of the Customs in writing in advance and load the containers under the supervision of a Customs officer. The seal shall be affixed to the containers immediately after the containers are loaded,and then the containers shall be transferred to the handling unit of transit containers or wharf inside a container freight station of harbor.It is needless to fill in a freight note of container(cargo) if the containers are transferred to wharf of the same zone.
In the matter of the transit goods approved by the Customs for trans-shipment that require container loading or pallet packing, but not including transit goods in the preceding paragraph, the Customs may approve the direct shipment of goods into a warehouse licensed to hold general export goods, and container loading and pallet packing operations may be executed under the supervision of a Customs officer.
When the sea-air transit containers have been transported to air cargo terminal, the warehouse operator shall immediately request Customs to conduct on-site monitoring before the commencement of any operation of container receiving, seal cutting and cargo discharging.
Article 16
Cargoes unloaded shall be piled up according to their bills of lading (or airway bills) or delivery orders, respectively, and shall not be mixed up.
Where the warehouse placed under the autonomous management system by the Customs and the cargo storage position is controlled by a computer system, the Customs may conduct an online audit at anytime it shall deem necessary, and the limitations of the preceding paragraph shall not apply.
Article 17
Goods contained in overweight or oversized packages or cases, or manifesting other special circumstances may be stored in the open space area of the warehouse following due Customs approval. However, import and export goods shall be stored in separate sections, and the warehouse operator shall be responsible for the safety and management of the said goods.
The open space area referred in the preceding paragraph shall be adjacent to the registered warehouse. However, where sites are located within the control zones of international harbors, international airports, and free trade zones, or where the adjacent or neighboring land is expropriated by the government, this requirement shall be waived.
Article 18
In the matter of the import, trans-shipment, or transit goods stored into a warehouse, the warehouse operator shall check that the name of aircraft or vessel, flight or voyage number, and the label of the goods, case number, or airline tag number and quantities of goods are consistent with the data manifested in the Customs release notice, bill of lading or airway bill, trans-shipment permit, or other documents approved by Customs, and Customs has notified that the surveillance, escort, affixation of electronic seal or inspection of the goods been completed before releasing the goods out of the warehouse.
The bill of lading or airway bill referred to in the preceding paragraph may be replaced by paper or electronic documents through the consensus of the cargo owner and the warehouse operator. The warehouse operators shall notify the said consensus to Customs.
The warehouse operator is required to retrieve the receipts and documents showing approval of the withdrawal of goods from the warehouse referred in Paragraph 1 at the time that the withdrawal procedure is completed. Moreover, the operator shall stamp the words "Withdrawal of all goods in this bill of lading or airway bill has been effected, bill of lading or airway bill invalidated" on the bill of lading or airway bill. Bills shall be stapled together according to the manifest sequence and properly filed for safekeeping. If the goods were partially released, the following label shall be stamped on the bill, "Withdrawal of partial goods in this bill of lading or airway bill has been effected". The bill shall be retrieved after the withdrawal of all of the goods is accomplished, and at which time the label "Withdrawal of all goods has been effected, bill of lading or airway bill invalidated" shall be stamped on the bill, and thereafter stapled together for filing. If the bill of lading or airway bill are replaced by paper or electronic documents referred to in the preceding paragraph, the operator shall keep the relevant withdrawal records for reference. After the trans-shipment permit is stamped with "Shipment batch has been duly trans-shipped", those permits shall be stapled together for filing, or, after the Customs approving document is stamped with "Shipment batch has been released from warehouse", such documents shall be stapled together for filing.
The bill of lading or airway bill, record of withdrawal, trans-shipment permit, and other documents approved by Customs referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be maintained for two years beginning on the date following that on which the withdrawal or trans-shipping procedure was completed.
Article 19
Once having confirmed the unloading of export cargoes, the warehouse operator shall proceed warehouse entry immediately. After the warehouse entry is completed, he shall issue an "Export Goods Warehoused Voucher "and forward the message to the Customs at once.
Where goods stored in a warehouse are to be exported, the warehouse operator shall, before removing the goods, firstly verify whether the name of the carrier, voyage number or the flight number, the shipping mark, case number or airline label number, and number of packages are consistent with those indicated in the Customs release notice , shipping order or shipper’s letter of instructions concerned, and the Customs has notified that surveillance, escort, affixation of electronic seal or inspection of the goods been completed.
The exported goods with the same consignor may be loaded on a single pallet or in a single container under the consent of the warehouse operator and the carrier. Nevertheless, the pallet or container shall be unloaded upon customs request if the consignments are subject to physical examination.
In the event that the exportation of goods stored in a warehouse which has been released for export has to be cancelled, the warehouse operator shall sign on the Cancelled /Shut Out Cargo Memo, after isolating the goods from other cargoes, clearly labelling the batches, and verifying the goods in question.
The shipper who wishes to withdraw the cancelled goods referred to in the preceding paragraph from a warehouse shall, for the warehouse operator’s reference, provide an application approved by Customs and duly signed by the stationed Customs officer. Only after the operator has verified that the shipping marks, case numbers or airline label numbers, and number of packages are consistent with those described in the said application, may the goods be removed accordingly.
Article 20
Where it is necessary to transfer the stored import goods from one warehouse to another, the cargo owner, the cargo carrier or the freight forwarder shall apply for permission to transfer the goods; a letter of explanation for the transfer prepared by the warehouse operator and a checklist of the transfer goods, together with the incoming delivery agreement and the general guarantee of the accepting warehouse duly signed by the operator of such warehouse shall be attached to the application. The transfer of the goods may be effected after due Customs approval.
Article 21
Whenever there is a need to conduct a survey, sample taking, sample viewing or to implement the necessary maintenance in regard to the import, export or trans-shipment and transit goods stored in the warehouse, the cargo owner shall apply for the Customs permit, and then the warehouse operator allow the said goods to be unpacked and be restored by the cargo owner under the surveillance of Customs officer. However, when licensing agencies require to conduct a sample taking or sample viewing with regard to the said goods subject to inspection or quarantine, the warehouse operator shall follow the instruction issued by the licensing agencies.
In the matter of the reworking or correction of the label, case number, or air flight label number in regard to the import, export or trans-shipment and transit goods stored in the warehouse, and the repacking, reloading or re-tying of the exported goods, such actions shall require the approval of Customs and on the signing of the permit by the stationed Customs officer, the relevant procedures may be executed under the surveillance of the warehouse operator thereafter.
Article 22
In the event of a shortfall or surplus in the quantity of import goods unloaded into the warehouse, the operator shall prepare a report within the following prescribed deadlines. Processing of the cancellation or amendment shall be completed within three days from the day following the delivery of the original "Short/Over-Landed Report" to the Customs, provided any specific circumstances approved by the Customs.
1. Sea cargo containers (goods):
(1) Containerized goods: Within three days from the day following the goods been discharged from the container.
(2) Non-containerized goods: Within seven days from the day following the full delivery of the entire cargo batch into the warehouse.
(3) Express goods: Within the day following the full delivery of goods into warehouse.
2. Air cargo containers (goods):
(1) Regular goods: Within three days from the day following the full delivery of goods into warehouse.
(2) Express goods: Within the day following the full delivery of goods into warehouse.
(3) Goods inspected and released alongside aircraft: Upon full delivery of the goods into the warehouse.
In the event of the breakage of goods stored in the warehouse, the operator shall immediately prepare a checklist of the damaged, broken, deteriorated or lost goods. The list shall be forwarded to the goods manager of the cargo carrier or the freight forwarder transporting the concerned goods for attesting signature, and then submitted to the Customs for verification.
Article 23
Warehouse operators are required to attend to the following matters according regulations. Where circumstances require, the Customs may institute inspection procedures.
1. Verification of the import, export, or trans-shipment and transit of goods entering or being withdrawn from the warehouse, the issuance of the "Export Goods Warehoused Voucher", and the transmission of the "Import Goods Taken Delivery Summary".
2. Verification of the repacking or re-tying of the authorized export goods.
3. Verification of the reworking or correction of the label or case number of the authorized import or export goods.
4. Verification of other matters implemented pursuant to operating requirements according to the Customs directives.
Article 24
Warehouse operators are required to prepare inventory logs or electronic general incoming acceptance log files according to the Customs-authorized format. The logs shall make manifest the location of the goods within the warehouse, as well as the dates of incoming storage, outgoing withdrawal, conduct of the sample taking, or other Customs-regulated matters of the goods. Information shall be separately recorded in detail and kept up-to-date, and verified pursuant to the Customs release documents; moreover, operators shall prepare a daily report or computer printout report of the warehoused goods to the Customs for reference. Where circumstances require, the Customs may dispatch an officer to implement proper audit and verification.
Article 25
Warehouse operators are obliged to dutifully execute their custodial duties in regard to the stored goods and the custody goods seized by the Customs or the goods marked for seizure in their warehouse.
Where the goods stored in the warehouse are subject to disposal under the provisions of the "Customs Anti-Smuggling Act" or other related regulations, the Customs may, on the strength of the custody receipt or the withdrawal receipt held by the Customs, move such goods from the warehouse to the Customs warehouse at anytime the Customs may deem necessary. The operators of the warehouse concerned are obliged to comply.
Article 26
The term "duly signed by the stationed Customs officer" referred to in Paragraph 2 or 5 of Article 19 and Paragraph 2 of Article 21 and the term "be subject to Customs surveillance" referred to in Paragraph 5 to Paragraph 7 of Article 15 shall no longer be required once the warehouse has been approved its autonomous management system.
The term "container or pallet which are overdue for discharging" referred to in Paragraph 2 of Article 15 shall be subject to Customs surveillance. Where the warehouse concerned implements an autonomous management system, no special surveillance fee shall be collected where no Customs officer is assigned to monitor procedures.
Article 27
The Customs shall be entitled to deduct any or all unpaid duty payments, fees and charges, or penalty fines of the warehouse operator from the guarantee bond of the operator.
The warehouse operator is obliged to remit payment for any shortfall in the guarantee bond amount due to the deduction implemented as stated in the foregoing paragraph within one month from the second day after receiving the official Customs notice.