Chapter IV Penalties
Article 23
Where a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or other means of transport violates the provision of Article 8 and disobeys Customs order, the manager shall be imposed with a fine of no less than NTD 60,000 and no more than NTD 120,000. Furthermore the aforesaid means of transport shall be confiscated if Customs confirmed that it is mainly used for smuggling.
Article 24
Where a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or other means of transport enters a place other than a commercial port without permission, it shall be confiscated, unless the manager in question reports in writing, explaining that such behavior was caused by irresistible factors or based on any other justifiable reason, to the local competent authority and thus be accepted.
Article 25
Where cargoes or documents pertaining to them on board a vessel are destroyed or thrown into water for evading Customs seizure, whether the vessel in question is within 24 nautical miles from shore or has been chased outward to a point outside that boundary, the manager and the offender shall be respectively imposed with a fine of no less than NTD 30,000 and no more than NTD 150, 000, and the vessel may also be confiscated.
Article 26
Anyone who sends off signals or transmits message to a means of transport smuggling import or export cargoes shall be imposed with a fine of no more than NTD 30,000.
Article 27
Where a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or any other means of transport is used to smuggle import, export, unload or convey cargoes, the manager in question shall be imposed with a fine of no less than NTD 50,000 and no more than NTD 500,000. Where it is confirmed that the carrier supports, instigates or adopts any other undue method to make the crew of the aforesaid means of transport to conduct smuggling, that carrier shall be penalized pursuant to this Act and other relevant laws, and the means of transport in question may be suspended from Customs clearance up to 30 days.
Where the means of transport referred to in the preceding paragraph is mainly used for smuggling arms, ammunitions or drugs, it shall be confiscated .
Article 28
Where a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or any other means of transport fails to arrive at the specified unloading place in a commercial port, and unloads the cargoes or self-use articles without Customs permission, the manager shall be imposed with a fine no more than two times the value of the goods in question, and such goods may also be confiscated.
Any persons who transits, places, receives, or provides assistance in loading and unloading the cargoes or articles referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be penalized pursuant to the provision of the preceding paragraph.
Article 31
Where Customs has confirmed that a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or any other means of transport carries any cargo without shipping documents and the following circumstances, the transportation firm shall be penalized pursuant to paragraph 1 and 3 of Article 36. If the misconduct is caused by the owner of the cargo, the owner shall be penalized. If the misconduct is jointly performed by a transportation firm and the owner of the cargo, they shall be penalized respectively:
(1) the cargoes are not listed in the manifest or list of consignments.
(2) two or more packages of cargoes are bundled into one, and it is not noted in the manifest or list of consignments.
Article 31-1
Where Customs has confirmed that certain imported cargoes or cargoes in transit to another domestic port carried by a vessel, aircraft, vehicle or any other means of transport are not listed in the manifest, list of consignments, or shipping documents, such cargoes shall be confiscated, unless it is proved the cargoes in question were loaded by mistake.
Article 35
Where import cargoes, export cargoes, through cargoes, transit cargoes, bonded cargoes, parcels, baggage, and container stored in a vessel, aircraft, vehicle, any other means of transport or other places of storage are under Customs custody, or have been sealed or locked by Customs, any person who repackages, moves, conveys such goods or alters their marks, or breaks the seals or opens the locks thereof, shall be be imposed with a fine of no less than NTD 6,000 and no more than NTD 60,000. The fine may be doubled in case of the violation is severe by nature, and may be imposed continuously if that carrier or operator fails to follow Customs instruction to correct the misconduct within a given time limit.
Article 36
Any person who smuggles import or export cargoes, or handles smuggled cargoes shall be imposed with a fine no more than three times the value of the cargoes in question.
Any person who loads or unloads, delivers, receives, hides, buys, or sells the smuggled cargoes shall be imposed with a fine no more than NTD 90,000; anyone who hires or induces others to do so shall also be imposed with the same amount of fine.
The smuggled cargoes referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall be confiscated.
A person who has loaded or unloaded, delivered, received, stored, bought or sold smuggled goods in ignorance shall be exempted from penalties provided such case is confirmed by Customs.
Article 37
In case a declaration of import cargoes is made, Customs may, according to the nature of the case, either imposes a fine no more than five times the duties evaded together with the confiscation of the cargoes in question, or only confiscates the cargoes in question, if there is:
(1) a false declaration of the description, quantity or weight of the cargoes;
(2) a false declaration of the quality, value or specification;
(3) a submission of forged, altered, or false invoice or certificate; or
(4) any other violation of this Act and relevant laws.
Where any of offenses specified in the preceding paragraph occurs after a declaration of export cargoes is made, a fine no more than NTD 3,000,000 shall be imposed, and the cargoes in question may be confiscated.
Where any of the offenses specified in the preceding paragraphs is involved with an evasion from trade control, a penalty shall be imposed pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 3 of the preceding Article.
Where any of the offenses specified in paragraph 1 occurs while declaring the exportation of processed cargoes eligible for duty drawback of the import material used, a fine no more than five times the duty over-rebated shall be imposed, and the export cargo in question may be confiscated.
Article 38
Where there are dutiable or controlled goods in a postal letter or parcel, and the envelope thereof is neither correctly marked with the quality, quantity, weight and value of the goods, nor attached with those information, Customs may confiscate the goods and notify its receiver or sender, if the involvement of smuggling or evading from control is confirmed,.
Article 39
Where an inward or outward passenger carrying dutiable or controlled goods but not applies for inspection or intends to evade inspection, the goods in question shall be confiscated, and that passenger may be penalized pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 36.
Where a passenger declaring the importation or exportation of the unaccompanied baggage violates this Act or relevant laws, or evades customs duty, a penalty shall be imposed pursuant to the provision of Article 37.
Article 39-1
Where import or export cargoes, other than genuine goods parallel imported, that have been declared to Customs infringes the patent right, trademark right or copyright, the importer or exporter in question shall be, except otherwise specified in other acts and regulations, imposed with a fine no more than three times the value of the cargoes, and the cargoes shall be confiscated.
Article 40
Where a blank document, signed by a foreign consigner and thus can be used as the invoices for imports, has been delivered by mail, or carried into or held by someone in homeland, the holder shall be imposed with a fine no more than NTD 30,000, and the document in question shall be confiscated.
Article 41-1
Where a customs broker or shipper is aware of a false statement, but still lets a carrier or a warehouse operator to reproduce such information in the documents related to the turnover or warehousing of the import or export cargoes concerned, or makes the carrier or operator to endorse such information, the broker or shipper shall be imposed with a fine of no less than NTD 6,000 and no more than NTD 60,000.
Where a carrier or warehouse operator is aware of such false statement but still records it or endorse for it, that carrier or operator shall be penalized pursuant to the preceding paragraph.
Article 42
Where it is suspected that there is a violation of this Act in a declaration of import or export cargoes, Customs may notify the importer, exporter, shipper or consignee of the cargoes to submit the invoices, price memos, bills and other documents concerned for further review, and may check or copy information recorded in the accounting book, letters or invoice book related to the importation, exportation, transaction, cost, and payment regarding such cargoes.
Any person mentioned in the preceding paragraph fails to submit, refuses Customs request for checking or copying the aforesaid documents or records, or hides or destroys those documents or records with an attempt to eliminate evidence, shall be imposed with a fine no more than NTD 60,000.
Article 43
Where a person requests exemption, reduction or drawback of duties by any undue way, a fine no more than five times the duties evaded or rebated shall be imposed, and the cargoes concerned may be confiscated.
Article 44
Where there is a violation of this Act, Customs shall, in addition to impose penalties pursuant to the provisions of this Act, expropriate the duties evaded or rebated. However, the expropriation or penalty shall not be enforced if a period of five years has passed since the violation occurred.
Article 45
Where a person, to whom the disposition of expropriation or penalty has been determined, violates the same provision set forth in this Act again within five years after such imposition, the fine to be imposed on that person may be increased by one half, and by one time for the third and subsequent violations.
Article 45-1
Where an offense subject to imposition of a fine pursuant to this Act, is minor by nature the fine may be reduced or remitted.
The term “minor by nature” shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.
Article 45-2
The goods which may be confiscated pursuant to this Act are not limited to those belonging to the person disposed .
Article 45-3
Where a duty-payer or exporter, before the Customs, national taxation authority or any other law enforcement agency received a tip-off or started an investigation, voluntarily files an application to Customs for correcting errors contained in a goods declaration, and the errors being made would constitute any of the misconducts defined in Article 37 and paragraph 2 of Article 39, he or she shall be exempt from penalties on condition that:
(1)if the goods in question have not been released,
(i) the goods are not selected for examination by Customs
(ii)the goods, not falling within any of controlled categories, have been selected for examination, but the error-correction application is made before hard copies of the goods declaration and its supporting documents are supplemented, and received by Customs during office hours of the day following the day on which an on-line Customs notice of selection for goods examination has been sent to the person concerned.
(2)Or the goods, if released, are not subject to post clearance audit.
A person committed an offence and thus liable for a penalty pursuant to any provision other than the preceding paragraph set forth in this Act shall be exempted, if he or she, before the Customs, national taxation authority or any other law enforcement agency received a tip-off or started an investigation, voluntarily reports or provides evidential information to and, by doing so, help the agency concerned identify such an offence.
Notwithstanding the preceding two paragraphs, the exemption of a penalty shall not be applicable if the person who voluntarily filed an error-correction application or reported an offense has subsequently been found to be liable for unpaid duties and taxes, unless the amount owed is recovered. The amount to be recovered shall include interest for the period beginning on the following date of the original payment due date, or of the date on which a duty exemption or drawback treatment was confirmed by Customs, up to the date on which the unpaid duty and taxes is supplemented, calculated on a daily basis according to the interest rate of one year fixed deposit, effective on the date on which the outstanding duty and taxes is paid, as published by the Postal Saving Bureau.
Article 45-4
Where a specific way of disposal, as deemed necessary and proper, is required for the goods or articles confiscated pursuant to this Act, and the total cost of disposal is more than the set amount published by the Ministry of Finance, Customs shall the recover all costs from the person from whom the goods or articles were confiscated.
The procedures for the recovery of costs, and for administrative remedies, protective measures, and compulsory execution concerned shall apply mutatis mutandis to Article 46 to Article 48, Paragraph 1 of Article 49-1, Article 50, 51 of this Act and Article 9 of the Customs Act.
The recovery of disposal costs prescribed in the first paragraph shall be made within five years from the date on which such costs were paid by Customs or, if the costs had been paid before that date, from the date on which the disposition of confiscation was finalized.