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Chapter Law Content

Chapter II Establishment of Duty-free Shops
Article 9
An application for a duty-free shop business permit and registration shall possess the following qualifications. In addition, applications shall be filed to the Customs at the place where the duty-free shop is located in accordance with Article 10 of the Regulations.
1. The applicant should be a limited liability company duly registered under the Company Law, with a total paid-in capital of at least NT$50 million.
2. The line of business specializes in the sales of merchandise to tourists only.
3. The applicant shall possess a license issued by the Customs Office for self-provided bonded warehouse under the same legal entity of the duty-free shop.
4. The applicant shall possess the capability and associated network facilities to undertake the process of customs clearance, accounting affairs, cargo control, and other related operations by means of computer networks or electronic data transmission. And the data including warehouse transfer, sales, receiving of product, returning of product, pickup, and so on shall be transmitted item by item to CPT Single Window System.
5. The applicant shall furnish the duty-free shop with equipment and environment that are convenient for the competent Customs officials to work with. However, firms may be exempted from the aforementioned provisions if they are subject to special geographical environment, which shall be approved by the Customs Office.
6. The buildings shall be stable, furnished with fire equipment, lighting equipment, or any other equipment maintaining the safety of goods.
7.The duty-free shop shall set up surveillance cameras located at its entrance and exit. The surveillance camera(s) shall be able to record 24(twenty-four) hours continuously, have at least 30(thirty) days of image retention, and have functions allowing Customs Office to have access to inspection at all time.
Applicants applying for permit and registration of a duty-free shop business, city duty-free outlet or store and its purchase claim center simultaneously shall apply with the Customs at the place where the duty-free shop is located, in accordance with the review procedures set forth in Subparagraph 3 to Subparagraph 7 of the preceding Paragraph. Likewise, applicants who have already possessed the duty-free shop business permit and are applying for the permit of city duty-free outlet store and its purchase claim center shall also file the application according to the aforementioned provisions.
If the purchase claim center stated in the preceding paragraph is a temporary center, the duty-free shop operators shall obtain approval from the competent authorities of the airport or harbor. After the approval, the duty-free shop operators shall apply to the district customs office supervising the temporary purchase claim center, and the district customs office will evaluate the application based on the provisions stated in Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 4. If the application conforms to the aforementioned provisions, the said district customs office will then inform the customs office where the duty-free shop is located.
Article 10
An applicant intending to establish a duty-free shop should prepare and submit the following documents to the Customs at the place where the duty-free shop is located for approval and registration:
1. Application form: The Form should state the name of the company, the business registration number of the enterprise, the business address, and the full name, address, citizen’s ID number and telephone number of the responsible person and attach a map showing the location of the duty-free shop on the form.
2. The original copy and photocopy,in plain text, of the user’s permit for the duty-free shop building and establishment location map. In the matter of applications filed by airport or harbor duty-free shops for establishing a city duty-free outlet or store, applicants shall additionally submit the original copy and photocopy, in plain text, of the user’s permit for the city duty-free shop outlet or store building.
3. In the matter of applications for airport or harbor duty-free shops, applicant should present the official authorization documents (with photocopies) of the airport or harbor administration authorities to the competent Customs Office.
4. In the matter of applications for the city duty-free outlets or city duty-free shops of airports or harbor duty-free shops, the applicant shall set up a purchase claim center within the restricted departure zone of the airport or terminal, as well as present the purchase claim center location map, the official authorization documents (including their photocopies) of the airport or harbor administration authorities to the competent Customs Office.
5. License (including original copy and photocopy) of the self-provided bonded warehouse under the same legal entity.
Article 11
Upon the approval and registration of a duty-free shop as well as its city duty-free outlet or store and purchase claim center, the Customs office which approves the application shall be the supervising Custom Office and shall issue the pertinent license for the purpose of the operation of business. The aforesaid license shall be valid for a period of three years and such period may be further extendible for another period of three years. In the case that the duty-free shop intends to further extend the business registration of its duty-free shop, the applicant is required to submit an application two(2) months before the expiration of license or permit as well as to present the documents required in Article 10 for re-evaluation by Customs. A new license will be issued upon Customs approval by Customs.
In the event of an amendment of registration information, except for increasing capital, the shop owner is required to submit photocopies of pertinent supporting documents within thirty(30) days after the approval of the application for amendment of registration, and undertake the process of the replacement of the license with the competent Customs Office. However, in the case where the amendment involves an amendment of business address, the applicant is required to obtain an authorization from the competent Customs office before effecting such change.
Article 12
The Customs processing fees and charges for the issuance of permits or licenses and the replacements of lost permits or licenses of duty-free shops approved for establishment shall be as provided in “The Regulations Governing the Collection of Customs Service Fees”.
Article 13
If a duly registered duty-free shop is intending to terminate operations, the pertinent applications should be submitted to the competent Customs Office for the purpose of approval and the keeping of Customs records one month prior to the termination of business operations.