Importing Baby Educational Toys to Taiwan: Duty, Compulsory Inspection and the NCC Rule for Remote-Controlled Toys

Duty table for ten educational toys and baby products

Import taxes are calculated on the customs value (CIF = goods price + international freight + insurance): customs duty = customs value × duty rate; business tax = (customs value + customs duty) × 5%. When the duty rate is 0%, the only tax left is 5% business tax on the customs value.

The first nine items above belong to tariff chapter 9503, all at 0% duty in Column I; the last item, baby carriages, belongs to chapter 8715 at 5% in Column I. Tariff codes and applicable rates are as determined by the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance; click a tariff code to see the full rates and import regulations.

Toy duty of 0%: where the cost actually sits

The earlier version of this page, like many articles online, said toy duty was 5% and built it into the cost. Checking the tariff itself, all 30 tariff codes in chapter 9503 carry 0% in Column I, so that line item does not exist.

• The whole chapter is 0%: from ride-on toys, dolls and their accessories, electric toy trains, model kits, building toys, plush toys and toy musical instruments through to educational puzzle toys, toy guns and radio-controlled toys, every 9503 code we checked shows 0% in Column I.
• So the only tax left is business tax: customs value (CIF) × 5%. The customs value includes international freight and insurance, so high freight pushes the business tax up with it, but there is no customs duty line at all.
• The real cost is freight and inspection: wooden educational toys are heavy, and magnetic tiles and large wooden play kitchens are bulky, so international freight often exceeds the goods themselves; a commercial import also has to budget inspection time and fees. Effort spent on saving money pays off here.
• Parts and accessories mostly carry no import regulation: within chapter 9503, the 8 codes for parts and accessories such as doll parts, model parts and building block parts carry no import regulation in the database; it is the finished goods that are the main subject of C02.

A customs value of NT$2,000 or less is exempt from customs duty and business tax. Once the threshold is exceeded, tax is charged on the entire customs value, not only on the part above the line; customs may withhold the exemption from a consignee released duty-free more than 6 times in a half-year period.

602: triggered by radio remote control, not by batteries

A common claim is that toys containing batteries need NCC approval. Checking the tariff shows that the test for the NCC regulation is not the battery but whether there is radio remote control.

• Only three tariff codes carry 602: radio-controlled toys in sets or outfits (9503.00.91.20-0), radio-controlled toys and models fitted with a motor (9503.00.92.10-1), and other radio-controlled toys (9503.00.93.20-8). All three carry both 602 and C02.
• What 602 requires: where the import is a controlled telecommunications radio-frequency device subject to approval, an import permit or a dedicated import certificate number issued by the National Communications Commission must be obtained before customs will release the goods; low-power radio-frequency devices that have passed conformity assessment by the NCC or by a certification body it has commissioned are exempt from applying for an import permit, but the certificate of conformity must be presented at customs clearance.
• Toys with batteries but no remote control are not covered: sound-making wooden toys and electric toy trains (9503.00.31.00-7), for example, carry C02 in the database and no 602. The test is whether there is a radio frequency, not whether there is a battery.
• Check the product specification before buying: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 2.4GHz remote control all count as radio frequency. If an educational toy advertises a phone app connection, be aware that it may fall under a radio-controlled toy code.

HowBridge does not file NCC conformity assessments or import permit applications on your behalf. The regulatory wording above is quoted from our customs import tariff import regulation database; actual application follows the announcements of the National Communications Commission.

C02 compulsory inspection and the exemption threshold

Toys have long been commodities subject to compulsory inspection in Taiwan. The tariff marks them C02, and the wording of C02 carries a qualifier that is often overlooked.

• The text of C02: "Some of the goods under this item are commodities subject to compulsory import inspection announced by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, MOEA." Note that it says some of the goods under this item: within the same tariff code, some goods require inspection and some do not, which depends on the list of inspection-bound commodities announced by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection.
• Not the same as C01: the database also has C01, worded "commodities subject to compulsory import inspection announced by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, MOEA", with no qualifier limiting it to some of the goods. Toys use C02.
• The exemption threshold: for toy goods, where the total value of the same specification and model on one declaration is USD 1,000 or less and the quantity does not exceed 5 pieces, or the value exceeds USD 1,000 but the quantity is 1 piece, exemption from inspection may be applied for; multiple declarations on the same day are counted together.
• Exemption from inspection is not exemption from tax: being granted an exemption only waives commodity inspection, and a customs value above NT$2,000 still attracts 5% business tax. The two are calculated separately.

For the full inspection system, the four safety marks, and the special controls on magnetic beads, slime, laser pointers and toy guns, see Importing children’s toys and BSMI inspection. HowBridge does not file commodity inspection applications on your behalf.

Baby carriages are not toys: 5% and ECFA

Strollers and baby walkers are often bought together with educational toys, but in the tariff they do not belong to the toy chapter, and the rate is different too.

• Column I is 5%: baby carriages and parts thereof (8715.00.00.00-0) carry 5% duty in Column I with import regulation C02. This is the only item on this page that is not 0%.
• The Column II list includes CN: the Column II preferential rate list for this code includes CN, which means qualifying goods originating in mainland China may be eligible for 0%. To qualify, the goods must originate there, be on the concession list, and be supported by a certificate of origin as required, subject to determination by customs.
• Wooden baby walkers depend on the actual classification: some wooden baby walkers on the market are classified as toys (chapter 9503, 0%) and some as baby carriages (chapter 8715, 5%), the difference lying in construction and principal use. Classification is decided by customs case by case, not by whether the word "toy" appears in the product name.
• Parts share the chapter: parts for baby carriages are classified under 8715 along with the complete vehicle, at the same rate and under the same import regulation.

When one order mixes educational toys with baby carriages, the declaration classifies them separately and applies the respective rates and import regulations. That is normal, not an error by the customs broker.

Is buying wooden educational toys from Chinese e-commerce workable

Many international educational toy brands are manufactured in China to begin with, and Chinese e-commerce sites carry plenty of wooden educational toys and magnetic tiles. The test is the same one: the import regulation on the tariff code.

• Chapter 9503 has neither MW0 nor M88: not one of the 30 toy tariff codes found carries MW0 (goods of mainland China not permitted to be imported) or M88 (imports from mainland China require documents filed with the International Trade Administration, MOEA); the import regulation is either C02 or none.
• Remote-controlled items still carry 602: radio-controlled toys carry 602 no matter where they are shipped from, and the China lane is no exception.
• Compulsory inspection is not waived because the goods ship from China: C02 and the exemption threshold apply regardless of the place of dispatch; what matters is the declared value and the number of pieces.
• Counterfeit and safety risks are yours to manage: well-known educational toy brands are widely counterfeited on cross-border marketplaces, and wooden toys also involve paint and small-part safety. Counterfeit goods may be seized at customs and trademark owners may enforce their rights; that risk and its consequences rest with the buyer.

The test comes down to one sentence: look at the import regulation on that product’s tariff code, not at whether it is a famous educational toy brand. You can use our tariff search to check the code and import regulation first, then decide how to buy.

How to go about buying overseas brand educational toys

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