Do you pay tax on cosmetics and skincare shipped to Taiwan?
Cosmetics carry 0% customs duty, and a customs value of NT$2,000 or less is tax-free. Cosmetics CCC tariff lines also carry no import regulation code, so there is no permit issue when shipping them to Taiwan for personal use. ⚠️ The limit of “12 bottles of each specific-purpose cosmetic, 36 bottles in total” — still circulating online and even on some customs web pages — was abolished by the Taiwan FDA with effect from 1 July 2024. What actually causes trouble is misclassification: contact lenses are medical devices, and China-made contact lenses carry import regulation code MW0 = goods of mainland China may not be imported. This is not “apply if you exceed the quota”; they simply cannot be shipped.
Last verified 2026-08-22 · HowBridge consolidated shipping editorial team · checked line by line against primary legal sources
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1. How cosmetics, medical devices and drugs are told apart
Items in the same parcel can fall under three different sets of rules with very different levels of control. Misclassification is far more serious than miscalculating the tax — a tax error is settled by paying the difference, while a classification error can get the whole shipment returned or destroyed.
| Category | Typical items | Governing law | Personal-use shipment to Taiwan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetics | Sheet masks, serums, lotions, makeup, lipstick, perfume, shampoo, sunscreen, hair dyes and perm products, antiperspirants and deodorants | Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act | 0% duty, no import regulation code, no quantity cap set by the Taiwan FDA; glass ampoule containers are the exception |
| Medical devices | Contact lenses (including zero-power circle lenses), corrective lenses, medical face masks, wound-dressing type masks | Medical Devices Act | Only daily disposable contact lenses are among the 8 items in the express-clearance schedule; China-made contact lenses may not be imported |
| Drugs | Topical preparations claiming therapeutic effects; products whose medicinal ingredients exceed the cosmetic standards | Pharmaceutical Affairs Act | The traveller exemption does not apply to mail; an import consent letter must be obtained in advance |
Basis for the dividing line: Article 3, subparagraph 1 of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act, with its proviso “unless the product is deemed a pharmaceutical under other laws”; and Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Medical Devices Act, which uses action on the human body “by means other than pharmacological, immunological, metabolic or chemical” as the test.
2. ⚠️ The “12 bottles each, 36 in total” limit has been abolished
This is the single piece of information on this page that most needs updating. Many summary posts, personal-shopper guides and even some customs web pages still state that cosmetics are limited to “12 bottles of each product, 36 bottles in total”, but that rule no longer exists.
① The fact of abolition. Ministry of Health and Welfare announcement Wei-Shou-Shih No. 1131603792 of 1 July 2024 (ROC year 113) states in its subject line: “The ‘quantity limit for the import of specific-purpose cosmetics for personal use exempt from registration application’ is hereby abolished, with immediate effect”, citing Article 21, subparagraph 2 of the Central Regulations Standards Act. In other words, the 12/36 quantity limit for cosmetics has not existed since 1 July 2024.
② The authorities’ own side-by-side evidence. The Taiwan FDA press release of 25 June 2025, “Food, medicines, medical devices and cosmetics brought in by travellers are for personal use only — reselling after returning home may break the law!”, says in one and the same article that food is limited to “up to 12 bottles of each tablet or capsule product, no more than 36 bottles in total” and medicines to “up to 12 bottles of each non-prescription drug, no more than 36 bottles in total”, yet the cosmetics section contains no quantity limit whatsoever, mentioning only the customs “Regulations Governing the Declaration, Duty Assessment and Release of Inbound Passengers’ Baggage” and the special approval required for glass ampoules. Food and medicines are still there and only cosmetics has been dropped — that is not an oversight.
③ But be prepared: official web pages have not caught up. The Kaohsiung Customs page “Medicines, cosmetics and medical devices for personal use”, run by the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance, still carries the abolished 12/36 rule. For both writing and practice, the Taiwan FDA abolition announcement governs, but at clearance it is still advisable to have an explanation of personal use ready so as to avoid differences of interpretation on the spot.
④ So what limits apply now? Cosmetics for personal use currently face no quantity cap set by the Taiwan FDA. The real constraints come from three places: (1) the low-value exemption in Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act (no import tax where the customs value of one consignment is NT$2,000 or less); (2) Customs’ judgement of a “reasonable quantity for personal use”; and (3) the rule that goods may not be sold — reselling after importing under the personal-use heading is punishable under the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act by a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$1,000,000.
3. Four pitfalls
① China-made contact lenses are “prohibited”, not “apply if you exceed the quota”. The import regulation for contact lenses under CCC code 9001.30.00.00-5 is “504 MW0”. Of these, MW0 is officially defined as “goods of mainland China may not be imported” (competent authority: International Trade Administration). So if you buy contact lenses on Taobao, Pinduoduo or any Chinese marketplace and send them to Taiwan through a consolidator, they cannot be shipped — whatever the quantity, daily or monthly, prescription or plano. This rule outranks the duty rate: the goods cannot enter at all, so calculating tax is pointless.
② Even when they are not China-made, only “daily disposable” lenses qualify for the fast track. Under the schedule to the Regulations Governing Special Approval for Manufacture and Import of Specific Medical Devices, only 8 categories are exempt from case-by-case application for personal use, and contact lenses appear only as “daily disposable contact lenses: 60 lenses per prescription, limited to one brand and two different prescriptions per person”. Monthly, two-week, extended-wear and rigid lenses are not in the schedule; they require a case-by-case application under Article 6, paragraph 1 of the same regulations, and Article 7, subparagraph 2 limits consumables to “a six-month supply”. The schedule also treats zero-power circle lenses as soft contact lenses, so they too are medical devices.
③ The “once every six months” rule covers only mail and courier; travellers carrying items themselves are not restricted. Article 6, paragraph 5 of the regulations reads: “In the situation of subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph, except where the goods are brought in by an inbound traveller in person, import through the express-clearance route is limited to once every six months.” Consolidated shipping, postal mail and courier all count as “not brought in by the traveller in person”, so the once-every-six-months limit applies; flying abroad and bringing them back yourself is not subject to it. A Taiwan FDA press release once merged the two into “carried or mailed … limited to once every six months”, which does not match the wording of the regulations; in practice the regulations govern.
④ Glass ampoule (AMPOULE) containers need special approval. Glass ampoules may not be used as cosmetic containers; if you buy a personal-use cosmetic packaged in a glass ampoule, you must first obtain approval from the Taiwan FDA before it can be imported (expressly stated in the Taiwan FDA press release of 2025-06-25). Check the container material before ordering Korean ampoule products; choosing plastic or dropper-bottle packaging is the simplest option.
4. Instant cosmetics tax calculator
Enter the product details and the system predicts the tariff line with the Customs Administration AI tariff engine, then calculates the duty, business tax and total landed cost. Most cosmetics carry 0% duty, so what usually matters is whether you go over the NT$2,000 duty-free threshold.
※ The estimate uses the Customs Administration AI tariff prediction; the actual tariff line is determined by Customs, and exchange rates follow the fluctuating customs rate. For a finer estimate, use the full calculator.
5. Duty rates and examples
Cosmetics fall under CCC chapters 3303 to 3305, where the Column I duty rate is “free” (applicable to WTO members, including China, South Korea and Japan). A customs value of NT$2,000 or less is exempt from import duty and taxes; above that, only 5% business tax is charged.
| Item | CCC code | Column I duty | Import regulation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfumes and toilet waters | 3303.00.00.00-8 | 0% | None | The simplest case for personal use |
| Lip make-up preparations (lipstick) | 3304.10.00.00-5 | 0% | None | — |
| Face creams | 3304.99.10.91-7 | 0% | None | — |
| Cleansing creams | 3304.99.20.91-5 | 0% | None | — |
| Other skin care preparations | 3304.99.90.91-0 | 0% | None | Serums and lotions usually fall here |
| Shampoos and conditioners | 3305.10.00.91-4 | 0% | None | — |
| Contact lenses | 9001.30.00.00-5 | 5% | 504 MW0 | Medical device; China-made prohibited |
Source: the tariff database of the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance (this site’s tariffs table syncs the government XLS every week). The “import regulation” field is blank for every cosmetics heading, which means there is no permit paperwork for personal-use shipments to Taiwan; contact lenses, by contrast, carry both 504 (medical device licence required) and MW0 (goods of mainland China may not be imported).
6. Official data: what cosmetics actually get caught for
Cosmetics are not covered by the Taiwan FDA Annual Report on Food Import Management and Border Inspection Statistics; they have their own publication series. The figures below come from the “List of non-compliant cosmetics purchased online” (published 9 January 2025) in the Taiwan FDA “Non-compliant cosmetics” section, counted section by section by this site across 108 cases.
Breakdown of non-compliant online-purchase cosmetics cases (Taiwan FDA list published 2025-01-09)
| Type of non-compliance | Cases | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Product listing non-compliant | 55 | 50.9% |
| Labelling non-compliant | 21 | 19.4% |
| Both listing and labelling non-compliant | 20 | 18.5% |
| Both listing and quality non-compliant | 4 | 3.7% |
| Listing, labelling and quality all non-compliant | 4 | 3.7% |
| Quality non-compliant | 2 | 1.9% |
| Both labelling and quality non-compliant | 2 | 1.9% |
| Total | 108 | 100% |
Counted by this site entry by entry from the serial numbers in each section of the PDF published by the Taiwan FDA; the list gives no survey period in its title, so it is identified by its publication date. ⚠️ This is post-market sampling on domestic e-commerce platforms (Shopee, momo, Yahoo Shopping, POYA Buy, 86small, Rakuten and others), not border inspection data: the two are measured on different bases and cannot be substituted for each other.
Almost everything caught is paperwork and labelling, not toxic products. Of the 108 cases, 96 (88.9%) had no quality defect detected at all, failing purely on issues such as “product listing not completed”, “listed product name / ingredients / company address inconsistent with the label”, “no Chinese labelling”, “Chinese characters on the label smaller than 1.2 mm” and “batch number or precautions not stated”. The pattern matches food border inspection: they lose on the packaging, not in the laboratory.
The 12 cases with a genuine quality failure are heavily concentrated in natural plant hair-dye powders. Henna and indigo powder products were repeatedly listed for microbial counts above the limit (measured at 5.4×10⁵, 6.3×10⁴ and 8.1×10⁴ CFU/g); an eyebrow pencil was also found to contain arsenic at 3.6 ppm and lead at 20.9 ppm. If you buy natural hair-dye powder or budget makeup from overseas, these are the two categories with the highest measured risk.
The list also shows that “product listing” really is being enforced. Since 1 July 2024, specific-purpose cosmetics have been managed by the industry itself through product listing plus a Product Information File (PIF), and a company importing and selling them must complete the listing. The largest category on the list, “product listing not completed”, is precisely this obligation. But it is an obligation of businesses and does not apply to personal use: personal-use imports need no listing, at the price that the product has not been reviewed, so if something goes wrong you must seek redress from the overseas seller yourself.
Note: figures marked “this site’s calculation” were counted from the public PDF of the Taiwan FDA, a copy of which has been archived; the serial numbers in each section run continuously with no gaps, and sections 6 and 7 were verified entry by entry by hand.
7. What to check before you ship
- First work out whether it is a medical device. Contact lenses (including zero-power circle lenses and coloured lenses), corrective lenses and dressing-type masks claimed to sit on a wound and absorb exudate are all medical devices, and the cosmetics rules do not apply to them.
- Check the import regulation field of the CCC code. Use the tariff search on the Customs-Port-Trade Single Window, or enter the product name in the HowBridge member tool, and see whether
MW0(goods of mainland China may not be imported) or504(medical device licence required) appears. Once you see MW0, a China-made product is out of the question. - Check whether the container is a glass ampoule. Confirm the material of ampoule products first: glass ampoules require prior approval from the Taiwan FDA.
- Check the product page for therapeutic claims. Products described as “medical grade”, “medicated” or “repairs damaged skin” may be classified as drugs or medical devices, with completely different import rules.
- Do not ship goods home as personal-use items in order to sell them. Exemption from listing for personal use depends on the goods not being sold; reselling is punishable under the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act by a fine of NT$10,000 to NT$1,000,000.
8. Frequently asked questions
9001.30.00.00-5 is “504 MW0”, and MW0 is defined as “goods of mainland China may not be imported”. Daily or monthly, prescription or plano, whatever the quantity, China-made contact lenses cannot be shipped to Taiwan. Zero-power circle lenses and coloured lenses are also soft contact lenses and are restricted in the same way.9. Sources and legal basis
Every rule and figure on this page can be traced back to the primary sources below. Verified on 22 August 2026.
- Ministry of Health and Welfare announcement Wei-Shou-Shih No. 1131603792 of 1 July 2024 (ROC year 113) —— Abolishes the “quantity limit for the import of specific-purpose cosmetics for personal use exempt from registration application”, with immediate effect. The direct basis for “12/36 abolished” on this page.
- Taiwan FDA press release “Food, medicines, medical devices and cosmetics brought in by travellers are for personal use only — reselling after returning home may break the law!” (2025-06-25) —— In the same release, food and medicines still carry the 12/36 limit, while the cosmetics section has no quantity limit and mentions only the customs rules and the special approval required for glass ampoules.
- Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act —— Article 3 on the definition of cosmetics and the proviso “unless deemed a pharmaceutical under other laws”; Article 4 on product listing and the PIF; Article 20 on advertising penalties (false or exaggerated NT$40,000 to NT$200,000; medicinal efficacy NT$600,000 to NT$5,000,000).
- Regulations Governing Special Approval for Manufacture and Import of Specific Medical Devices, and its schedule —— Article 6, paragraphs 4 and 5 on express clearance and “except where the goods are brought in by an inbound traveller in person … limited to once every six months”; Article 7, subparagraph 2 on the six-month supply for consumables; item 6 of the schedule, “daily disposable contact lenses: 60 lenses per prescription, limited to one brand and two different prescriptions per person”.
- Medical Devices Act —— Article 3 on the definition of a medical device (acting on the human body by means other than pharmacological, immunological, metabolic or chemical); Article 35, paragraph 1, subparagraph 4 on special approval for personal use.
- Tariff database of the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance (CCC codes and import regulations) —— Headings 3303 / 3304 / 3305: 0% Column I duty and a blank import regulation field; contact lenses 9001.30.00.00-5: 5% Column I duty, import regulation 504 MW0.
- Trade portal of the International Trade Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs (competent authority for import regulation codes) —— MW0 is an import regulation code administered by the International Trade Administration, officially described as “Goods of mainland China may not be imported.”; 504 is administered by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and requires an importer of medical devices to attach a copy of the device licence or a letter of consent and to declare the licence number (14 digits). The descriptions of both codes can be found in the “import regulation” field of the tariff search page on the Customs-Port-Trade Single Window.
- Taiwan FDA “Non-compliant cosmetics” section —— The “List of non-compliant cosmetics purchased online” (published 2025-01-09 and 2024-02-05) and the monthly “Public information tables on cosmetics failing inspection”. The source for section 6 of this page.
- Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act and Ministry of Finance announcement Tai-Tsai-Kuan-Tzu No. 1061018778 —— Goods in a single import consignment with a customs value of NT$2,000 or less are exempt from customs duty and from the business tax and commodity tax collected by Customs.
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