Cross-Strait Logistics: The Complete 2026 Guide
Urgent shipments go by air (NT$100/kg, 3–5 days, charged on actual weight only); everyday online shopping and small-to-mid batches go by sea express (NT$50/kg, 5–10 days); heavy goods and large volumes go by dedicated sea freight (from NT$25/kg, 7–14 days, quoted by commodity). At 15 m³ or more, FCL is the most economical; below that, use LCL. A customs value of NT$2,000 or less can be cleared duty-free by simplified declaration; above that, tax is levied on the full customs value. When choosing an operator, check just four things: a business registration shown as in operation, government uniform invoices, a customs declaration power of attorney, and no paying suppliers in RMB on your behalf.
Last updated: 2026-08-21 | HowBridge editorial team | Based on: Article 12 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Sea Express Consignments (海運快遞貨物通關辦法) and of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Air Express Consignments (空運快遞貨物通關辦法); the Ministry of Economic Affairs Rules Permitting Import of Small Quantities of Mainland Chinese Goods Without an Import Permit (輸入少量大陸物品准許免辦輸入許可證之規定, announced 111.8.19, exclusions 115.3.10); Article 25 of the Regulations Governing the Trial Implementation of Transportation Links between Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu and the Mainland Area (試辦金門馬祖澎湖與大陸地區通航實施辦法); and the Customs Administration Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification mechanism
Which goods suit each of the four cross-strait channels?
The real question is not "which one is fastest" but whether your goods are worth paying extra for speed. High-value, compact, time-sensitive items go by air; everyday consumer goods go by sea express; heavy, low-value goods go by dedicated sea freight.
Direct cross-strait sea routes currently cover 13 ports on our side and 72 ports on the mainland side (per the Mainland Affairs Council open dataset on the opening of direct cross-strait sea transport ports; last revised August 2012).
Air express, 3–5 days
NT$100/kg, charged on actual weight only, with no volumetric weight; below 10 kg a NT$120 delivery fee applies. Best for: urgent shipments, light goods, consumer electronics, cosmetics, samples and high-value items. General and special cargo (including batteries, cosmetics and the like) share the same rate, with no surcharge.
Sea express (sea freight express), 5–10 days
NT$50/kg, charged on the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight (L × W × H ÷ 10,000); below 10 kg a NT$100 delivery fee applies. Cleared as express consignments under the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Sea Express Consignments. Best for: general consolidated online shopping, small-to-mid e-commerce batches and consumer goods bought wholesale.
Dedicated sea freight / bulky cargo, 7–14 days
From NT$25/kg, quoted by commodity; bulky cargo is charged by cubic feet (L × W × H ÷ 28,317). Cleared by formal declaration. Best for: furniture, home appliances, building materials and other heavy goods, and full-carton imports.
Mini Three Links, project quote
A special route that transships via Kinmen and Matsu to the Taiwan main island. It is a project-basis service, not a standard channel for ordinary online shopping consolidation; its scope and operating conditions follow the rules of the competent authority and must be assessed case by case.
Key legal point: under Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the Regulations Governing the Trial Implementation of Transportation Links between Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu and the Mainland Area, goods imported into the offshore islands via the Mini Three Links may not be transshipped to any part of the Taiwan Area outside Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu without permission; violators are penalised under Articles 36 to 39 of the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act (海關緝私條例), and the conditions for permission are announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The restriction runs both ways — goods from parts of the Taiwan Area outside those three places likewise may not be transshipped to the Mainland Area via the offshore islands without permission. So "ship it to Kinmen first, then on to the main island" is not a way around the controls; it needs separate permission.
⚠️ The four above are channel types within cross-strait logistics, and no single operator necessarily runs all four. What HowBridge currently offers is air and sea express consolidation from China (Shenzhen consolidation warehouse) to Taiwan; dedicated sea freight and commercial declaration are project quotes and require a case-by-case enquiry.
How do transit times and costs compare?
The same shipment can cost four times as much and take three times as long depending on the channel. Use the table below to narrow down the sensible options, then run the calculator for the total cost.
| Channel | Rate | Transit time | Chargeable basis | Clearance method | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air express | NT$100/kg | 3–5 days | Actual weight only | Express clearance | Urgent / light / high-value |
| Sea express (sea freight express) | NT$50/kg | 5–10 days | Greater of actual and volumetric weight (÷10,000) | Sea express clearance | General consolidation / e-commerce stock |
| Dedicated sea freight / bulky cargo | From NT$25/kg | 7–14 days | Cubic feet (÷28,317) | Formal declaration | Heavy goods / large volumes |
| Mini Three Links | Project quote | Case by case | Case by case | Case by case | Special requirements |
"Sea express arrives in 2–3 days" is a common marketing line in this industry, but our own shipping records show that about 43% of sea express shipments arrive within 7 days — which is why we publish 5–10 days rather than treating our fastest few shipments as the norm. Transit times are affected by shipping volume, sailing schedules, customs inspection and public holidays; when you see a "guaranteed X days" claim, ask first whether a best case is being sold to you as a promise.
💡 Delivery fee rule: below 10 kg (or volumetric weight below 10), a delivery fee applies — NT$100 for sea express, NT$120 for air; at 10 kg and above it is waived.
FCL or LCL — which should you choose?
The test is volume: at around 15 m³ you should price a full container, and below that LCL has the lower unit cost. FCL is only cheaper if you can fill it — an under-filled container costs more than LCL.
| Item | FCL (full container) | LCL (consolidated container) |
|---|---|---|
| Suitable volume | About ≥ 15 m³ | About 1–14 m³ |
| Common container types | 20'GP (approx. 28 m³) / 40'GP (approx. 58 m³) / 40'HQ (approx. 68 m³) | Charged per m³ |
| Pricing method | Flat container rate | m³ × unit price |
| Declaration | Separate declaration | Consolidated declaration |
| Shipping flexibility | You have to fill a container yourself | Ship any time, wait for consolidation |
| Unit cost | Lowest (provided you fill it) | Medium |
| Risk | You absorb the cost of empty space | Container-damage risk shared with other shippers |
📌 Common mistake: choosing FCL just because "the per-container rate looks cheaper". What you should be calculating is total cost ÷ the volume you actually load — a 40-foot container filled to 60% can cost more per unit than LCL.
Where are the simplified and formal declaration thresholds?
The thresholds turn on customs value and whether the import is commercial. Up to NT$2,000 you can file a duty-free simplified declaration, but the number of times is capped; commercial imports require a formal declaration whatever the value.
| Type | Customs value | Frequency limit | Documents required | Duties and taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified declaration (duty-free, individuals) Express category X2 | ≤ NT$2,000 | No more than 6 times per person in six months | Real-name verification + item description | Exempt from customs duty and business tax |
| General import declaration Express category X3 | NT$2,001–50,000 | None | Invoice + item description + CCC code | Customs duty + trade promotion service fee 0.04% + business tax 5% |
| Formal declaration (commercial) Express category X4 | > NT$50,000 or commercial use | None | Commercial invoice + packing list + bill of lading + CCC code + permit documents | As above; business entities may credit the input business tax |
- NT$2,000 is a threshold, not a duty-free allowance: once the customs value goes above NT$2,000, tax is levied on the entire customs value, not only on the portion above it.
- Splitting orders to dodge tax does not work: deliberately breaking one order into several small parcels to avoid duties and taxes can be treated by Customs as one shipment on substance, and may amount to false declaration. The six-month allowance of 6 duty-free entries is also tallied against your real-name record.
A note on permit-controlled items: cosmetics, food, electronics, radio-frequency devices and similar goods must clear the licensing or inspection of the competent authority in advance, or they may be ordered returned after arriving at the port.
Why does a permit requirement rule out simplified declaration? Under Article 12 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Sea Express Consignments and Article 12 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Air Express Consignments, express consignments that "involve import or export regulations" must be cleared on a general import/export declaration form (although Customs may announce special circumstances in which a simplified declaration form is allowed). The MW0 / MP1 codes on mainland Chinese goods are exactly such import regulations, so once they apply you cannot use the X2 / X3 simplified declaration forms and must switch to a general declaration form with full documentation.
On top of that, high-value goods were never eligible for simplified declaration in the first place: the simplified declaration form has only the categories X1, X2, X3 (import) and X6, X7 (export); X4, for a customs value above NT$50,000, and X8, for an FOB value above NT$50,000, both have to be cleared on a general declaration form.
Note that these are two separate code sets: codes beginning with X are the categories for express consignments, while the general declaration categories in the Customs-Port-Trade Operation Codes published by the Customs Administration begin with G / B / D / F (for example G1 for an import declaration for foreign goods). The two sets are not interchangeable, and there is no X5 code.
How do you check whether mainland Chinese goods may be imported?
Look at the "import regulations" column of the tariff code. Goods listed with MW0 are not permitted for import; those listed with MP1 are conditionally permitted; and where neither is listed, the goods are permitted and need no import permit. But finding MW0 does not necessarily mean you cannot ship it — for industrial products under tariff Chapters 25–97 there is a separate general exemption from the Ministry of Economic Affairs for low-value, small-quantity shipments; see the table below. Do this step before you place the order, not after the goods reach the port.
| Import regulation code | Meaning | What to do in practice |
|---|---|---|
MW0 | Mainland Chinese goods not permitted for import | Check the value and the piece count first: mainland Chinese industrial products falling under tariff Chapters 25–97 are permitted for import without a permit under a Ministry of Economic Affairs announcement, with no project application needed, as long as the total CIF value on the whole declaration is within NT$32,000 and each single product is within 24 pieces (or within 40 kg where pieces cannot be counted) — most personal consolidated parcels fall inside this range. Stone (tariff heading 6802) and ceramic tiles (6907, 6908) have to satisfy both the piece and the weight limits. Three situations fall outside the exemption: (1) items the Ministry of Economic Affairs has announced as excluded (currently three: electric motorcycles, electric bicycles and their controllers); (2) anything above the value or quantity thresholds above; (3) non-industrial products — food and agricultural goods under tariff Chapters 1–24 (mainland-grown tea or dried mushrooms, for instance) do not qualify for the small-quantity exemption at all, and the same goes for postal shipments. If you fall into one of those, you have to go through the project application: apply to the International Trade Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs for a project import of mainland Chinese goods; the authority responsible for the goods reviews whether the import meets the conditions of "not produced domestically", "special need" or "small quantity", and where approved the Ministry of Economic Affairs issues a formal reply letter (the decision reads "import permitted for a limited period"), which you then use to apply for the import permit — the two are sequential steps, not alternatives; the term is 6 months and the quantity is capped at the approved quantity. ⚠️ This process is aimed at companies: you have to log in with a business certificate to file, and attach catalogues, purchase quantity schedules and similar documents, so in practice a small personal parcel can rarely use it. |
MP1 | Mainland Chinese goods conditionally permitted for import | Importable. If the "special provisions" column also lists a code beginning with M or the code 121, you need an import permit issued by the International Trade Administration in order to declare the goods.But items carrying the " MXX" special provision also qualify for the small-quantity exemption above: within CIF NT$32,000 and 24 pieces per single product (40 kg where pieces cannot be counted), no permit is required and the goods may be imported without following the "MXX" provision. |
| Neither MW0 nor MP1 listed | Mainland Chinese goods permitted for import | No import permit needed; declare directly with Customs. |
Declaring mainland Chinese goods as originating in a third country to get around import controls is not a matter of "paying a little less tax" — under the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act, evasion of controls can bring confiscation of the goods and a fine, and serious cases carry criminal liability under the Statute for Punishment of Smuggling (懲治走私條例). Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 521 has already upheld as constitutional the Anti-Smuggling Act provision penalising false declaration of the origin of goods, and there is Supreme Administrative Court case law to follow in practice. "The supplier said we could declare Vietnam" is not a defence; the liability rests with the importer.
💡 Want to check for yourself? Enter the item name in our tariff code search and read the "import regulations" column; for origin determination and transshipment rules, see Taiwan import origin rules and transshipment explained.
How do you actually save duty with the ECFA Early Harvest List?
The preference is not applied automatically. The goods have to be on the Early Harvest List, and at declaration you must attach the ECFA certificate of origin obtained by the exporter in China (which is not the same thing as a general CO). It applies only after Customs has verified that the item description and the HS code match.
- Check the Early Harvest List firstUse the CCC / HS code to confirm the goods really are on the ECFA Early Harvest List; otherwise the general duty rate still applies — do not assume the preference applies just because "imports from China are supposed to be cheaper".
- The ECFA certificate is obtained by the exporter in ChinaAsk your mainland supplier to apply to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) for the ECFA-specific certificate of origin. A Taiwanese importer cannot obtain it, so agree it with the supplier when you place the order.
- Item description and HS code must match across all three documentsThe item description and tariff code on the ECFA certificate, the import declaration and the commercial invoice all have to agree; any mismatch and Customs will refuse the preference.
- Declare honestlyForging a certificate of origin or filing false declaration content is punished under the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act: the duty is recovered and a fine imposed on top, which is not worth it.
For the full procedure, see the complete guide to the ECFA Early Harvest List and certificate of origin. For a comparative analysis of preferential rules of origin, see the academic research cited at the foot of this page.
What does AEO certification really do for B2B?
AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) is a certification scheme run by the Customs Administration under the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards. Certified operators enjoy trade facilitation measures such as lower inspection rates, simplified document review and priority clearance — and for a B2B importer with steady volume, the value lies in a predictable schedule, not just in saving a little time.
- Lower cargo inspection rate: a lower chance of being selected for inspection than for ordinary operators, so relatively few shipments get pulled aside and opened after arrival.
- Simplified document review and priority clearance: declarations are processed first, and the difference shows most in peak season and around public holidays.
- A dedicated contact point: when clearance goes wrong there is someone to work it out with, instead of starting over at the back of the queue.
- Mutual international recognition: Taiwan has AEO mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) with some trading partners, so exports to those countries also enjoy the facilitation measures of that partner.
⚠️ Specific figures circulating online — "AEO cuts inspection rates by 70%", "saves millions in capital cost a year" — are ones we could not find citable official statistics for, so we do not cite them. For the statutory facilitation measures and the application conditions, rely on the official documents of the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance on the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification and management mechanism.
AEO is a status held by an operator, not a treatment given to goods: it only counts if your customs broker, or you as the importer, actually hold the certification. It is not applied to your declaration automatically because "the logistics company works with an AEO-certified broker". Ask about this specifically when you compare operators.
How do you work out the total cross-strait logistics cost?
Total cost = freight + delivery fee + import duties and taxes + customs brokerage fee + permit fees (where required). Most people compare only the freight, and the other four items swallow the difference.
- Freight: chargeable weight × NT$/kg. Air charges actual weight only; sea express takes the greater of actual and volumetric weight (÷10,000); bulky sea cargo is charged by cubic feet (÷28,317).
- Delivery fee: charged below 10 kg — NT$100 for sea express, NT$120 for air; waived at 10 kg and above.
- Import duty: customs value × the CCC duty rate (most consumer goods fall between 0% and 12.5%).
- Trade promotion service fee: customs value × 0.04%.
- Business tax: (customs value + customs duty + trade promotion service fee) × 5%.
- Customs brokerage fee: charged separately for formal declarations, depending on complexity and the number of items.
- Permit fees: charged separately for items subject to inspection by a competent authority (cosmetics, food, electronics and so on).
Interactive calculators: shipping cost calculator + import duty and tax calculator.
How do you verify that an operator is legitimate?
All four steps you can check yourself, without taking the word of the operator for it. The fourth is the easiest to overlook, yet it carries the highest criminal risk.
- Check the business registration shows "in operation"Enter the business registration number on the Ministry of Economic Affairs business registration public information service (findbiz.nat.gov.tw), confirm the status is "in operation", and confirm the registered business scope covers express delivery, logistics or customs brokerage.
- Insist on a government uniform invoiceA legitimate operator issues a government uniform invoice, not a "receipt". Getting no invoice means the transaction never entered formal accounting, and you have no proof to produce if something goes wrong.
- Confirm there is a customs declaration power of attorneyA formal declaration always comes with a power of attorney, which names the customs broker appointed. Without sight of it, you have no way to confirm who is declaring your goods.
- Confirm they do not pay for goods in RMB on your behalfA legitimate consolidation operator collects only freight in New Taiwan dollars and does not collect or pay for the goods on your behalf. "We pay the RMB for you, you pay us in NTD" amounts to conducting domestic and foreign exchange business, punishable under Article 125, Paragraph 1 of the Banking Act (銀行法) where unlicensed — the Supreme Court holds that the offence is made out whether or not the operator profits from the exchange spread — and your money has no protection whatsoever.
For the detailed evaluation method, see how to choose a consolidation platform; for lawful ways to pay across the border, see the complete cross-border payment guide.
Cross-strait logistics FAQ
MW0 means not permitted for import, MP1 means conditionally permitted, and neither listed means permitted with no permit required. But MW0 has one exception that matters a great deal in practice: for industrial products under tariff Chapters 25–97, when the total CIF value on the whole declaration is ≤ NT$32,000 and each single product is ≤ 24 pieces (≤ 40 kg where pieces cannot be counted), a Ministry of Economic Affairs announcement permits import without a permit, which covers most personal consolidated parcels; but food and agricultural goods (tariff Chapters 1–24) and the announced electric-vehicle exclusions do not qualify at all. Check this before you order — discovering at the port that you are outside the exemption leaves only return shipment or abandonment, and the freight is payable either way.Legal basis and official sources
- Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Sea Express Consignments — the clearance method and eligibility conditions for sea express consignments
- Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, "Import Regulations for Commodities" — the official definitions of the import regulation codes (MW0 / MP1)
- International Trade Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs, "Management of Mainland Chinese Goods and the Online Project Application Process" — the six steps of the project application for MW0 items
- Regulations Governing Permission for Trade between the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區貿易許可辦法), Article 7, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 13 and Article 9, Paragraph 1 — the legal basis for importing mainland Chinese goods "approved on a project basis by the competent authority", and the requirement to apply to the International Trade Administration for permission
- Regulations Governing Import of Commodities (貨品輸入管理辦法), Article 6, Paragraph 2, Article 12 and Article 13 — goods that do not meet the listed import regulations may not be imported without project approval; import permits are to be applied for by electronic filing, and project import cases may be granted a longer validity period (confirming that project approval and the import permit are two sequential stages)
- Ministry of Economic Affairs announcement of 111.8.19, 經貿字第 11104603570 號, "Rules Permitting Import of Small Quantities of Mainland Chinese Goods Without an Import Permit" — the permit-free thresholds of CIF NT$32,000 and 24 pieces / 40 kg per single product for industrial products under tariff Chapters 25–97
- Ministry of Economic Affairs announcement of 115.3.10, 經貿字第 11550200230 號 — the items excluded from the small-quantity permit-free exemption (electric motorcycles, electric bicycles and their controllers)
- Keelung Customs, Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, "Where the quantity, weight and value of a single small-quantity item of mainland Chinese goods all meet the rules, no import permit is required" — how the small-quantity exemption is applied in practice and how "a single product" is counted
- Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Air Express Consignments, Article 12 (pcode G0350064, amended 115.2.23) — consignments involving import or export regulations are to be cleared on a general import/export declaration form, though where Customs announces special circumstances a simplified declaration form may be used
- Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Sea Express Consignments, Article 12 (pcode G0350071, amended 115.2.23) — as above, applied to sea express
- "Operational Directions for Simplified Declaration and Clearance of Air Express Consignments" and "Operational Directions for the Clearance of Sea Express Consignments" — the definitions and value bands of declaration categories X1–X4 and X6–X8
- Regulations Governing the Trial Implementation of Transportation Links between Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu and the Mainland Area, Article 25 (pcode A0030123) — goods imported into the offshore islands may not be transshipped to the main island without permission, and violators are penalised under Articles 36 to 39 of the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act
- Mainland Affairs Council, open dataset on the opening of direct cross-strait sea transport ports (government open data platform, dataset 7465) — 13 ports on our side, 72 ports on the mainland side
- Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, "Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Certification and Management Mechanism Programme" — the AEO certification conditions and trade facilitation measures
- Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 521 — the constitutionality of the general penalty provision of the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act for false declaration of the origin of goods
- Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, interpretive order "Reinterpretation of the meaning of the term controls in Articles 3, 37, 38, 39 and 53 of the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act"
- Keelung Customs, "What you should know about cross-border online shopping by sea express" — practical clearance guidance for sea express
- Legislative Yuan Legal Affairs Bureau, "Analysis of legal issues concerning the Statute for Punishment of Smuggling, with recommendations for amendment"