How much tax do you pay on purchases shipped from Europe to Taiwan? How exactly is the exemption threshold calculated?
HowBridge does not currently offer or operate any Europe-to-Taiwan freight forwarding, purchasing-agent, or payment-agent service. The service does not currently exist, and there is no usable European warehouse address, no official rates, and no guaranteed transit times. Any warehouse names, shipping fees, or transit times mentioned elsewhere on this page are general market information only and do not represent services offered by this website. They must not be used to fill in a shipping address or place an order. If this route becomes available in the future, only the official website announcement and the terms then in effect will apply.
In three sentences
First, Taiwan's duty-free threshold is based on the customs value (goods value + international freight + insurance, i.e., CIF), not the product price you see; amounts of NT$2,000 or less are exempt from customs duty, commodity tax, and business tax, but this exemption has a frequency limit, and tobacco and alcohol are entirely excluded. Second, once the threshold is exceeded, taxes are added cumulatively: customs duty is calculated first (customs value × duty rate), and finally, business tax is calculated on “customs value + customs duty + commodity tax + tobacco and alcohol tax,” multiplied by 5%—not just 5% of the product price. Third, VAT paid in Europe and import taxes in Taiwan belong to two separate, unrelated systems; VAT refunds generally require travelers to carry the goods out themselves, and shipping goods back to Taiwan usually does not qualify for a refund.
How exactly is the NT$2,000 exemption threshold calculated?
This is the most important section on the page, and the one most often misunderstood. Eligibility for the exemption is not based on the displayed product price, but on the customs value—under Article 29 of the Customs Act, this is based on the transaction value and includes freight, loading, unloading, handling and insurance costs up to the port of importation (the CIF basis). A product priced at €55 may therefore exceed the threshold once international freight is added.
One other point needs clarifying first: the figure “NT$2,000” does not appear in the Customs Act. Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act only authorises an exemption for goods “below the limit announced by the Ministry of Finance”; the actual amount is set by a Ministry of Finance announcement—currently Announcement Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061018778, dated 106/9/7 (ROC calendar), which reduced the original 3,000 dollar limit to 2,000 dollars with effect from 107/1/1 (ROC calendar). The correct wording is therefore “under Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act and the Ministry of Finance announcement”, rather than “the Customs Act provides a 2,000 dollar exemption”.
The proviso to Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act excludes “frequent imports”, as defined by Ministry of Finance Order Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061011007, dated 106/5/26 (ROC calendar): more than six releases under this exemption for the same taxpayer within a half-year period constitute frequent imports. Remember these four details:
① “More than six” does not mean “six”—the first 6 releases may still qualify, and the exemption ceases to apply only from the 7th onward.
② Only releases granted under the exemption count—shipments that have already been taxed do not use up the allowance.
③ Half-year periods are fixed (months 1–6 and 7–12 each year), and the count resets on 1/1 and 7/1 each year; this is not a rolling 180-day period. The relevant date is the import date stated on the customs declaration.
④ Express shipments and postal parcels are counted separately—express/general cargo is counted by the same taxpayer; postal parcels are counted by the same recipient under Article 12 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels.
The legislative rationale is explicit: to prevent importers from abusing the low-value exemption by splitting goods into smaller shipments. People who frequently place small orders in Europe are particularly likely to encounter this limit—sending three small orders separately may cost more than consolidating them into one shipment.
This is a sharp cutoff, not a graduated tax bracket. If the customs value exceeds the exemption limit, import taxes and charges are levied on the full amount—as expressly stipulated in the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels (“import taxes, fees, and levies shall be assessed on the full amount”), with the same practice applying to express shipments and general cargo. In other words, a customs value of NT$1,999 is exempt, while at NT$2,001, the entire NT$2,001 is taxable, not just the NT$1 above the limit.
Two further points: the exemption covers all three taxes: customs duty, commodity tax, and business tax (as announced by the Ministry of Finance; Article 9, Subparagraph 2 of the Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act expressly exempts “goods specified in Article 49 of the Customs Act” from business tax), not just customs duty; and tobacco, alcohol, and agricultural products subject to tariff quotas are entirely excluded from this exemption and are taxable regardless of how inexpensive they are. Exemption also does not mean “no declaration required”: the goods' descriptions and values must still be declared accurately.
How are taxes added in sequence once the exemption threshold is exceeded?
Many people assume “tax = product price × tax rate”, but Taiwan's import taxes are actually added in sequence. Using the wrong order can produce a substantially different amount.
① Customs value ＝ Transaction value ＋ Freight, loading, unloading, and handling charges ＋ Insurance (＋ required additions such as commissions and royalties)〔Customs Act §29, Paragraph 3〕
② Customs duty ＝ Customs value × Duty rate for the goods' 11-digit tariff code
③ Commodity tax (only certain goods) ＝ (Customs value ＋ Total import duties and levies) × Commodity tax rate〔Commodity Tax Act §18〕
④ Business tax ＝ (Customs value ＋ Customs duty ＋ Commodity tax ＋ Tobacco and alcohol tax ＋ Tobacco health and welfare surcharge) × 5%〔Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act §20〕
The key lies in steps ③ and ④: later taxes are levied on top of earlier taxes (tax on tax), rather than each being levied separately on the product price. Thus, the higher the customs duty rate, the greater the resulting increase in business tax.
In addition, under Article 21 of the Foreign Trade Act, Customs collects a trade promotion service fee on imports and exports, with a statutory ceiling of 0.0425% of the goods' import or export value. The actual collection rate and scope of exemptions are formulated by the competent authority and submitted to the Executive Yuan for approval (this site has not verified the currently announced rate; please follow Customs' actual assessment).
What are the approximate customs duty rates for different European product categories?
The following are duty rate ranges for common categories of goods purchased online from Europe, compiled by this site's tariff engine from previous estimates, for estimation purposes. ⚠️ These figures have not been checked individually against primary sources at the 11-digit tariff code level—the actual rate depends on the goods' 11-digit tariff code. Goods in the same category may fall under entirely different tariff classifications depending on their materials and uses. Customs' final assessment always prevails. For precise figures, use the estimation tool to look up the product's 11-digit tariff code.
| Product category | Typical customs duty rate | Taxes above the exemption threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Designer bags and leather goods | Approximately 6.6～10% | Customs duty + 5% business tax |
| Luxury clothing and knitwear | Approximately 10.5～12% | Customs duty + 5% business tax (actual tax burden may exceed 17%) |
| German kitchenware, knives and cookware | Approximately 10% | Customs duty + 5% business tax |
| Skincare, perfume and makeup | Mostly 0% | 5% business tax only |
| Footwear | Approximately 5% | Customs duty + 5% business tax |
| Red wine, wine and champagne | Approximately 10% | Customs duty + tobacco and alcohol tax + 5% business tax (no exemption applies) |
A 0% customs duty rate only means no customs duty is charged; business tax still applies. A skincare product with a customs value of NT$2,191 therefore incurs approximately NT$2,191 × 5% ≈ NT$110 in tax. 0% customs duty does not mean tax-exempt—this is one of the most common misconceptions.
Worked examples: how much tax is due on designer bags, kitchenware and red wine?
The following single-item estimates from this site's tariff engine illustrate the tax rate structure in different scenarios.
🔴 Please read this assumption first: the “Customs value” column below is estimated as product price × exchange rate, deliberately excluding freight and insurance, to show how the tax rates work in isolation. In practice, however, Article 29 of the Customs Act requires that customs value include freight and insurance to the port of importation—international freight from Europe to Taiwan is already expensive, so your actual customs value and taxes will be higher than those shown below, and this may also change whether the exemption threshold is exceeded. Exchange rates and tariffs fluctuate; these figures are only intended to explain the structure and do not represent your actual taxes.
| Product | Product price | Tariff code | Customs duty rate | Customs value (excluding freight and insurance) | Import taxes (including business tax) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designer genuine leather handbag | €500 | 4202.21 | 6.6% | NT$18,255 | Approximately NT$2,178 |
| Luxury knitted top | €120 | 6106.90 | 10.5% | NT$4,381 | Approximately NT$702 |
| German stainless steel knife set | €150 | 8214.90 | 10% | NT$5,476 | Approximately NT$849 |
| Skincare product | €60 | 3304.99 | 0% | NT$2,191 | Approximately NT$110 (business tax only) |
| French red wine 750ml/13% | €20 | 2204.21 | 10% | NT$730 | Approximately NT$185 (taxable even below the threshold) |
① The teaching point of the last row: the red wine has a customs value of only NT$730, far below the NT$2,000 exemption threshold, yet it is still taxable—because tobacco and alcohol do not qualify for the low-value exemption, and tobacco and alcohol tax applies in addition to customs duty and business tax.
② But remember the assumption above: all these customs values exclude freight and insurance. Take the skincare product in the fourth row: the listed NT$2,191 is already slightly above the threshold. A product listed at NT$1,900 may appear exempt, but adding international freight could very well push it above NT$2,000, making the full amount taxable. Always use the amount “after adding freight and insurance” to determine whether an exemption applies.
Can you recover European VAT when shipping purchases back to Taiwan?
European product prices usually already include VAT (value added tax): Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22% and the UK 20% (since Brexit, the UK has its own VAT system outside the EU VAT system). Many people assume, “The goods are being exported, so this must be refundable”—but in most cases, it is not.
The EU tourist VAT refund scheme (Article 147 of VAT Directive 2006/112/EC) imposes mandatory conditions: the goods must be carried in the personal luggage of travellers, the traveller must reside outside the EU, and the goods must leave the EU by the end of the 3rd month following the month of purchase, with Customs inspection on departure.
Shipping goods overseas does not satisfy this condition—no traveller carries them out, and they cannot be inspected at the traveller's departure point, so the scheme does not apply. If you use a local service provider to receive and forward the goods, the transaction remains a domestic sale in that country, with VAT included in the price and no refund available.
A possible alternative is zero-rating the retailer's export sale (Article 146 of the VAT Directive), with the retailer shipping directly abroad and charging a VAT-exclusive price at checkout.
From 2021/1/1, the UK abolished the VAT Retail Export Scheme for tourists' in-store purchases in England, Scotland and Wales; the airport airside tax-free shopping concession was abolished throughout the UK on the same date (HMRC Revenue and Customs Brief 21/2020). Only Northern Ireland continues to offer VAT RES to non-EU travellers under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
A completely different route remains available: under HMRC's VAT Notice 703, a retailer shipping goods directly outside the UK makes a “zero-rated export (direct export)”, so some UK retailers can charge a VAT-exclusive price at checkout. This means “not charged in the first place”, not “refunded afterwards”; the legal mechanisms differ.
⚠️ Two frequently misstated points:
① The reduction is approximately 16.67%, not 20%. UK displayed prices include VAT: a displayed price of £120 (including £20 in VAT) → an export price of £100. The £20 saving as a proportion of the original tax-inclusive price is 20 ÷ 120 = 16.67%. Describing this as “saving 20%” overstates the reduction.
② Only UK VAT is removed; Taiwan's taxes still apply. Zero-rating addresses the UK side. When the goods enter Taiwan, customs duty, commodity tax and business tax are still calculated under the rules above, and freight and insurance must still be included in the customs value.
Also note: retailers are not obliged to provide this service—zero-rating is a general tax rule, but accepting direct overseas shipments and reflecting zero-rating in the selling price are each retailer's commercial decisions. The retailer must also ship directly to an overseas address; delivery to a UK address followed by forwarding arranged by the buyer does not qualify. The same applies to EU retailers shipping directly to Taiwan (VAT Directive Art 146).
Why does red wine not qualify even for the exemption threshold?
Alcohol is an exception to the overall rules—in fact, a threefold exception—and one of the most common sources of unexpected problems.
① No low-value exemption: tobacco and alcohol are expressly excluded from the low-value exemption and are taxable regardless of how low their customs value is.
② An additional tax: besides customs duty and business tax, tobacco and alcohol tax is levied under the Tobacco and Alcohol Tax Act, and the business tax base includes this tobacco and alcohol tax.
③ Separate import requirements also apply: alcohol imports are also subject to import requirements under tobacco and alcohol control legislation. This site has not verified the specific requirements—please confirm whether shipment is permitted and which documents are required before considering the taxes.
In other words, a €20 bottle of red wine may bear a much higher proportional tax burden than a €500 bag. Shipping alcohol and ordinary goods in the same box may also affect customs clearance for the entire shipment.
Which claims can cause you to miscalculate taxes?
The following six incorrect claims most frequently lead to miscalculations.
The exemption is based on customs value = transaction value + freight, loading, unloading and handling costs + insurance (Customs Act, Article 29, paragraph 3, subparagraphs 5 and 6). A product priced at NT$1,900 is very likely to exceed NT$2,000 once international freight is added. Using the displayed price to assess exemption eligibility is the most common source of miscalculation.
Incorrect: tax is charged on the full value. A customs value of NT$1,999 is exempt, while at NT$2,001 the entire NT$2,001 is taxable, not just the extra 1 dollar. This is a cliff-edge threshold, not a graduated one, so near the threshold, a difference of a few dozen dollars in freight may mean more than a hundred dollars in tax.
The rule says “more than six exempt releases”—the first 6 remain exempt, and the exemption ceases to apply only from the 7th onward. Only releases under the exemption count; taxed shipments do not use up the allowance. Half-year periods are fixed (months 1–6 and 7–12), with the count resetting on 1/1 and 7/1 each year, rather than over a rolling 180 days.
This is an outdated claim circulating online. It originated in a version discussed during the 2016 legislative process, but the Ministry of Finance's final criteria contain only “more than six in a half-year period”, with no 2-in-30-days rule. Refer to the current order issued in ROC year 106.
The business tax base is customs value + customs duty + commodity tax + tobacco and alcohol tax + tobacco health and welfare surcharge, not the product price. It is charged on top of customs duty (tax on tax), so a higher duty also increases business tax.
0% customs duty means only that no customs duty is charged; above the exemption threshold, business tax still applies. This is the difference between a “zero rate” and an “exemption”: a zero rate means the rate for that particular tax is zero, while the exemption removes the whole group of taxes.
No. Tourist VAT refunds require goods to be carried in the traveller's personal luggage and inspected by Customs; shipping does not meet this requirement. The available alternative is zero-rating the retailer's export sale (Art 146)—the retailer ships directly abroad and excludes VAT at checkout. This is “not charged in the first place”, rather than “refunded afterwards”.
Tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and agricultural products subject to tariff quotas are not eligible for the low-value duty and tax exemption; tobacco and alcohol tax is additionally levied on tobacco and alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages are also subject to import requirements under tobacco and alcohol control laws and regulations, but this site has not verified the specific requirements—a low price does not mean an item is exempt from duties and taxes, and whether it can be shipped must be confirmed separately.
Almost all miscalculations share the same root cause: treating the “displayed product price” as the “customs value”, and “0% customs duty” as “tax-exempt”. Add freight first, then check whether the goods are tobacco or alcohol, and eight out of ten misunderstandings disappear.
What can HowBridge help with? What can it not help with?
HowBridge has only a Shenzhen consolidation warehouse and a Taoyuan operations warehouse, and provides consolidation services only for China → Taiwan. We have no warehouse addresses in European countries and do not provide consolidation, purchasing agent or payment agent services for shipments from Europe to Taiwan. The European brands, prices and duty rates mentioned on this page are general import information and do not represent services offered by this site. Do not use this information to enter a delivery address or place an order.
How can this page help you? In two ways.
Taiwan's tax calculation rules apply to all places of origin
Customs valuation, the exemption threshold and shipment limit, the order in which business tax is added, and the tobacco and alcohol exceptions are all Taiwan Customs rules. They do not differ according to whether the goods come from Europe, Japan or China. If you arrange your own shipment from Europe, the calculations on this page still apply; estimate the total landed cost before deciding whether the purchase is worthwhile.
We can handle purchases sourced from China
If the goods you want are available on Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, 1688 or Pinduoduo, you can have them sent to our Shenzhen consolidation warehouse for consolidated shipping to Taiwan. We operate this route, have published rates, and can assist with customs declarations in Taiwan. You must arrange the European leg yourself.
What are the sources for these figures?
The tax descriptions on this page are based on the primary sources below, with article and announcement numbers identified individually. The duty rate ranges and worked examples are estimates from this site's tariff engine and are labelled as such. The EU and UK VAT sections are based on EU directives and official HMRC guidance.
Legislation and official sources (checked individually)
- Customs Act, Article 29—customs value is based on transaction value; paragraph 3, subparagraphs 5 and 6 expressly require freight, loading, unloading, handling and insurance costs up to the port of importation to be included in the customs value (the CIF basis). law.moj.gov.tw
- Customs Act, Article 49, paragraph 2—goods in the same shipment with a customs value below the limit announced by the Ministry of Finance are exempt, except for frequent imports or specified goods announced by the Ministry of Finance; paragraph 3 authorises the Ministry of Finance to define frequent imports. law.moj.gov.tw
- Ministry of Finance Announcement Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061018778, dated 106/9/7 (ROC calendar)—imported goods in the same shipment with a customs value of two thousand New Taiwan dollars or less are exempt from customs duty and the business tax and commodity tax collected by Customs on behalf of other authorities; tobacco, alcohol and agricultural products subject to tariff quotas are excluded. Effective 107/1/1 (ROC calendar), when the previous 3,000 dollar limit was repealed. law-out.mof.gov.tw
- Ministry of Finance Order Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061011007, dated 106/5/26 (ROC calendar), “Criteria for Determining Frequent Imports under the Proviso to Article 49, Paragraph 2 of the Customs Act”—more than six releases under the exemption for the same taxpayer within a half-year period; half-year periods mean months 1–6 and 7–12 each year. The relevant date is the import date stated on the customs declaration, and the count resets on 1/1 and 7/1 each year. law-out.mof.gov.tw
- Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels, Article 7 (postal parcels with a customs value of 2,000 dollars or less are exempt from customs duty, commodity tax and business tax) and Article 12 (the exemption does not apply after more than six exempt releases for the same recipient within a half-year period)—postal parcels and express shipments have different legal bases and different persons against whom releases are counted. law.moj.gov.tw
- Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act, Article 9, subparagraph 2 (goods specified in Article 49 of the Customs Act are exempt from business tax), Article 20 (the business tax base for imported goods is the customs value plus import duty, commodity tax, tobacco and alcohol tax, and the tobacco health and welfare surcharge), and Article 10 (the statutory business tax rate range is 5%～10%; the applicable rate is set by the Executive Yuan and is currently 5%). law.moj.gov.tw
- Commodity Tax Act, Article 18—the taxable value of taxable goods imported from abroad = customs value + total import duties and levies, so commodity tax is also charged on a cumulative basis. law.moj.gov.tw
- EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC, Article 147—tourist VAT refunds require goods to be carried in the traveller's personal luggage, the traveller to reside outside the EU, and the goods to leave the EU by the end of the 3rd month following the month of purchase; Article 146 provides the basis for zero-rating retailers' export sales. taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu
- HMRC Revenue and Customs Brief 21 (2020)—the VAT Retail Export Scheme was abolished in Great Britain from 2021/1/1, and the airport airside tax-free shopping concession was abolished throughout the UK on the same date; Northern Ireland retains VAT RES under the Protocol. gov.uk
- HMRC VAT on goods exported from the UK (VAT Notice 703)—definition of direct export (para 2.8), conditions for zero-rating (para 3.3), completion of export and obtaining valid export evidence within 3 months of the time of supply (para 3.5), and forms of export evidence (para 6.2–6.5). gov.uk
- Ministry of Finance eTax Portal, “Points to Note When Purchasing Goods Online from Abroad”—an official plain-language explanation of taxes and fees on overseas online purchases and exemption shipment limits. etax.nat.gov.tw
External data (authorities and update dates identified; do not mix figures with different definitions)
- VAT standard rates in major EU countries: Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22%, Spain 21%, the Netherlands 21%, Belgium 21%, Austria 20% and Ireland 23%. The EU statutory minimum is 15%, with no maximum. — European Commission / Your Europe, “VAT rules and rates”, page marked as updated on 2026-07-13
- Legislative rationale for “frequent imports” in Article 49 of the Customs Act: “To prevent… importers from splitting goods into smaller shipments and abusing the low-value exemption” (rationale for the amendment dated 2016/11/9) — Quoted in Legislative Yuan Legislative Affairs Bureau Special Research Report No. 1546
- History of the exemption limit: set at 3,000 dollars in ROC year 94; an announcement dated 106/9/7 (ROC calendar) reduced it to 2,000 dollars, effective 107/1/1 (ROC calendar) — Ministry of Finance Announcement Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061018778
Academic and research literature
Determining and Assessing the Customs Value of Imported Goods: Taiwan's Current Valuation System and the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement
Addresses this page's central question: how customs value is determined. Covers the evolution of international customs valuation systems, Taiwan's current valuation rules, and case analyses of court rulings on import customs valuation. Helps explain why the “invoice amount” is not the same as the “customs value”: transaction value is only the starting point, and Customs may legally adjust it or use other valuation methods. ⚠️ This site reviewed the bibliographic and abstract page, not the full thesis.
A Study of the Reasonableness of the Tax Exemption Threshold for Imported Express Consignments
One of the few Taiwanese master's theses specifically examining whether the low-value exemption threshold is reasonable. Compares current systems and reforms for low-value imports in cross-border e-commerce across major countries, and makes recommendations in relation to Taiwan's system. Helps explain the policy context behind the 2,000 dollar figure. ⚠️ This site reviewed the bibliographic information and abstract, not the full thesis.
An Analysis of Business Tax on Cross-Border E-Commerce Transactions (Special Research Report No. 1546)
The original legislative rationale quoted on this page comes from this report. It reveals a rarely mentioned background detail: the Customs Administration originally favoured abolishing the low-value exemption outright. Reasons included unfair competition for domestic retailers, indirectly encouraging suppliers to establish overseas operations, substantially lower collection costs following customs digitisation, and the OECD's recommendation to abolish it. The final policy decision was merely to “initially reduce it to 2,000 dollars”. This shows that the current threshold is a compromise and may still be adjusted in future.
An Assessment of the Business Tax Exemption for Low-Value Imported Goods (Issue Analysis No. R01574)
Continues the policy discussion in the preceding report, arguing that the current business tax exemption for goods valued at 2,000 dollars or less creates tax inequity. It recommends abolishing the business tax exemption for low-value imports and supports collection through express carriers and postal operators. The practical implication for readers is that this exemption should not be taken for granted as a permanent arrangement; long-term purchasing strategies should not assume it will last indefinitely.
To avoid presenting information with excessive certainty, the following explains the verification this page has not completed:
① This site confirmed that, as of September 8, 2026, the regulations and announcements listed above remained available in the competent authorities' legal information systems and were not marked as repealed. However, we did not individually review whether new announcements in 2025–2026 adjusted the exemption limit or the rules for determining frequency. Since the amount and frequency affect actual tax liability, please check the latest announcements from the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, again before ordering.
② The 5% business tax collection rate was taken from the Ministry of Finance's eTax Portal and the Customs operations manual; we did not read the original Executive Yuan order setting the collection rate.
③ The customs duty rates for each category are estimated ranges and have not been verified item by item at the 11-digit tariff code level; the actual rate is subject to Customs' assessment.
④ This page addresses only “taxes” and has not verified the import requirements or whether shipment is permitted for any item. Tax exemption or a low tax rate does not mean an item may be shipped—food, medicines, health supplements, animal and plant products, and alcohol each have their own import, inspection, and quarantine requirements. These two issues must be assessed separately.
⑤ VAT rates for EU countries were taken from a single page on the European Commission's Your Europe website and were not cross-checked country by country against the original pages of each country's finance ministry. The Commission's TEDB database was not consulted either.
⑥ For the statement “some UK retailers can quote a VAT-exclusive price at checkout,” this site confirmed that the legal mechanism (zero-rating for exports) exists; which retailers actually offer this and how they display prices are matters of commercial practice that this site has not verified.
⑦ This site found no official explanation of how Article 49, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 15 of the Customs Act (exemption for miscellaneous articles sent by post) and Paragraph 2 (low-value exemption) interact where their application overlaps.
⑧ The duty rate ranges and worked examples above are estimates from this site's tariff engine and have not been checked against primary sources. The tax amount in the red wine example includes tobacco and alcohol tax, but this site has not verified the rates under the Tobacco and Alcohol Tax Act.
⑨ Among the papers listed above, this site read only the bibliographic information and abstracts for 楊孝妤 (2023) and 楊美娥 (2020), not the full texts.
Frequently asked questions
Splitting orders also quickly uses up the 6-release allowance. Each shipment incurs separate international freight charges, which are included in each shipment's customs value. The legislative rationale for this rule is precisely to prevent abuse of the exemption by splitting goods into smaller shipments—splitting orders to save tax is a common misguided strategy.
Three points matter: ① the UK abolished tourist VAT refunds (VAT RES) from 2021, retaining them only in Northern Ireland, so this is indeed not a refund scheme; ② because UK displayed prices include VAT, the actual reduction is approximately 16.67% (20÷120), not 20%; ③ the retailer must ship directly to an overseas address—delivery to a UK address followed by forwarding arranged by the buyer does not qualify. This removes only UK VAT; Taiwan's import taxes and fees must still be calculated separately.
⚠️ Please separately confirm whether shipment is permitted: this page addresses only “taxes” and has not verified the import requirements or required documents for shipping alcohol to Taiwan. A low tax rate or tax exemption does not mean an item may be shipped; these two issues must be assessed separately.
But two points matter: ① Customs determines the customs value under the Customs Act, and deliberately understating the value can lead to additional tax assessments, fines and other liabilities; this is not a tax-saving technique. ② Customs value includes freight and insurance, so what you can actually control is the shipping method and consolidation strategy, rather than the declared amount. The reasonable approach is to declare accurately and include freight in your estimate before ordering.
Further reading
Calculating with actual figures is more accurate than reading a duty rate table
Enter the product value, weight and description to see customs duty, business tax and total landed cost.
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