What should you know when buying goods in Japan and shipping them to Taiwan?
HowBridge does not currently offer or operate any Japan-to-Taiwan freight forwarding, purchasing-agent, or payment-agent service. The service does not currently exist, and there is no usable Japanese, Tokyo, or Osaka 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.
The essentials in three sentences
First, the tax rules apply regardless of origin: goods with a customs value (goods price + freight + insurance) of NT$2,000 or less are exempt from customs duty, commodity tax and business tax, but tobacco and alcohol are entirely excluded, and postal parcels are subject to a limit under which the exemption ceases after six releases in a half-year period. Second, the real obstacles are the import rules for each product category: medicines require an advance application, items containing lithium batteries cannot be consigned as airmail, importing illicit alcohol carries criminal liability, and electrical appliances and power banks require checking BSMI requirements. Third, a key point many articles have missed—all three controls specific to Japanese food were repealed on 2025-11-21: no prefectures remain banned, certificates of origin are no longer required, and radiation inspection certificates are no longer required.
How are taxes calculated in Taiwan? What is the tax exemption threshold?
This section applies to goods from all origins, not just Japan. The governing statute is Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act: “Imported goods other than those specified in the preceding paragraph are exempt from duty if their combined customs value in the same consignment does not exceed the limit announced by the Ministry of Finance. However, this does not apply to frequent imports or specific goods announced by the Ministry of Finance.”
Note that the figure “NT$2,000” does not appear in the Customs Act itself; it is set by a Ministry of Finance announcement. This site found that limit in the current text of both Article 7 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels and Article 11 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Air Express Consignments.
① The threshold applies to customs value, not the listed price. Under Article 29 of the Customs Act, customs value = transaction value + freight, loading, unloading and handling charges to the port of importation + insurance (CIF basis). Shipping from Japan to Taiwan is not cheap; an item listed at NT$1,900 often exceeds the threshold once freight is included.
② Tobacco and alcohol are entirely excluded. Article 7, paragraph 2 of the postal parcel regulations expressly excludes tobacco, alcohol and agricultural products subject to tariff quotas; tax applies regardless of how low the value is.
③ Postal parcels have a frequency limit. Under Article 12, paragraph 2 of the postal parcel regulations, the exemption ceases when goods for the same recipient have been released under the exemption more than six times within a half-year period—the wording is “more than six times,” not “six times”; tax starts with the 7th release.
※ Express (including consolidated) shipments are subject to the same frequency limit: under the proviso to Article 49, Paragraph 2 of the Customs Act and Ministry of Finance Order Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061011007 (26 May 2017), once the same taxpayer has had more than six duty-free releases in a half-year period, imports are "frequent" and the exemption does not apply; for postal parcels, Article 12 of the postal regulations counts by the same recipient.
④ Do not split orders to stay below the threshold. Article 14 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Air Express Consignments prohibits separate declarations for imported express goods in the same consignment (“the same consignment” means goods sent by the same consignor to the same consignee on the same flight). For a violation, Customs fines the operator and must combine their customs values for taxation.
① Customs value = goods price + freight, loading, unloading and handling charges + insurance [Customs Act §29]
② Customs duty = customs value × the duty rate for the goods' 11-digit tariff code
③ Commodity tax (certain goods only) = (customs value + import duties and levies) × commodity tax rate
④ Business tax = (customs value + customs duty + commodity tax + tobacco and alcohol tax, etc.) × tax rate [Business Tax Act §20, §10]
The key is step ④: business tax is charged on an amount that already includes customs duty, rather than on the goods price. A higher customs duty rate therefore also increases the business tax payable.
Which popular Japanese products are subject to import restrictions?
This table is the core of the page. Although all these items may be “bought in Japan,” cosmetics, medicines, food and electrical appliances fall under entirely different authorities and regulations. Whether they can be shipped and whether an advance application is required also varies greatly.
| Product category | Responsible authority | Personal-use requirements | Key reminder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetics / drugstore cosmetics (ordinary makeup and skincare) | Taiwan Food and Drug Administration | ⚠️ The former announcement on “personal-use quantity limits exempt from premarket registration” was repealed on 2024-07-01; no explicit current quantity limit was found | A product notification system took effect on 2024-07-01, but the notification obligation applies when products are supplied, sold, given away, publicly displayed or offered for trial use; personal use does not trigger the notification obligation. Customs still assesses whether goods are for personal use based on quantity and frequency |
| Medicines (prescription and over-the-counter medicines) | Taiwan Food and Drug Administration | Postal and express shipments are not covered by the proviso to Article 22 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (which refers only to medicines carried by “travelers or crew members”). An advance application is required under the Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts; non-prescription medicines per application ≤ 12 bottles (12 tubes; 1,200 pills in total), and repeat applications within 6 months are prohibited | 🔴 This is the easiest rule to breach inadvertently—medicines “carried by travelers” and those “sent by post” are governed by two separate sets of rules, which cannot be used interchangeably |
| Food (snacks, seasonings and fresh foods) | Taiwan Food and Drug Administration | Food for personal use valued at US$1,000 or less and weighing no more than 6 kilograms is exempt from applying for import inspection | 🔴 All three controls specific to Japan were repealed effective 2025-11-21: no prefectures remain banned, and neither certificates of origin nor radiation inspection certificates are required. ⚠️ However, the inspection exemption has exclusions: food additives, flavorings, and beef and related products from countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has occurred are all ineligible for the personal-use inspection exemption; beef and beef products are also subject to specific requirements (amended 2025-05-22). This site has not verified whether Japanese wagyu can be shipped; do not rely on this page for that determination. |
| Dietary supplements (tablets and capsules) | Taiwan Food and Drug Administration | Regulated as food; the personal-use inspection exemption allows ≤ 12 bottles of each type and ≤ 36 bottles in total (in original packaging) | Products containing medicinal ingredients are instead subject to medicine regulations, with entirely different limits |
| Products containing lithium batteries (power banks, cameras and electric shavers) | Civil Aviation Administration / Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection | Article 29 of the Regulations Governing the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air: dangerous goods must not be consigned as airmail (exceptions must comply with the Technical Instructions) | Power banks are also subject to mandatory BSMI inspection. Different rules apply to standalone lithium batteries and products containing batteries; confirm with the carrier before shipping |
| Alcohol | Ministry of Finance / National Taxation Bureau | Importing illicit alcohol carries criminal liability under Article 45, paragraph 2 of the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act. No penalty applies if the quantity does not exceed a specified limit and the alcohol is for personal use; that limit is 5 liters of alcohol | 🔴 Tobacco and alcohol are entirely excluded from the NT$2,000 tax exemption, and packing them with ordinary goods may affect customs clearance for the entire consignment |
| Electrical appliances (small household appliances and consumer electronics) | Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection | Personal-use inspection exemption: goods of the same specification and model on the same declaration valued at US$1,000 or less, or above that value but ≤ 2 units (information technology equipment ≤ 5 units) | Importing goods under an inspection exemption does not mean they comply with Taiwan's safety standards. (Voltage compatibility is a product specification issue, not a regulatory matter. This site has not verified it; refer to the specific model's labeling.) |
First ask “Which authority regulates this item?”, then “Is an advance application required?”, and only then consider tax. Most customs delays arise not from tax calculation errors but from failing to submit a required application (for medicines, for example) or using a shipping method that is not permitted at all (such as airmail for lithium batteries).
Which claims are outdated or simply wrong?
Information about Japan becomes outdated particularly quickly. The following six claims are among the most widely circulated and most in need of updating.
🔴 This is no longer the current rule. On 2025-11-21, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration repealed all three controls specific to Japan: ① Japanese food categories and production or manufacturing regions for which import inspection was suspended (Wei-Shou-Shi-Zi No. 1141303024); ② radiation inspection certificates required for certain food imports from Japan (FDA-Shi-Zi No. 1141303032); ③ certificates of origin required for food imported from Japan (FDA-Shi-Zi No. 1141303217). All three repeals took effect that day.
The general food import inspection requirements now apply (Article 30 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation and the import inspection regulations). Food for personal use meeting the US$1,000 / 6-kilogram thresholds is exempt from applying for inspection.
These figures came from the former announcement on “quantity limits for imported specific-purpose cosmetics for personal use exempt from premarket registration.” That announcement was repealed on 2024/7/1 as part of the cosmetics regulatory reform (Wei-Shou-Shi-Zi No. 1131603792), and no explicit current quantity limit was found.
⚠️ However, “no explicit quantity limit” does not mean unlimited quantities may be shipped—Customs still considers the quantity, frequency and product categories when determining whether goods are actually “for personal use.”
They are not the same; two separate sets of rules apply. The proviso to Article 22, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act refers only to personal-use medicines “carried by travelers or crew members”; postal and express shipments are not included.
Postal shipments (Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts): an advance application for import approval is required; non-prescription medicines per application ≤ 12 bottles (12 tubes; 1,200 pills in total), and repeat applications within 6 months are prohibited.
Medicines carried by travelers (Article 4 and the attached table of the Regulations Governing the Declaration, Inspection, Duty and Release of Personal Luggage or Goods of Inward Passengers): non-prescription medicines ≤ 12 bottles of each type and ≤ 36 in total; prescription medicines are limited to a 2-month supply without a prescription or no more than a 6-month supply with a prescription; Chinese medicinal materials ≤ 1 kilogram of each type and ≤ 12 types in total.
🔴 These two sets of quantity limits cannot be used interchangeably.
Packaging is not the issue. The article expressly states that dangerous goods must not be consigned as airmail, and lithium batteries are dangerous goods. Exceptions must comply with the Technical Instructions and be accepted for carriage by the carrier in accordance with the rules. Standalone batteries and “products containing batteries” are subject to different rules; refer to the carrier's written rules to determine whether an item can actually be shipped. Power banks are also subject to mandatory BSMI inspection.
The risk is higher than most people think. Importing illicit alcohol carries criminal liability under Article 45, paragraph 2 of the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act. No penalty applies if the quantity does not exceed a specified limit and the alcohol is for personal use; that limit is 5 liters of alcohol. In addition, tobacco and alcohol are entirely excluded from the NT$2,000 tax exemption (expressly excluded by Article 7, paragraph 2 of the postal parcel regulations), so tax applies regardless of how low the value is.
Postal parcels have a frequency limit: the exemption ceases when goods for the same recipient have been released under the exemption more than six times within a half-year period. The wording is “more than six times,” not “six times”—the first 6 releases remain exempt, and tax starts with the 7th release. People who frequently place small orders are particularly likely to encounter this limit.
The biggest risk with purchases from Japan is not miscalculating tax, but ordering based on information from two or three years ago—food controls were comprehensively relaxed in 2025/11 and cosmetics quantity limits were repealed in 2024/7, yet many articles still have not been updated to reflect either change.
What should you check before ordering?
Instead of memorizing numerous rules, follow a consistent process before ordering. There are four steps; follow them in order.
① First, identify which authority regulates the item
Cosmetics, medicines, food and dietary supplements all fall under the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, but different regulations apply. Electrical appliances and power banks fall under the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection; alcohol falls under the Ministry of Finance; and transport restrictions for items containing lithium batteries fall under the Civil Aviation Administration and the carrier. Establish the category first so you know which rules to check next.
② Next, determine whether an advance application is required
This step determines whether you can place the order directly. Medicines require an advance application (Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts); shipping them without applying violates the rules. Electrical appliances may require an inspection exemption application (Regulations Governing Exemption from Inspection of Commodities). Food within the US$1,000 / 6-kilogram limits is exempt from applying for inspection. Failing to submit a required application is the most common cause of customs delays.
③ Confirm whether the proposed shipping method is permitted
This step has nothing to do with tax, but it is often skipped. Products containing lithium batteries cannot be consigned as airmail; fresh foods, live animals and plants, and alcohol each have transport and quarantine restrictions. Ask the carrier directly for its written list of prohibited and restricted goods; do not rely on past experience.
④ Calculate taxes last
Add the goods price + international freight + insurance to obtain the customs value. Then check whether it exceeds the tax exemption threshold, whether the goods are tobacco or alcohol (entirely excluded from the exemption), and whether the six exempt releases for the half-year period have already been used. Confirm whether the goods can be shipped before calculating the cost—reversing the order can leave you doing calculations for nothing.
If a seller only ships to addresses in Japan, actually enter a Taiwan address at checkout to test it and see whether the system accepts it; do not rely on an “overseas shipping” label on the product page. Also, shipping goods to a forwarding warehouse and then forwarding them does not automatically qualify them for a tax exemption or refund. Confirm the Japanese consumption tax treatment directly with the seller.
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 do not have a warehouse in Japan, and do not have a Tokyo or Osaka warehouse. We do not provide consolidation, proxy purchasing, proxy bidding or payment-on-behalf services for shipments from Japan to Taiwan, nor do we provide a Japanese delivery address, official rates or promised transit times. The Japanese products and regulations discussed on this page are general import information and do not represent the services offered by this site. Do not use this page as a basis for entering a delivery address or placing an order.
How, then, is this page useful to you? In two ways.
Taiwan's rules apply equally to goods from all origins
Customs valuation, the tax exemption threshold and frequency limit, advance applications for medicines, the prohibition on sending lithium batteries by airmail, and criminal liability and the 5-liter limit for alcohol are all requirements imposed by Taiwan Customs and the responsible authorities. They do not differ according to whether goods come from Japan, Europe or China. If you arrange shipping from Japan yourself, the decision process on this page still applies.
We can handle purchases from China
If the items you want are available from Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, 1688 or Pinduoduo, you can send them to our Shenzhen consolidation warehouse for consolidated shipping to Taiwan. We provide an actual service on this route, have official rates, and can help with customs declarations in Taiwan. You must arrange the Japan leg yourself.
What sources support these claims?
The tax rules and product-specific import requirements on this page are based on current regulations and announcements from the responsible authorities, with article and announcement numbers identified individually. Whenever this site could not obtain the original text, this is disclosed under “Verification limits.”
Regulations and official sources (checked individually)
- Customs Act, Article 49, paragraph 2—goods in the same consignment are exempt if their combined customs value does not exceed the limit announced by the Ministry of Finance, but the exemption does not apply to frequent imports or specified goods announced by the Ministry; paragraph 3 authorizes the Ministry of Finance to define frequent imports. Article 29—customs value is the transaction value plus freight, loading, unloading and handling charges, and insurance to the port of importation. law.moj.gov.tw
- Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels, Article 7—goods with a customs value of NT$2,000 or less are exempt from customs duty, commodity tax and business tax; paragraph 2 expressly excludes tobacco, alcohol and agricultural products subject to tariff quotas. Article 12, paragraph 2—the exemption ceases when goods for the same recipient have been released under the exemption more than six times within a half-year period. law.moj.gov.tw
- Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Air Express Consignments, Article 11 (amended ROC 115/2/23)—low-value, tax-exempt express consignments have a customs value of NT$2,000 or less. (Site note: these regulations do not set a separate frequency rule; for express shipments, the frequency limit follows the proviso to Article 49, paragraph 2 of the Customs Act and Ministry of Finance Order Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061011007 (26 May 2017): more than six duty-free releases for the same taxpayer within a half-year period.)law.moj.gov.tw
- Value-added and Non-value-added Business Tax Act, Article 20 and Article 10—the business tax base for imported goods is the customs value plus import taxes. law.moj.gov.tw
- 🔴 The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration repealed all three controls specific to Japanese food on 2025-11-21 (all effective that day): ① “Japanese food categories and production or manufacturing regions for which import inspection is suspended” (Wei-Shou-Shi-Zi No. 1141303024); ② “Radiation inspection certificates must accompany applications to the inspection authority for inspection of certain food imports from Japan” (FDA-Shi-Zi No. 1141303032); ③ “Certificates of origin must accompany applications for import inspection of food from Japan” (FDA-Shi-Zi No. 1141303217). fda.gov.tw
- Taiwan Food and Drug Administration announcement—thresholds for exemption from applying for inspection of food imported for personal use: US$1,000 or less and no more than 6 kilograms (108.4.16, Wei-Shou-Shi-Zi No. 1081300310, effective 108.5.1). The personal-use inspection exemption for food in tablet or capsule form allows ≤ 12 bottles of each type and ≤ 36 bottles in total (in original packaging). fda.gov.tw
- 🔴 The announcement on personal-use quantity limits for cosmetics was repealed on 2024/7/1 (Wei-Shou-Shi-Zi No. 1131603792). Alongside this, “Categories of Cosmetics Subject to Product Notification” was established on 2024-06-26 and took effect on 2024-07-01, changing the system to product notification. No explicit current personal-use quantity limit was found. fda.gov.tw
- Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, Article 22—postal and express shipments are not covered by the article's proviso (which is limited to personal-use medicines carried by travelers or crew members). Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts, Article 6—personal-use medicines sent by post require an advance application; non-prescription medicines per application ≤ 12 bottles (12 tubes; 1,200 pills in total), and repeat applications within 6 months are prohibited. law.moj.gov.tw
- Regulations Governing the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, Article 29—dangerous goods must not be consigned as airmail; exceptions must comply with the Technical Instructions. Lithium batteries are dangerous goods; power banks are also classified as power supply equipment subject to mandatory inspection under an announcement by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection. law.moj.gov.tw
- Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act, Article 45, paragraph 2—importing illicit alcohol carries criminal liability (including imprisonment for up to three years); paragraph 3 of the same article—the preceding two paragraphs do not apply to the manufacture or import of illicit tobacco or alcohol within a specified quantity and for personal use; paragraph 5 authorizes the central competent authority to announce that quantity, currently 5 liters of alcohol. law.moj.gov.tw
- Regulations Governing Exemption from Inspection of Commodities, Article 5—inspection exemption thresholds for personal-use goods such as electrical appliances: goods of the same specification and model on the same declaration valued at US$1,000 or less, or above that value but ≤ 2 units (information technology equipment ≤ 5 units). law.moj.gov.tw
Key figures at a glance (thresholds differ entirely by product category; do not use them interchangeably)
- Low-value tax exemption: customs value of NT$2,000 or less is exempt from customs duty, commodity tax and business tax; tobacco, alcohol and agricultural products subject to tariff quotas are excluded — Postal parcel regulations §7; air express consignment regulations §11
- Postal parcel tax exemption frequency limit: the exemption ceases after goods for the same recipient have been released more than six times within a half-year period (tax starts with the 7th release) — Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels §12 II
- Personal-use food inspection exemption: US$1,000 or less and no more than 6 kilograms; tablets and capsules ≤ 12 bottles of each type and ≤ 36 bottles in total. ⚠️ Food additives, flavorings, and beef and related products from countries where BSE has occurred are excluded — Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, 108.4.16, Wei-Shou-Shi-Zi No. 1081300310
- Personal-use medicines sent by post: an advance application is required; non-prescription medicines per application ≤ 12 bottles / 12 tubes / 1,200 pills in total; repeat applications within 6 months are prohibited — Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts §6
- Personal-use medicines carried by travelers (rules differ from those for postal shipments): non-prescription Western medicines ≤ 12 of each type and ≤ 36 in total; Chinese medicinal materials ≤ 1 kilogram of each type and ≤ 12 types in total — Regulations Governing the Declaration, Inspection, Duty and Release of Personal Luggage or Goods of Inward Passengers §4 and attached table (amended 115.1.30)
- Alcohol quantity exempt from penalties for personal use: 5 liters of alcohol; importing illicit alcohol above this quantity or for purposes other than personal use carries criminal liability — Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act §45 II and announcement
- Personal-use electrical appliance inspection exemption: goods of the same specification and model on the same declaration valued at US$1,000 or less, or above that value but ≤ 2 units (information technology equipment ≤ 5 units) — Regulations Governing Exemption from Inspection of Commodities §5
- Prescription medicines carried by travelers: limited to a 2-month supply without a prescription; no more than a 6-month supply with a prescription (rules differ from those for postal shipments) — Regulations Governing the Declaration, Inspection, Duty and Release of Personal Luggage or Goods of Inward Passengers, Article 4 and attached table (115.1.30)
Academic and research literature
A Study of Government Risk Communication: Adjustments to Controls on Food Imports into Taiwan from Specific Regions Following Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
This study provides policy background for this page's discussion of why Japanese food controls were progressively relaxed. It documents the suspension of food imports from Fukushima and 4 other prefectures after 2011, and the policy controversy over the 2016 proposal to move from “region-based food controls” to “risk-based food controls”—the institutional context that ultimately led to the complete repeal of the Japan-specific controls on 2025-11-21. ⚠️ This site read only the bibliographic record and abstract page, not the full text.
To avoid presenting information with excessive confidence, the following identifies verification this page could not complete:
① This site could not obtain the original text during this verification of the Ministry of Finance announcement dated 106.9.7, Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061018778 (the NT$2,000 limit); however, the NT$2,000 limit is corroborated by the current text of Article 7 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Importing and Exporting Postal Parcels and Article 11 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance Procedures for Air Express Consignments.
② For express shipments, the frequency limit follows Ministry of Finance Order Tai-Cai-Guan-Zi No. 1061011007 of 106.5.26 (published in the Executive Yuan Gazette): more than six duty-free releases for the same taxpayer within a half-year period count as frequent imports; for postal parcels, Article 12, paragraph 2 of the postal parcel regulations counts by the same recipient.
③ This site could not find the CNS standard number applicable to power banks (only the announcement title classifying them as “power supply equipment subject to mandatory inspection” was obtained).
④ Following repeal of the former cosmetics quantity-limit announcement, no explicit current quantity limit was found—this means “no explicit provision was found,” not “there are no restrictions”. Customs still assesses quantity, frequency and product categories to determine whether goods are for personal use.
④-2 🔴 Japanese beef / wagyu: this site cannot determine whether it can be shipped. For “Amendments to the Import Requirements for Japanese Beef and Beef Products” (2025-05-22), this site saw only the announcement title and did not read the text in the attached PDF. Beef and related products from countries where BSE has occurred are also ineligible for the personal-use inspection exemption. Do not use this page as a basis for determining whether wagyu can be shipped.
④-3 This site could not find a source for “CNS 15364,” which circulates online in connection with cosmetics, and therefore does not cite it.
⑤ An issue analysis from the Legislative Yuan's Legislative Affairs Bureau could not be found (the search interface did not allow results to be retrieved via plain HTTP).
⑥ Regulations and announcements may be amended again, particularly as Japanese food controls underwent major changes as recently as 2025. Check the latest announcements from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration and the Customs Administration again before actually placing an order.
Frequently asked questions
This means no Japanese prefectures remain banned from exporting food to Taiwan, and certificates of origin and radiation inspection certificates are no longer required. The general food import inspection requirements now apply; food for personal use valued at US$1,000 or less and weighing no more than 6 kilograms is exempt from applying for inspection.
⚠️ Many online articles still state that “imports from Fukushima and four other prefectures are banned.” That is an old rule that has been repealed.
💡 A useful detail: the product notification obligation applies when products are supplied, sold, given away, publicly displayed or offered for trial use; personal use does not trigger the notification obligation.
⚠️ However, “no explicit quantity limit was found” does not mean there are no restrictions—Customs still assesses quantity, frequency and product categories to determine whether goods are actually “for personal use.” Quantities clearly exceeding a reasonable personal-use amount may still require import inspection or return shipment.
Postal shipments require an advance application for import approval under Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts: non-prescription medicines per application ≤ 12 bottles (12 tubes; 1,200 pills in total), and repeat applications within 6 months are prohibited.
Medicines carried by travelers fall under a separate set of rules (Article 4 and the attached table of the Regulations Governing the Declaration, Inspection, Duty and Release of Personal Luggage or Goods of Inward Passengers): non-prescription medicines ≤ 12 bottles of each type and ≤ 36 in total; prescription medicines are limited to a 2-month supply without a prescription or no more than a 6-month supply with a prescription; Chinese medicinal materials ≤ 1 kilogram of each type and ≤ 12 types in total.
🔴 The most common misunderstanding is applying the quantity limits for medicines “carried by travelers” to postal shipments—these are two separate sets of rules.
Two distinctions matter: ① Standalone batteries and products containing batteries (cameras and shavers) are subject to different rules; ② “cannot be sent by airmail” does not mean “cannot be transported at all,” but whether an item can actually be shipped depends on the carrier's written rules for prohibited and restricted goods. Request those rules directly before shipping. Power banks are also subject to mandatory BSMI inspection.
Two other points: ① Tobacco and alcohol are entirely excluded from the NT$2,000 tax exemption (expressly excluded by Article 7, paragraph 2 of the postal parcel regulations), so tax applies regardless of how low the value is; ② packing them with ordinary goods may affect customs clearance for the entire consignment.
① Electrical compatibility: Japan's 100V supply is close to Taiwan's 110V supply, and some models can be used directly, but performance, heat generation or service life may be affected. ⚠️ This is general product specification information, not a regulatory matter, and this site has not verified it. Refer to the specific model's specifications or the manufacturer's instructions.
② Regulatory requirements (verified by this site): electrical appliances fall within the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection's mandatory inspection scope. The personal-use inspection exemption covers goods of the same specification and model on the same declaration valued at US$1,000 or less, or above that value but ≤ 2 units (information technology equipment ≤ 5 units). Importing a product under an inspection exemption does not mean it complies with Taiwan's safety standards; these are separate issues.
Also remember that the exemption is based on customs value (goods price + freight + insurance), not the listed price. Shipping from Japan is not cheap; an item listed at 1,900 dollars often exceeds the threshold once freight is included.
Further reading
Confirm whether it can be shipped, then calculate the cost
Enter the goods value, weight and product name to see customs duty, business tax and total landed cost.
Estimate import taxes