How much tax applies when shipping Korean cosmetics to Taiwan? A guide to tariff classifications and regulations
The essentials in three points
First, duty rates depend on the tariff heading, not the broad product category: perfumes (3303), makeup and skincare (3304), hair products (3305), and toothpaste and mouthwash (3306) all have a Column 1 duty rate of 0%, but heading 3307 carries a 5% rate throughout, covering aftershaves, deodorants, bath preparations, and room fragrances.
Second, the pre-market registration system no longer exists: since July 1, 2024, Taiwan has stopped classifying cosmetics as “general” or “specific-purpose”; businesses must instead complete product notification and compile a PIF. If you cannot find a “permit number” for a Korean sunscreen, that is because the system was abolished, not because the product is defective.
Third, the “12 bottles per type, 36 in total” limit has been abolished: the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration's quantity-limit notice was repealed on July 1, 2024 (Announcement No. 1131603792), and no bottle-count cap can be found in current cosmetics regulations; a few customs webpages still cite the repealed announcement's 12／36-bottle figures, which should not be treated as current authority. Cosmetics remain for personal use only and may not be resold or diverted for other use — do not treat the absence of a stated number as a guarantee of customs clearance.
Is product registration still required after July 2024?
Many articles about buying Korean cosmetics through purchasing agents still say that “medicated cosmetics require inspection and registration, and a licence number”. This has been entirely outdated since July 1, 2024. Under Article 5, paragraph 7 of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act, the inspection and registration system for special-purpose cosmetics ceased to apply on the fifth anniversary of the Act’s entry into force (July 1, ROC year 113). Before that date, on 113 年 6 月 29 日 (ROC calendar), the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued 衛授食字第 1131603790 號令, repealing the Regulations for Issuance of Special-Purpose Cosmetics Licences.
From that date, Taiwan stopped dividing cosmetics into “general” and “specific-purpose” categories and adopted a single-category regulatory system: businesses must complete “product notification” and “compile a Product Information File (PIF)” before placing products on the market, while the authorities focus on post-market inspections. In other words, if you now search for a “permit number” for a Korean sunscreen or hair dye, you will not find one—not because something is wrong with the product, but because the system itself was abolished.
Current timeline: fully applicable since July 2026
If you plan to move from buying for yourself to importing for sale, keep the implementation dates in mind. Under Ministry of Health and Welfare notice 衛授食字第 1131604395 號, the cosmetics subject to product notification are “cosmetics other than solid handmade soaps produced at cosmetics manufacturing premises exempt from factory registration,” effective July 1, ROC year 113—in other words, almost all cosmetics. PIF requirements were introduced in three phases under notice 衛授食字第 1131604608 號:
Phase 3 took effect in July 2026, so as of now (September 2026), all imported cosmetics except solid handmade soaps must have both product notification completed and a PIF compiled before being offered for sale. Notification must be submitted through the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration's Cosmetic Product Notification Platform. Account registration requires a business certificate IC card or a written application accompanied by company, factory, or business registration documents—the system is designed for registered business entities; private individuals cannot submit notifications.
Does the 「12 瓶／36 瓶」 limit still apply?
Under the former system, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration issued a notice setting “quantity limits for imports of specific-purpose cosmetics for personal use exempt from pre-market registration.” This was the source of the widely circulated “12 bottles per type, 36 in total” rule. That notice was repealed on July 1, ROC year 113 (衛授食字第 1131603792 號, effective immediately under Article 21, Subparagraph 2 of the Central Regulation Standard Act). With pre-market registration abolished, the quantity limits for exemption from that registration also became obsolete.
First, the wording in Article 5, paragraph 3 of the parent statute, “for personal use, in quantities complying with the announcement of the central competent authority”, still remains in the statute today and has not been deleted. However, paragraphs 1 and 2, on which it depends, have ceased to apply, and the announcement issued under that authority has also been repealed. Consequently, we found no official numerical limits currently in force. Second, some customs webpages (the Kaohsiung Customs section for arriving passengers, Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance) still state that “special-purpose cosmetics are limited to 12 bottles of each type and 36 bottles in total,” but this cites the very announcement above that has already been repealed and should not be treated as current authority — please follow the Ministry of Health and Welfare's repeal announcement instead.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare's notice on “personal-use quantity limits for exemption from pre-market registration” was repealed on 2024-07-01, and no bottle-count cap can be found in current cosmetics regulations; a few customs webpages still use the old 12／36-bottle wording, but that wording is based on the repealed announcement. Even without a stated number, do not treat “no quantity limit” as a guarantee of clearance: cosmetics for personal use may not be supplied, sold, publicly displayed, offered as samples, or diverted for other use, cosmetics in glass ampoules must first apply for special import approval, and shipments must still clear customs under the applicable regulations; whether goods are taxed or detained ultimately depends on customs' case-by-case assessment of a “reasonable quantity for personal use.”
How do you check tariff classifications? What determines whether 0% or 5% applies?
An entry-by-entry comparison against the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance’s 2026 Customs Import Tariff Data shows that perfumes (3303), makeup and skincare products (3304), hair preparations (3305), and toothpaste and mouthwash (3306) all have a Column I tariff rate of 0%. Within these headings, the import requirements fields for 3303／3304／3305 are all blank—there is no MW0 (importation of mainland Chinese goods prohibited), no MP1, and no import approval codes of any kind; however, 3306 has 4 tariff-line exceptions: two medicated items carry 503, denture cleaners carry 504, and 3306.90.00.00-6 (other oral or dental hygiene preparations) carries MP1, meaning that mainland Chinese goods are permitted for import subject to conditions. Heading 3307 is different: shaving preparations, personal deodorants, bath preparations, room deodorisers, depilatories and similar products all have a Column I tariff rate of 5%.
| Tariff heading | Representative products | Column 1 duty rate | Import regulations | Consolidated shipping eligibility under the tariff schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3303 | Perfumes and toilet waters | 0% | (Blank) | ✅ No MW0 or licensing requirements; alcohol content is subject to separate carrier restrictions on flammable goods |
| 3304 | Lip makeup, eye makeup, nail polish, face powder, face creams, skincare products | 0% | (Blank) | ✅ Nail polish and nail polish remover are flammable liquids subject to separate carrier restrictions |
| 3305 | Shampoo and conditioner, perming preparations, hairspray, hair dye | 0% | (Blank) | ✅ Aerosol cans are subject to carrier restrictions |
| 3306 | Toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss (non-medicated) | 0% | Mostly blank, with 4 tariff-line exceptions | ⚠️ Medicated toothpaste／mouthwash carries 503, denture cleaners carry 504, and 3306.90.00.00-6 carries MP1; see below |
| 3307 | Aftershaves, deodorants, bath preparations, room fragrances | 5% | (Mostly blank) | ✅ The duty rate differs from the preceding four headings; do not assume all are duty-free |
11-digit codes that need special attention
Some products are subject to mandatory import inspection under notices issued by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection
Regulated as medicines for human use; requires a pharmaceutical business licence plus an imported drug licence, or an authorisation document issued by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Standard parcel-consolidation channels cannot handle these items.
Products classified as pharmaceuticals for human use follow 503; non-pharmaceutical products must be declared as “These goods are neither pharmaceuticals for human use nor veterinary drugs”
Classified as medical devices; a copy of the medical device license or an approval document is required, and the 14-digit license number must be declared
Also regulated as pharmaceuticals for human use
Mainland Chinese goods are permitted for import “subject to conditions” and must meet the requirements in the consolidated table of import management regulations
The statement “cosmetics are duty-free” holds only for 3303–3306; under 3307, the rate becomes 5%. Once an item is described as “medicated”, it falls under pharmaceutical or medical device regulation, and standard parcel-consolidation channels cannot handle it. This is why tariff classification must be checked down to the full 11-digit code—generalising from 4 or 6 digits will lead directly to an incorrect assessment.
Is Korean 「機能性化粧品」 certification valid in Taiwan?
South Korea places products such as skin brighteners, anti-wrinkle treatments, and sunscreens in a separate category called “functional cosmetics (기능성화장품).” These require review by, or a report to, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), with the result obtained before they can be marketed in South Korea. Taiwan takes a completely different approach: since July 1, 2024, cosmetics have been managed without that category distinction, importers complete product notification and compile a PIF themselves, and the authorities conduct post-market oversight.
A review of all 32 articles of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act and all 17 articles of the Regulations Governing Border Inspection of Imported Cosmetics (Articles 1–15, 17 and 18; there is no Article 16) found no provision recognising approvals, certifications or review results from foreign cosmetics regulators as a basis for importation. Article 4 of the border inspection regulations does provide for possible exemption from inspection where “a certificate of inspection compliance has been issued by the competent authority of an exporting country granted reciprocal inspection exemptions”, but this operates through a list of eligible reciprocal countries. Our verification found no such listing covering Taiwan and South Korea. The practical implication is straightforward: the wording “기능성화장품” on a Korean product’s packaging is a domestic Korean compliance marking. Once the product is brought into Taiwan, it does not eliminate any required procedure or make an ingredient prohibited in Taiwan lawful.
For details of South Korea’s functional cosmetics system, we obtained secondary sources, including an industry regulatory database, but did not obtain the primary MFDS provisions. Statements concerning Taiwan are based on the full texts of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act and the Regulations Governing Border Inspection of Imported Cosmetics. In addition, Article 14, paragraph 1 of the parent statute, the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act, provides that the competent authority “may” designate by public announcement certain categories or items that may pose a risk to hygiene and safety: this is a discretionary power, not a duty. We found no such announcement. This means only that no announcement was found; it does not support the conclusion that cosmetics imports require no border inspection whatsoever.
Who is responsible for what when shipping Korean brands from the Shenzhen warehouse?
HowBridge has only a Shenzhen consolidation warehouse and a Taoyuan operations warehouse, and provides consolidated shipping only from China → Taiwan. We do not have a Korean warehouse, and we do not offer direct shipping from South Korea or a dedicated Korea-origin consolidation service.The regulatory information above is intended for members who buy Korean brands on Chinese e-commerce platforms and ship them to Taiwan through the Shenzhen warehouse. For parcels dispatched from South Korea, contact a provider that operates that route.
From an import-control perspective, this route is permitted under the tariff schedule: all 11-digit entries under 3303／3304／3305 have blank import-regulation fields. Under notices issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs' International Trade Administration, goods not marked MW0 (imports prohibited) or MP1 (imports conditionally permitted) are classified as mainland Chinese goods permitted for import. But eligibility does not mean unrestricted shipping. Keep these three distinctions clear:
1Personal use vs. business use: whether you sell the products matters
Article 3, subparagraph 2 of the Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act defines a “cosmetics business operator” as a person who manufactures, imports or sells cosmetics as a business. The key is the commercial nature of the activity: an individual buying products for personal use falls outside this definition, and giving products away purely free of charge, without any commercial character, does not make someone a business operator either. The product notification and PIF obligations under Article 4 apply to cosmetics operators that manufacture or import cosmetics of categories designated by the central competent authority and are of a certain scale (excluding operators engaged solely in sales). The activities listed in that article—“supply, sale, gifting, public display or provision for consumer trial”—determine when those obligations arise. Under Article 23, violations are subject to a fine of NT$1 萬 to NT$100 萬, and fines may be imposed for each violation. Also, Articles 20 through 24 of the Act provide exclusively for administrative fines and contain no criminal penalty provisions; online claims that these provisions can result in a criminal sentence are incorrect.
2Avoid medicated products
Items carrying tariff requirement codes 503／504／802—depilatories, medicated toothpaste, medicated mouthwash, medicated toilet preparations and contact lens cleaning solutions—are regulated as pharmaceuticals or medical devices. Although the applicant eligibility rules for 503／504 expressly include individuals and natural persons, they must use a separate Ministry of Health and Welfare procedure to obtain an authorisation document, such as a special import permit for medicines for personal use. Standard parcel-consolidation channels cannot handle these items. Do not include them in a consolidated parcel.
3Carrier restrictions are separate from customs rules
Perfumes, nail polish, nail polish remover, hairspray, and aerosol deodorants contain alcohol or are pressurized aerosols, placing them within carriers' dangerous-goods categories. Customs permission to import does not mean an airline or ocean carrier will accept the goods. These are independent decisions, so confirm carrier acceptance before shipping.
Further references and data sources
The regulatory statements on this page are based on the primary sources below. Market figures identify the reporting agency, year, and statistical scope; do not mix figures with different scopes.
Laws and official notices
- Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act, Articles 3, 4, 5, and 20–24 (the Act contains no criminal penalty provisions)
- 衛授食字第 1131603790 號令 (113-06-29): repeal of the Regulations for Issuance of Specific-Purpose Cosmetics Licenses
- 衛授食字第 1131603792 號 (113-07-01): notice repealing personal-use quantity limits for exemption from pre-market registration
- 衛授食字第 1131604395 號, 衛授食字第 1131604608 號 (113-06-26): notices on product notification and the three-phase PIF implementation schedule
- Regulations Governing Border Inspection of Imported Cosmetics, Articles 4, 6, and 14
- Ministry of Finance Customs Administration／Customs-Port-Trade Single Window, “Customs Import Tariff Data 2026.xls” (last updated 2026-09-02)
- Ministry of Economic Affairs International Trade Administration, Standard Classification of Commodities of the Republic of China, Chapter 33, and explanations of import regulation codes
Market data (different agencies and statistical scopes; attribute separately)
| South Korea’s total cosmetics exports reached US$114 億 3,100 萬 in 2025, up 12.3% year on year, with export destinations increasing to 202 countries, setting an all-time record (the 2023 total of US$84.6 hundred million was below the 2021 total of US$91.8 hundred million, so exports reached record highs for two consecutive years). | South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, released 2026-01-09 |
| South Korea's cosmetics exports to Taiwan totaled US$346 million in 2025, up 19.8% year on year, with Taiwan ranking 7th | South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, released 2026-01-09 |
| Taiwan imported US$211 million in cosmetics from South Korea in 2023, up 8.98% year on year, with South Korea ranking 3rd among import sources | KOTRA Taipei Trade Center, “2024 Taiwan Cosmetics Industry Information,” 2024-02-06 |
Academic and research literature
Legal Analysis of Cosmetic Additive Limits and Labeling (No. R00205)
The analysis argues that Taiwan’s table of concentration limits for preservative／antimicrobial ingredients <strong>lacks statutory authorisation and is contrary to the principle of legal reservation</strong>, and recommends legislative amendments. The original text identifies its comparators as “Europe, the United States and Japan”, rather than the European Union alone. It helps explain that each jurisdiction sets its own ingredient limits: a Korean brand’s compliance in South Korea does not establish compliance in Taiwan. ⚠️ The paper analyses the former Statute for Control of Cosmetic Hygiene, which has been replaced by the current Act.
A Study of Border Inspection Measures for Imported Food in Different Countries
The paper examines border inspection of <strong>food</strong>, comparing 9 countries and jurisdictions: Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. It identifies three principal tiers of food border inspection in Taiwan: <strong>regular batch sampling inspection, enhanced batch sampling inspection and batch-by-batch inspection</strong>. Its value here is in illustrating Taiwan’s overall approach to risk-based border inspection tiers; it <strong>must not be applied directly to cosmetics</strong>, which are governed separately by Article 6 of the Regulations Governing Border Inspection of Imported Cosmetics.
Participation in the Joint Meeting of the European Union’s Committee on Cosmetics and Consumer Health (CD-P-COS) and Network of Official Cosmetics Control Laboratories (OCCLs)
Shows that Taiwan’s competent authority attended a meeting in 2018 (documented in an official overseas travel report covering a six-day (6 天) meeting trip), providing supplementary evidence that Taiwan follows international cosmetics regulatory developments. ⚠️ Clarification: CD-P-COS and OCCLs operate within the <strong>Council of Europe/EDQM</strong> framework, not the European Commission; this page retains the terminology used in the official title of Taiwan’s overseas travel report.
A Study of Lifestyle and the Consumption Value of Korean Cosmetics: Female University Students in Tainan
Uses structural equation modeling based on 400 valid questionnaires to explain how lifestyle drives demand for Korean cosmetics in Taiwan, providing academic evidence rather than a marketing claim.
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