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Taiwan → Korea clearance guide

Overview

  • · Small-consignment exemption: goods for personal use with a goods value of US$150 or less, or US$200 for US-origin goods under KORUS. Express consignments are split by goods value into list clearance (US$150 or less, US$200 from the United States), simplified import declaration (over US$150 up to US$2,000) and full import declaration (over US$2,000); shipments from the same sender on the same day, or one bill of lading split up, are aggregated.
  • · Import VAT is 10%, charged on the customs value plus duty plus any individual consumption or liquor tax.
  • · A customs broker is not mandatory. The importer may self-file in UNI-PASS, and an individual needs a personal customs clearance code.
  • · FTA preference needs a certificate or declaration of origin: KORUS for U.S. origin, the Korea-China FTA or RCEP for Chinese origin. Korea and Taiwan have no agreement, so the basic or WTO rate applies.
  • · Whether a product requirement applies depends on the HS code. Food, cosmetics, electrical goods and radio equipment must clear their agency requirement before customs clearance can proceed.

Procedure

Taiwan export side

Taiwanese exports are also handled by the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance. The export declaration is filed electronically through the Single Window and is assigned the same clearance channels as imports — C1 (release, no document or goods check), C2 (document review) and C3 (physical examination). General goods carry no export duty, but the trade promotion service fee applies at 0.04% (four per ten thousand) of the FOB value; it is not collected where the amount payable is NT$100 or less.

Exporting in a company's own name means registering as an importer/exporter with the International Trade Administration first. Under the Regulations Governing Registration of Exporters and Importers, made under art. 9(5) of the Foreign Trade Act, art. 2 provides that a company or firm may apply to register unless a law or regulation prohibits or restricts it, and art. 3 requires the English-name pre-check and the registration application to be filed by electronic data transmission (paper, fax or e-mail are allowed if the system is down). Without registration, an exporter can ship through an already-registered trader or a customs broker, but the exporter of record on the declaration is then a different party.

Whether goods are controlled is read from the export regulation column of the commodity classification table. Strategic high-tech commodities (SHTC) need an export permit from the International Trade Administration; certain agricultural, fishery and livestock products need quarantine from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, and goods on the export inspection list must be presented to the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection.

The release record of the export declaration is what supports the zero-rated business tax return and any drawback of tax on raw materials. If the buyer wants a preferential rate at destination, the exporter supplies the corresponding certificate of origin: goods on the ECFA early harvest list going to mainland China use an ECFA certificate of origin, while Taiwan has no free trade agreement with Korea or the United States.

Korea import side

Import clearance in Korea is handled by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) through its electronic system, UNI-PASS. Goods that arrive are reported on discharge, moved into a bonded area, declared, assessed and then released with an import declaration certificate (수입신고필증). A declaration may also be filed before arrival, or even before the vessel departs, when speed matters.

Duty is assessed on the CIF customs value, and import VAT of 10% is charged on top. Depending on the product, individual consumption tax, liquor tax, education tax and the special rural development tax may also apply. Small self-use consignments can instead be assessed at the simplified combined rate (간이세율) under Article 81 of the Customs Act.

The small-consignment exemption applies to goods for personal use with a goods value of US$150 or less, raised to US$200 for goods originating in the United States under KORUS. The basis is Customs Act art. 94(4), Enforcement Rules art. 45(2)1, and the Notice on Import Clearance Administration (KCS Notice 2024-43) art. 67 and Annex 11. The goods value includes the price of the goods plus any tax, inland freight and insurance incurred in the sending country, but excludes the international shipping charge to Korea. Where goods that arrived on one bill of lading or air waybill are split, or goods bought from the same overseas supplier on the same day are split, the values are aggregated for assessment (Notice art. 68).

The importer may file directly (자가통관) or appoint a licensed customs broker (관세사). An individual importer needs a personal customs clearance code (개인통관고유부호). Product requirements under the Food Sanitation Act, the Cosmetics Act, the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Products Safety Control Act (KC marking) and the Radio Waves Act are checked as part of the declaration.

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Sources: Korea Customs Service: Import clearance · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (Easy Law): overseas direct purchase, duty and VAT calculation · Korea Law Information Center: Customs Act and its Enforcement Rules · Korea Customs Service UNI-PASS · Korea Customs Service FTA Portal · Korean Agency for Technology and Standards: product safety certification · Ministry of Food and Drug Safety · Korea Customs Service: express consignment clearance (list / simplified / full declaration thresholds) · Korea Customs Service: traveller baggage clearance (allowances, voluntary-declaration reduction, penalties) · Korea Customs Service: 2025 FTA frequently asked cases (deadline for retroactive preference claims) · Korea Ministry of Government Legislation (easylaw): overseas direct purchase — medicines and health functional foods · Korea Law Information Centre: Customs Act article 81, Enforcement Decree article 96 and Annex 2 (simplified tariff rates) · Customs-Port-Trade Single Window · Customs Administration: import and export regulations for goods · International Trade Administration: commodity classification system notes · International Trade Administration · Ministry of Finance: updated ECFA early harvest list tariff concordance · Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection · International Trade Administration: trade promotion service fee (rate, basis and statutory authority) · MOEA law system: scope of exemptions from the trade promotion service fee (not collected below NT$100) · MOEA law system: Regulations Governing Registration of Exporters and Importers · MOF law system: rules for simplified clearance of air express consignments (C1, C2 and C3 channels) · China MOF — Customs Tariff Commission Announcement 2023 No. 9 (ECFA concessions suspended on 12 tariff lines) · China MOF — Customs Tariff Commission Announcement 2024 No. 4 (second batch, ECFA concessions suspended on 134 tariff lines)