Taipei, May 23 (CNA) The Ministry of Finance (MOF) will lower the duty-free threshold for goods imported via mail to NT$2,000 (US$66.29) from the current NT$3,000, probably starting from September, ministry officials said on Tuesday.
The MOF said the main reasons for the move are to provide a fair playing field for domestic online shopping companies to compete with their overseas rivals and to broaden the tax base.
The implementation date is not yet settled because rules on the clearance of imported and exported postal parcels need to be revised.
Meanwhile, people who frequently import goods via mail will be required to pay customs duty from July 1.
Frequent mail is defined as more than six times to the same person or the same address in half a year. In that case, any goods mailed from the seventh time onward will need to have duty paid, and the period will be counted from Jan. 1 to June 30 and from July 1 to Dec. 31.
The new practice will take effect following a revision of the Customs Act last year.
