Customs Administration allows reduced fines for false import declarations if taxes are settled before penalties were confirmed.
Taiwan’s Customs Administration has announced, on 18 November 2025, that businesses and individuals who submit false import declarations may qualify for reduced penalties if they settle taxes before the penalty is confirmed.
The measure applies to cases involving misreporting of imported goods’ name, quantity, weight, quality, value, or specifications, as well as submission of forged, altered, or inaccurate invoices. If the taxpayer pays the owed tax or agrees to offset it with full security before the penalty is finalised, the fine can be reduced.
The Customs Administration gave an example: if Company A underreports the value of imported goods, evading TWD 10 million in import taxes, the penalty according to the “Penalty Multiples Reference Table” would normally be three times the evaded tax, i.e., TWD 30 million. However, if Company A pays the evaded tax or agrees to offset it with full security before the penalty is confirmed, it meets the conditions for a reduced penalty under the table, and the fine can legally be reduced to 2.5 times the evaded tax, i.e., TWD 25 million.
The Customs Administration further explained that if goods are applied for re-export and approved by customs before release, or voluntarily abandoned in writing, the reduced penalty multiple can also apply. Statistics show that from 2023 to October 2025, nearly 60% of cases applied the reduced penalty multiple, with over 80% meeting the condition of agreeing to offset with full security before the penalty is confirmed.
Customs reminds that the right to request a review is not lost when applying the reduced penalty multiple, and it does not affect the right to file an appeal or administrative litigation later. Businesses or individuals are encouraged to make use of the penalty reduction provisions to reduce financial burdens.
