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Exporting food supplements from Taiwan

Taiwan has no separate supplements law: a supplement is food under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, or health food under the Health Food Governing Act if it is labelled or advertised with health care effects. TFDA issues English certificates for processed food on request, and the exporter registers with TITA and declares the goods to Customs.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Legal status
Food, or health food if it claims health care effects
Health food
TFDA permit before manufacture or import
Export certificates
TFDA sanitary certificates and certificates of free sale
Applications
Online, through TFDA's Asefsc system
Exporter
Registered with TITA

Before the goods leave

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the product food, or health food carrying a health care effect claim? Read more
  2. 2If it is health food, does it hold a TFDA permit? Read more
  3. 3Does the destination ask for a TFDA sanitary certificate, test report or certificate of free sale? Read more
  4. 4Is the exporter registered with TITA, and is the declaration ready for Customs? Read more
  5. 5Does the buyer need a certificate of origin? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Food or health food

Which Taiwanese law a supplement falls under, and what that means for goods made for export.

  • Health food is food with health care effects that is labelled or advertised with those effects; the effects are scientifically substantiated and are not a medical treatment (Health Food Governing Act, Article 2).
  • No health food may be manufactured or imported until TFDA, or its commissioned organisation, issues a product registration permit (Article 7).
  • A permit is issued on scientific assessment of safety and effect, or where the ingredients meet TFDA's Health Food Specification Standards (Article 3).
  • Health food that is deteriorated, contaminated, over residue limits, adulterated or past its shelf life must not be exported (Article 12).
  • Other supplements are food, and food that is toxic, contaminated, adulterated or expired must not be exported (Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, Article 15).

How we help: Compliant Always records which law each product sits under, and keeps the health food permit or food registration behind it with the product, dated. Ask about this

TFDA export certificates

The English-language certificates TFDA issues for processed food going abroad.

  • TFDA issues sanitary certificates, manufactured sanitary certificates, test reports and certificates of free sale and manufacture for processed food.
  • Applications have been fully online through the Application System for Export Food Sanitary Certificates (Asefsc) since 1 July 2019.
  • Operator, factory and additive registrations are drawn from the FadenBook registration platform.
  • A manufacturer with valid second-tier quality control verification, or a GHP inspection record from the six months before the application, can have a sanitary certificate issued on paper review.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each certificate with the lot it covers and shows what a destination asks for beside what the certificate says. Ask about this

Exporter registration and the export declaration

Who may export, when an export permit is needed, and what goes to Customs.

  • A company or business registered with the International Trade Administration (TITA, formerly the Bureau of Foreign Trade) as an exporter/importer may engage in export business; its English name is reviewed first (Foreign Trade Act, Article 9).
  • Registration is applied for electronically; TITA publishes the registration data online and transmits it automatically to Customs.
  • A registered firm exporting goods not on the List of Commodities Subject to Export Restriction needs no export permit; listed goods follow the regulations on that list (Regulations Governing Export of Commodities, Articles 5 and 6).
  • An export permit is valid for 30 days from licensing and cannot be extended (Article 19).
  • The exporter declares the trademark on the export declaration, or "without trademark" (Article 10).
  • Exporters declare goods to Customs before the clearance or departure of the means of transport, with the export declaration, loading list, booking note, packing list and any export permits (Customs Act, Articles 16 and 17).
  • Declarations, trade licensing, inspection and quarantine services run through the Customs-Port-Trade (CPT) Single Window, operated by the Customs Administration.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the exporter registration, any export permit and the export declaration with the shipment, dated, and shows a permit that will lapse before the goods leave. Ask about this

Origin marking and certificates of origin

How goods for export are marked with their origin, and how a certificate of origin is issued.

  • Goods for export are marked with the country of origin on the goods or their packaging, conspicuously and durably; goods made in Taiwan are marked "Made in Taiwan", "Made in Taiwan, Republic of China" or an equivalent (Regulations Governing Export of Commodities, Articles 14 and 15).
  • TITA, or a body it entrusts, issues certificates of origin and certificates of processing for exports (Foreign Trade Act, Article 20-2).
  • Goods originate in Taiwan if wholly obtained there, or if the last substantial transformation happened there: a change in the first six digits of the tariff number, or added value above 35% (Certificates of Origin Regulations, Articles 3 and 5).
  • Packing, re-labelling, simple assembly or mixing, and simple cutting do not count as substantial transformation (Article 5).
  • The applicant is the exporter on the export declaration, normally within 180 days after Customs releases the goods; the fee is NT$250 per certificate (Articles 11, 23 and 29).
  • The applicant keeps the documents proving origin for five years (Article 28).
  • Customs publishes the rules of origin for Taiwan's agreements, including ECFA, ANZTEC with New Zealand, ASTEP with Singapore, and the agreements with Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, Paraguay and Eswatini.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the origin evidence behind each certificate with the lot, dated, and shows a certificate request coming up against its 180-day window. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ExporterRegistration with TITA, the export declaration, any export permit, and the certificate of origin application.Registration, permits and certificates kept with each shipment, dated.
ManufacturerHygiene practice, the health food permit where the product claims health care effects, and the records behind a sanitary certificate.Permits and factory records kept with each product.
Customs broker or freight forwarderLodging the export declaration and its documents through the CPT Single Window on the exporter's behalf.The documents the declaration needs, in one place before the goods leave.
Certifying authorityTFDA, for health food permits and export certificates for processed food.TFDA certificates kept beside the shipment they cover.

Where are the goods going?

Most of what food supplements have to meet is set where they are sold. Each guide sets out the rules on arrival, with the official source for each.

Questions businesses ask

Are supplements food or medicine in Taiwan?
The Health Food Governing Act treats health food as a kind of food. A supplement labelled or advertised with health care effects is health food under the Health Food Governing Act, which needs a TFDA permit. Health care effects are not medical treatment.
Do I need a health food permit to export supplements from Taiwan?
The Health Food Governing Act requires a TFDA permit before health food is manufactured or imported. A supplement made in Taiwan and sold as health food therefore needs one; a supplement making no health care effect claim is ordinary food.
Can TFDA issue a certificate of free sale for supplements?
TFDA issues certificates of free sale and manufacture, sanitary certificates and test reports for processed food, applied for online through its Asefsc system. Whether a given supplement falls within processed food is for TFDA to confirm.
Can a supplement that fails Taiwan's rules still be exported?
Not if it is deteriorated, contaminated, adulterated, over residue limits or past its shelf life: both the Health Food Governing Act (Article 12) and the food law (Article 15) bar exporting such products.
How long does a TFDA export certificate take?
TFDA says its paper-review route, for manufacturers with second-tier verification or a recent GHP inspection record, can make applications up to four times faster. It does not publish a single processing time on the pages read.
Do I need to register as an exporter in Taiwan?
Yes. A company or business must register with TITA as an exporter/importer, after a review of its English name, before engaging in export business (Foreign Trade Act, Article 9).
How must supplements exported from Taiwan be marked with origin?
Goods for export carry the country of origin on the goods or their packaging, conspicuously and durably. Goods made in Taiwan are marked "Made in Taiwan" or an equivalent (Regulations Governing Export of Commodities, Articles 14 and 15).
Which trade agreements give Taiwanese goods preferential origin?
Customs publishes rules of origin for ECFA, ANZTEC with New Zealand, ASTEP with Singapore, and the agreements with Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras, Paraguay and Eswatini.
How does Compliant Always help with exporting from Taiwan?
Our team reads the rules for the routes you ship. Compliant Always shows which export documents apply to your product, keeps them with the shipment beside what the destination asks for, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Taiwan and what your paperwork needs to show.

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