COST OF LIVING/Duty-free allowance raised, effective from Wednesday: Ministry

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) A higher allowance for duty-free goods when entering Taiwan will be adopted from Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Finance.

From Wednesday onward, an individual who brings goods into Taiwan for personal use, with a value of NT$35,000 (US$1,079) or less, will not have to pay duty or tax on them, an official from the ministry's Customs Administration said Tuesday.

Discussions on the amount of allowance have been ongoing since November 2023, given that the level has been fixed at NT$20,000 since 1989, while the consumer price index (CPI) has increased by nearly 70 percent from 1989 to 2022-23.

The CPI in Taiwan moved between 101.60 and 106.92 in 2022-2023, the National Statistics website indicated, but data for 2003 or earlier is not available.

The announcement means that inbound passengers who declare goods worth more than the newly announced amount will have to pay duty on the value that exceeds NT$35,000.

As for those who do not declare in advance, they will be allowed to keep goods worth up to NT$35,000, but the rest will be confiscated.

The official said the new threshold was decided by the Customs Administration and Taxation Administration, after considering the domestic CPI and the rules of neighboring countries.

The duty-free allowance is US$800 in South Korea and 200,000 (US$1,254) yen in Japan, the official added.