萬國法律事務所

Article 521, paragraph 1, of Taiwan's Code of Civil Procedure (“Code”) stipulates that where a debtor fails to file an objection to a payment order within the peremptory period and in conformity with the law, the payment order shall take the same effect as a final judgment with binding effect. The “peremptory period” is 20 days pursuant to Article 516, paragraph 1, of the Code.

Under the Articles above, the court will send the payment order to the debtor according to the reason and amount of debt claimed by the creditor without investigating whether the content of the application is true. If the debtor fails to file an objection to the payment order within 20 days, the payment order will take the same effect as a final judgment, based on which the creditor may apply for enforcement. The legislator, however, has proposed amending the relevant articles of the Code so as to limit the legal effect of such payment orders.