萬國法律事務所

Taiwan’s Department of National Treasury under the Ministry of Finance has announced that the new Inspection Regulations for Imported Alcohol, which have been drafted in order to protect the health of the general public, to stem the importation of counterfeit alcoholic beverages, and to protect consumer rights as well as the legitimate interests of importers, are scheduled to be implemented next year and that the new Inspection Regulations for Imported Alcohol have been applauded by the various foreign chambers of commerce active in Taiwan.

According to the new Inspection Regulations for Imported Alcohol, alcoholic beverages that are imported from foreign countries may have the option of being inspected by batch. As such, in the future an importer can request inspection of an entire batch of alcoholic beverages, provided that its brand name, place of origin, alcoholic content, product type, and packaging materials are identical.

Under the new system, inspection will be either by batch, by random inspection, or by documentary approval. Taiwan’s Department of National Treasury emphasizes that for certain alcoholic beverages that do not pose much of a risk, such as beverages having an inspection report dated within the previous two years from a foreign inspection institution recognized by Taiwan, the documentary approval method of customs clearance may be applicable.

For some time now, foreign suppliers in Taiwan have been very concerned regarding import approvals for alcoholic beverages of the type that are subject to certain conditions, such as the simultaneous world-wide release of Beaujolais. Such conditions have made it virtually impossible to provide inspection samples several days prior as required by the currently effective regulations. Taiwan’s Department of National Treasury has explained that in situations such as this, or where an enormous volume of shipment results in a significant storage burden placed on the importer, or in cases where the imported alcoholic beverage requires special storage conditions, the importer will be permitted to apply for an “advance release” approval.

According to the Taiwan Government, the new alcoholic beverage inspection system will be implemented next year in two phases, depending upon the type of alcoholic beverage is imported. From 1 January 2006, the new inspection system will be applied to imported beer, fermented fruit beverages, fermented grain beverages, and other fermented beverages. Subsequently, the new inspection system will become effective on 1 July 2006 for all other alcoholic beverages.

In order to begin the process of familiarizing alcoholic beverage importers and suppliers with the new inspection procedures, Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance began a four-month trial period on 1 September 2005 where inspections are being offered on a gratis basis.

Moreover, imported alcoholic beverages that take advantage of the trial run inspection process and which successfully pass inspection conducted by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, or which submit inspection reports or certifications in compliance with Article 6 of the Inspection Regulations for Imported Alcohol, may utilize documentary inspection to obtain Customs clearance for two years subsequent the formal implementation of the new alcoholic beverages inspection system.