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FAQ

Food Industry Division

  1. Once we have joined the WTO, rice or rice processed products which including rice more than 30％ will be included in the custom duty quota management.  Importation volume within the quota is 144,720 metric tons on brown rice basis.  In which 35％（50,652 metric tons）is open for private importation.  Regarding private importation, the Ministry of Finance had authorized the Bank of Taiwan to allocate the quota by auction.  Private companies are free to participate in acquiring the import quota rights for rice or rice processed products as long the company meets with the regulation stipulated in the allocation.  Customs duties within the quota for rough paddy, brown rice, milled rice, and broken rice is zero, and customs duties for rice processed products runs from 10% to 25%.
  2. According to the regulation stipulated in Paragraph 4, Article 7 of the Food Administration Act, for quantum over and above the quota, the import of these food items shall be by the qualified food dealers, or by non-qualified food dealers subject to the prior approval of the competent authority in accordance with the Customs Acts.
  3. According to the “Customs Import Tariff and Import/Export Commodity Classification of the Republic of China”, relevant import regulation for rice and rice processed food is as follows:
    1. Code 451: Importers of rice are required to attach a photocopy of an approval permit, a registered food dealer’s certificate, or a food dealer’s license issued by the  the Ministry of Agriculture ，Executive Yuan .
    2. Code B01： Importation shall be subject to the prescription set forth in the Table of Commodities Subject to Legal Animal & Plant Quarantine compiled by the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, Ministry of Agriculture, Executive Yuan.
    3. Code F01： Importation of foods shall be made in accordance with the "Regulations of Inspection of Food Imports" promulgated by the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan. The importer shall apply for inspection to the Bureau of Standards Metrology and Inspection, Ministry of Economic Affairs.
    4. Code MWO: Importation of Mainland China products is prohibited.

  1. There is a detailed classification of imported and exported goods in the “Customs Import Tariff and Import/Export Commodity Classification of the Republic of China” published by the Directorate-General of Customs under the Ministry of Finance and the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Directorate-General of Customs made the import/export statistics according to tariff number while the Agriculture and Food Agency made further classification into various statistics data based on the customs data and business need itself.  For example, rice an d rice processed products are classified separately in Chapter 10, chapter 11, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, and Chapter 21 according to different nature of the product.
  2. Statistics shown in the “Annual Report on the Supply and Demand of Food” published by the Ministry of Agriculture under the Executive Yuan. Regarding the annual good supply in Taiwan per person per year, in the category of cereal are milled rice and wheat flour.  Milled rice refers to “semi-milled or fully milled rice, whether polished or not” as the basis of calculation.