The Ministry of Finance is planning to increase the allowance for duty-free alcohol brought into the country by travelers for personal use to 1.5 liters, an official said.
If changed, the new regulations would take effect in the first quarter of next year, they said.
Currently, the allowance for duty-free alcohol for personal use is 1 liter per person, with no limit on the number of bottles and no requirement that it be declared at customs.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Arrivals who exceed the duty-free limit must declare the alcohol, otherwise they risk fines and having the products confiscated at customs.
The ministry plans to increase the duty-free allowance, accounting for regulations in other countries, tax implications and opinions from Taiwan’s alcohol and import industries, the official said.
According to a recent Customs Administration survey, the duty-free allowance for alcohol in Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Macau is 1 liter per inbound passenger, while in China it is 1.5 liters, and in South Korea and Singapore it is 2 liters.
In Vietnam, the duty-free limit is 1.5 to 3 liters, depending on the alcohol percentage of the product, while Japan allows three bottles of less than 760ml each, which is about 2.28 liters.
In the US and Australia, the duty-free allowance for alcohol is 1 liter and 2.25 liters respectively. The UK allows incoming travelers to bring in a maximum of 42 liters of duty-free beer and 18 liters of still wine, and either 4 liters of spirits and other liquors over 22 percent alcohol or 9 liters of alcoholic drinks with up to 22 percent alcohol (not including beer or still wine).
If Taiwan raises its duty-free limit for alcohol to 1.5 liters, total tariffs, business taxes, and tobacco and alcohol taxes would drop by millions of New Taiwan dollars per year, the ministry said, citing an estimate of 12 million incoming travelers annually.
The official said the ministry had been considering increasing the allowance to 2 liters, but settled on 1.5 liters after careful evaluation of the opinions of associations in domestic alcohol and import industries.
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