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Funeral firms face new rules

The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) yesterday urged funeral practitioners to apply for operating licenses if they have not already done so.

Funeral Industry Management Regulations (殯葬管理條例), which went into effect in July, are the first laws in over a century that deal with the business of death. The regulations require all funeral business owners to register their companies with their respective city or county governments.

"However, so far, not too many practitioners have registered their businesses with local governments, and we hope to encourage them to do so," said Cheng Ying-hung (鄭英弘), section chief at the department of Civil Affairs of the MOI, yesterday.

Cheng stated that the purpose of registration is to help authorities communicate with practitioners about operation and management issues, as well as examine whether improvements can be made to better a business.

"Since these regulations are relatively new, many incumbent practitioners do not feel the need to register, as they have been providing funeral services for such a long time," Cheng said.

Proprietors found to be operating an unregistered business face a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, and risk having their business shut down by authorities.

Other regulations ban those with criminal records from running funeral parlors and require all companies to publicize their prices. The new regulations also make it illegal for a company to ask for payment for a body taken without family consent.

Additionally, all aspiring morticians must pass a national exam to receive a license.

Local governments are publicizing the new regulations through funeral parlors.

"Since funeral practitioners always end up doing business with funeral parlors, we have sent representatives to ... funeral parlors to educate practitioners about the new regulations. Also, we also go to funeral industry union meetings to help them understand registration procedures," Cheng said.

As some funeral practitioners have pointed out discrepancies among application procedures required by different city and county governments, the MOI has brought together local government officials to streamline procedures and deal with funeral practitioners who are breaking the rules.
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