Individuals and companies that benefit from contravening the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) will have to turn over all illegal profits, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday, citing the new Regulations for Accounting and Estimating the Benefits from Violating the Obligation of Air Pollution Control Act (違反空氣污染防制法義務所得利益核算及推估辦法) that took effect on Friday.
The act mandates a fine of up to NT$20 million (US$643,045) for companies that contravene it.
In the past, breaches of the act were mainly punished by fines, with the amount determined in accordance with Article 18, Paragraph 2 of the Administrative Penalty Act (行政罰法), the EPA said in a statement.
If the benefits gained from such breaches exceeded the maximum statutory fine, the fine would be based on the amount of illegal profits made, it said.
Under the old rules, although the illegal gains were recovered, it meant no fines were collected, the EPA said.
This practice not only failed to achieve environmental justice, but also affected fair competition, it said.
Profits made by long-term or major offenders should all be returned, it said, listing as examples money made from the overuse of flammable raw materials in the production process, or money saved by not purchasing or maintaining pollution control equipment.
When businesses have nothing to gain from breaching regulations, they will not “take the risk” and continue to do so, it said.
The new regulations were set by the EPA according to amendments to Article 86, Paragraph 4 of the Air Pollution Control Act made on Aug. 1 last year, as well as by referencing articles in similar regulations for water pollution breaches, and domestic and foreign cases of dealing with illegal profits, it said.
The new rules empower the authorities to recover illegal profits from major pollution breaches, and set the parameters for calculating, estimating and categorizing active, passive and total income, it said.
Illegal profits from up to six years ago can be recovered, until improvements are made, it said.
Factors such as evidence provided by companies, investigative assistance from other agencies or institutions, or expert input can be used by the authorities as reference for recovering illegal profits, it said, adding that calculations of profits would be made on a case-by-case basis.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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