Local computer makers and retailers complained yesterday that a measure requiring all white-box computers to be inspected by the government is unreasonable, saying that the inspection fee is too high while the process is very time-consuming.
In the white-box market, a dealer puts together computer parts to make and sell customized machines or resell generic computers.
"I don't see the necessity of checking every white-box computer, since each component we use has already passed a government examination," said Huang Chuang-wei (
"Besides, I don't think any consumer wants to buy a white-box computer if he or she has to pay an extra inspection fee," Huang said.
Currently, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection under the Ministry of Economic Affairs charges an NT$36,000 inspection fee on manufacturers for each different type of computer they apply to have inspected.
Another computer retailer also said that even if consumers were willing to pay the inspection fee, the logistics of carrying out inspections would also be a problem, since there are over 1 million generic computers sold each year.
"The government usually takes from three weeks to a month to inspect a computer. How are they going to be able to check 1 million custom-built computers a year?" asked Lo Ching-hsiang (
Officials fromthe Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, which carries out the inspections, explained that the requirement exists to protect consumers' safety in terms of radiation exposure.
"Regardless of all components having passed an inspection, the measure is designed to determine whether the computer case provides adequate shielding from the radiation generated by the components," said Wu Ming-teh (吳明德), section director of the bureau. "Besides, we only require one sample of each model to be checked, not every single computer."
The bureau announced the measure five years ago, but few retailers comply with the regulation. Therefore, the bureau kicked off a campaign last month to remind retailers not to violate the regulation.
According to Wu, retailers failing to have white-box computers put on display for sale inspected by the bureau will be fined NT$200,000 to NT$2 million. Generic computers assembled by consumers themselves, however, are not covered by the regulation, Wu said.
Wu added the bureau will launch investigations based on reports from consumers or other sources with concrete evidence.
Computer sellers were not content with Wu's explanation, saying they or their customers would need to pay considerable amounts for inspection fees, because retailers continually develop new types of custom-made computers with different combinations of components.
Despite the growing concern among retailers, one small-sized computer retailer at Taipei's Kuanghwa Market (
"For example, I can remove the products subject to the regulation from the shelf and sell them privately to my customers, which is not against the regulation," said the retailer, who asked not to be named.
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