The US-based e-commerce platform iHerb should follow import regulations, the Customs Administration said yesterday, after the online retailer suspended services in Taiwan due to what it called stringent customs procedures.
The agency said its customs enforcement system has remained unchanged and that iHerb should work with licensed customs brokers and courier services to have its goods cleared through customs.
iHerb, which offers more than 30,000 health and natural products, last week announced without warning that it was suspending its services in Taiwan.
It said that Taiwan’s new customs clearance processes, customs checking flows and rigorous inspections have had a major adverse effect on its time-sensitive shipments to the nation.
The company said it is working to find a solution and would resume its services in Taiwan once the issues are resolved.
However, the agency said iHerb’s complaints did not address the main issue.
The problem occurred last month, when iHerb improperly used a simplified customs declaration procedure to clear six batches of more than 10,000 products, it said, adding that the goods were intercepted at customs.
Imports of health foods and medicines must be cleared using regular customs procedures, rather than the simplified process used by some courier services, and have all related documents attached, the agency said, citing regulations.
The regulations have not been changed, and iHerb’s shipments were not intercepted because of new customs enforcement measures, it said.
The agency said that it had asked express couriers to convey the message to iHerb that Taiwan has not changed its customs regulations and that if it used licensed customs brokers that file import declarations in accordance with relevant regulations, its shipments would be cleared smoothly.
However, if the company insists on improperly declaring the goods being imported, similar incidents would likely happen again, it said.
People who buy health food or health supplements in the form of capsules and tablets from overseas for personal use are not required to apply for an import permit from the Food and Drug Administration or the customs department, the agency said.
However, the amount of such goods that can be imported for personal use is capped at 12 units (bottles, boxes, cans or bags) per item, and the total number of products in a single shipment is capped at 36 units, it said.
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