ECCT suggestions draw a positive response

July 14, 2004

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) has invited representatives from related ministries and the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) recently to discuss issues raised in the ECCT's 2003-2004 Position Paper, and the following major improvements have been made:

1.Provisions for corporate reorganization and the Bankruptcy Act:
The Judicial Yuan has completed a draft revision of the Bankruptcy Act, now under deliberation in the Legislative Yuan, which will help speed up the process of corporate reorganizations and bankruptcies. The CEPD is also actively studying the formulation of a single corporate reorganization and bankruptcy bill, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

2.Acceleration of immigration procedures for holders of Alien Resident Certificates:
On Sep. 15, 2003 the Ministry of the Interior implemented the Operational Regulations Governing Speedy Immigration Inspection and Clearance of Foreign Businesspeople), which substantially speeds up the passage of foreign business people through immigration.

3.Establishment of a clear tax explanation mechanism:
On Jan. 1 this year the Ministry of Finance implemented the Guidelines for Prior Tax Explanation, under which investors who conform to the stipulations may ask the ministry to provide a tax explanation for an investment case within three months of application, thereby lowering the risk of foreign investors encountering unexpected tax burdens in Taiwan.

4.Establishment of a system for foreign interns to work in Taiwan:
The Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs has given its approval on May 24 for technology enterprises and R&D institutions to apply for foreign students in university baccalaureate programs and above (the original regulations allowed only foreign master's and Ph.D. candidates) to work in Taiwan. Permission for foreign managers' children in university and above to enter Taiwan for as interns was also announced (for more details [Chinese only] check the website: http://www.moeaic.gov.tw/9/91.asp, item #315).

5.Expansion of the scope of applicability of Offshore Transshipment Centers:
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced on May 13 to open two more offshore transshipment ports from Kaohsiung Harbor to include Taichung and Keelung harbors (for more details, see story in this issue).

6.Fake pharmaceuticals:
The Legislative Yuan passed a partial revision of the Pharmaceutical Law on Mar. 30, greatly increasing penalties for producers and vendors of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, and for repeat offenders.

During a coordination meeting Mr. Dirk Sanger, chairman of the ECCT, thanked the government for its response to the suggestions and stated that his organization would continue raising suggestions in the future. In response, the CEPD pointed out that since it was named the window for coordination between the various ministries and foreign chambers of commerce in 1997, it has worked to improve communication between foreign business people and the government and to help foreign companies resolve investment problems. The ECCT is urged to make full use of this channel to communicate its ideas to the government.

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