To enhance the security of goods transportation, prevent the severe consequences of smuggling, and safeguard domestic security, the Legislative Yuan passed the amendment of Article 86 of the Customs Act on April 26, 2022. The amendment, promulgated by the President on May 11 in the same year, raises the maximum penalty for warehouses and container yards operators (the operators) violating this article from 30,000 New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) to 3 million NTD. To ensure uniformity in the Customs' penalties for the operators, Ministry of Finance legislated Directions for the Determination of Customs' Penalty pursuant to Article 86 of Customs Act (the Directions), which shall become effective from January 1, 2024.

Keelung Customs (KLC) indicated the Directions classify the operators’ violations of related regulations into three types according to the degree of culpability and establish corresponding penalty criteria as outlined in the attached table. The penalty criteria for each type involve issuing warnings or progressive fines based on the frequency of violations within recent 1-year period. When a fine shall be imposed, the determined penalty amount should be weighted with the specified aggravating circumstances. If the violation persists and correction is deemed necessary, a deadline shall be set for rectification. 

KLC further explained that the Directions also provide provisions on the application principles for cases of violations occurring before and after the effective date, the method of counting violation frequency, situations where the attached table is not applicable to violation cases, and the application principles when there are changes to the attached table after the violation. These measures are aimed at ensuring consistency and predictability in Customs penalty.

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