Business licenses in Taiwan are required in a number of different business sectors and industries. Investors who open a company in Taiwan are required to observe the business registration and regulation laws, including those for operating in regulated and licensed sectors.
Complete assistance for business registration and licensing is offered by our local experts instarting companies in Taiwan. For more detailed information, other than what is summarized in this article concerning business licensing, our team can provide answers.
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Examples of business licenses in Taiwan
Licenses and permits for functioning are an essential part of proper and lawful business conduct in Taiwan. This means that many types of activities and professions require licensing from the authorities that govern that particular business sector or industry.
A common example of a business license in Taiwan is the one issued for banking and financial services. In Taiwan, there are two regulators for the financial sector: the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Companies that offer the following types of services in the financial sector require a business license in Taiwan:
- Deposit taking;
- Mortgage loans offering;
- Issuing credit cards;
- Foreign exchange and money remittance services;
- Offering trust products;
- Carrying out an insurance business;
- Financial information service businesses and many others.
Other categories for which business licenses in Taiwan are issued by competent authorities are:
- Technicians, such as professional engineers who engage in certain types of activities;
- Accounting (issued as a certificate by the professional accountancy organization);
- Medical devices;
- Manufacturing and importing food, not to be confused with the food distribution license;
- Manufacturing and importing drugs – included here are the medical device license in Taiwan and others.
Each license application is performed as requested by the issuing authority. Applicants deliver a set of specific documents attesting to their proper company registration in Taiwan and their suitability to conduct the said activity.
The trade license in Taiwan
A trade license in Taiwan allows the company to engage in import and export activities. Trading is regulated and companies that operate in this sector are subject to specific requirements.
Importers and exporters are entered into a register kept by the International Trade Administration, functioning under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. This authority oversees the process for issuing what is the equivalent of a trade license in Taiwan and sets forth requirements for good bilateral trade practices.
Upon request, our team can give you more information about the Trade Law and the trade license in Taiwan. Below, you can read a set of statistical data on trade issued for March 2025:
- The total trade value amounted to 92.19 billion dollars;
- Exports amounted to 49.57 billion USD of this amount while imports accounted for 42.62 Billion USD;
- The trade balance was 6.96 billion USD;
- The major export destinations were the United States (25.7%), the ASEAN countries (20.8%), and China (16.3%).
Entrepreneurs interested in entering the import/export sector can rely on our assistance for company registration in Taiwan and to apply for a trade license in Taiwan.
Business license applications in Taiwan
Proper licensing is essential for companies in many different industries. It is important to note that the effective licensing process can take place after the one for Taiwan company formation. This means that the new company needs to be incorporated, so that the licence application is issued according to its business details.
Contact us for more information about business licenses in Taiwan and the other services we provide to company owners.