Once an investor completed the procedure of company formation in Taiwan, the company is legally allowed to start its business operations. However, throughout the life of the company, various modifications can appear and the company’s representatives have to notify the local institutions on any of the modifications concluded.
It is necessary to know that, regardless of the grounds on which the changes appear, the company has to notify the Taiwanese bodies. As a general rule, any modification brought to the company’s original statutory documents has to be announced and our team of consultants in company registration in Taiwan can assist with more information on this subject.
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What are the reporting requirements on company changes in Taiwan?
In June 2018, the Company Act in Taiwan was modified, bringing a new set of regulations for those who run a company in this country. The amended document provides the legal framework regarding the reporting obligations a company has with respect to the company’s management structure; our team of specialists in company formation in Taiwan can inform investors on the new regulations available for local businesses.
The new act stipulates that the company registered here has to provide yearly information on the company’s shareholders (more exactly, on those who own more than 10% of the company’s shares), but also on the company’s directors. Besides these, the act requires Taiwanese companies to announce any company change in a period of maximum 15 days since the decision was taken. Basic modifications that must be announced are the following:
- companies must notify the competent body when the responsible person was changed;
- provided that the company changes its address, it must notify on the modification;
- removal of the directors and supervisors has to be announced, as well as the election of new persons;
- modification of the shareholding structure, in the case of major shareholders;
- any amendment that was concluded to the company’s articles of association or other statutory documents.
Specific modifications have to be completed in certain types of forms. Forms that have to be completed by corporate entities and partnerships are available at the Department of Commerce. It is necessary to know that the changes will be completed in the same type of documents that were used for the registration of the company in Taiwan. Please note that if the company’s representatives do not comply with the reporting requirements, they can be fined with a fine of NT 10,000-NT 50,000.
For example, a company can change its business address that was previously registered with the local institutions due to a set of reasons (moving to a larger office, relocating the company’s activities in another region of the country and others). A company that was registered under a legal entity is also allowed to change its business form, following specific rules and each type of modification has to mentioned by completing one of the available forms.
The company’s shareholding structure can also suffer changes over the years, as new investors can participate in the business, while others will want to stop their participation in the business, for various reasons. A company can also modify its original company trading name – for example, when entering into a new business activity or if the business is purchased by new investors.
What is the data on registered companies in Taiwan?
The data on the companies registered in Taiwan is administered by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Companies operating in Taiwan are registered in economic fields such as: wholesale and retail, transportation and storage, construction, information and communication, financial services and insurance, agriculture, real estate and others.
Depending on the investment sector preferred, our specialists in company formation in Taiwan can assist on the basic registration requirements. At the level of the current year, the following data is available on the companies registered in this country (including information on the number of dissolutions or on companies that had their registration revoked):
- in August 2019, there were registered 4,117 businesses in Taiwan;
- at the level of August 2019, there were registered 3,435 corporate entities in Taiwan;
- the country registered a total of 4,821 corporate dissolutions/revocation of registration;
- at the level of August 2019, the country accounted for a total of 880,088 businesses;
- the Taiwan area accounted for most of the companies registered in this country, with 860,848 businesses.
Investors are invited to contact our team of consultants in company registration in Taiwan for additional information on the changes that can be brought to local companies; our specialists can assist with in-depth advice on any of the procedures applicable to a specific type of company modification.