22 September 2026
By Sam Garcia – Taipei Times
E-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and their components seized at the border would no longer be exempt from penalties if they have a customs value of NT$5,000 or less, and fines for illegally bringing them into Taiwan would be increased, the Ministry of Finance said today.
The ministry announced amendments to the Standards for Reduction and Exemption of Penalties in Customs Anti-Smuggling Cases (海關緝私案件減免處罰標準) that add a provision excluding tobacco-like products and their components from the rule exempting imported goods with a customs value of NT$5,000 or less from fines.
Tobacco-like products have been increasingly misused to consume emerging illicit drugs, posing a serious threat to public safety, Customs Administration Deputy Director-General Chao Tai-an (趙台安) told a news conference.
There were 1,346 cases where customs officials seized e-cigarettes last year, involving 120,000 e-cigarette devices and 33,000 bottles or cartridges of e-liquid, Customs Administration data showed.
There were 726 cases in the first eight months of this year, involving 35,000 e-cigarette devices and 40,000 bottles or cartridges of e-liquid.
Customs authorities added the new provision to support the Executive Yuan’s goal of preventing the widespread use of emerging e-cigarettes, Chao said.
Under the provision, tobacco-like products and their components are no longer exempt from fines if they have a customs value of NT$5,000 or less, he said.
Customs authorities also plan to impose higher fines for contraventions involving such products to crack down on smuggling, illegal purchases and attempts to evade regulations, Chao said.
Fines involving such products would be higher than those for general controlled goods, excluding drugs, firearms, ammunition and commercial explosives, an official said, citing standard regulations that impose a fine of 1.5 times the value of the contraband.
If people illegally bring e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products or their components across the border, customs authorities would confiscate the goods under the Customs Anti-Smuggling Act (海關緝私條例), the official said.
The contraband would then be referred to the health bureau of the person’s registered place of residence, which can impose a fine of at least NT$50,000 under the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), they said.
The Customs Administration said it would continue to prevent tobacco-like products and their components from being brought into Taiwan and remind people of the rules online and in arrival halls.
People should not illegally purchase or bring such products into Taiwan for personal use or as gifts, the agency said, warning that contraventions could result in heavy fines.