Consolidation of Online Sales by Taiwan Individuals
Some online sellers in Taiwan often register multiple accounts on e-commerce platforms using the names of their spouses or close relatives and friends. This practice is intended to distribute sales revenue across accounts in order to avoid registering with the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau or issuing uniform invoices. However, the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau has recently expanded its collection of online transaction data and strengthened audit measures to prevent online sellers from evading taxation.
At present, there are two circumstance under which registration with the National Taxation Bureau is required:
- When the total sales revenue from all online platforms and social media channels, calculated on a consolidated basis, reaches the business tax threshold in a given month namely, TWD 100,000 for the sale of goods or TWD 50,000 for the provision of services—tax registration with the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau must be completed in accordance with regulations.
- When monthly sales revenue reaches TWD 200,000 or more, sellers are not only required to register with the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau but must also issue uniform invoices in accordance with the law.
For instance, beginning in 2023, Mr. A registered as many as eleven seller accounts on a well-known e-commerce platform to sell handheld gaming consoles and other popular video game products. Following investigation, the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau determined that Mr. A was the actual operator. His total sales revenue had already reached the business tax threshold as of January 2023, yet he failed to complete tax registration. Furthermore, between February 2023 and December 2024, his cumulative sales amounted to more than TWD 34.55 million, which met the requirement for issuing uniform invoices. As a result, the Bureau imposes a supplementary business tax of over TWD 1.72 million and pursuant to Articles 45 and 51, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the Value-Added and Non-Value-Added Business Tax Act, as well as Article 44 of the Tax Collection Act, levied an additional penalty of more than TWD 860,000 applying the heavier sanction.
Kaizen suggest that, in the above-mentioned circumstances, taxpayers take the initiative to complete tax registration with the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau and pay any undeclared taxes together with accrued interest before being reported or investigated by designated officers of the Bureau. In accordance with Article 48-1 of the Tax Collection Act, doing so may exempt the taxpayer from the applicable penalties.