Taiwan Branch Office Incorporation (For Company Registered in Place other than Mainland China)-Company Formation_Trademark Registration_Tax Service - Hong Kong CPA

Taiwan Branch Registration Complete Package #TWB2 (For Company Registered in Places other than the Mainland China)

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Taiwan Branch Registration Complete Package #TWB2

(For Company Registered in Places other than the Mainland China)

This package is suitable for company registered in places other than the Mainland China that intends to apply to register a branch office in Taiwan. The majority shareholder of the foreign company also must not be holder of Chinese passport. For the company established in the Mainland China or a foreign company owned and controlled by a resident of the Mainland China, please refer to our “Package for Registration of Taiwan Branch by a Mainland China Company”.

Our service fee for this Taiwan branch office registration package is USD2,800. This package includes all formalities, other than the business address, for the establishment of a branch in Taiwan and is ready for business. In particular, our fee cover payment of official registration fee, issue of capital verification report, tax registration and opening a Taiwan bank account. Additional service fee may be charged, subject to the complexity of the parent company’s shareholding structure.

For the purpose of registration of a branch office in Taiwan, client needs to provide an intended firm’s name, the capital, identification document of the litigious and non-litigious agent and manager such as passport, the company registration form, the articles of incorporation and shareholder transfer books of the headquarters.

The registration of Taiwan branch office takes about 7-9 weeks. During the registration process, the Taiwan branch representative will need to visit Taiwan to set up the bank account for the branch. As such, the traveling schedule of the representative will have an impact on the time frame of registration.

If the business to be carried out by the branch office in Taiwan requires extra licence or permit, we can help apply for such licence or permit and our fees will be quoted upon request.

Our fee stated in this quotation is for general reference only and may be subject to change from time to time.

Taiwan Branch Registration Service and Fees

Our service fees for the registration of a branch office with an operating capital of not more than USD200,000 in Taiwan is USD2,800. In particular, our fees cover the following services:

(1)	Registration and Related Services (a) Answer client’s inquiries regarding the branch registration; (b) Preliminary check of firm’s intended name; (c) Preparation of branch office registration documents; (d) Fill in and prepare the application form; (e) Kaizen service fees and government registration fee; (f) Taiwan branch office registration certificate; (g) Engrave a stamp.
(2)	Bank Account Opening At certain point of time during the process of registering a branch office in Taiwan, a preparatory bank account will first be established in the name of the branch office (as approved for use by the business registration authority) with a local bank in the city where the branch office is located so as to enable the head office of the Taiwan branch to contribute the operating capital as stated in the registration application documents. Then after the branch office is officially registration, the preparatory account is converted into a formal account. Consequently, if the preparatory account is not set up, the remaining registration could not be carried out and no branch will be registered. Kaizen will assist you to set up such a preparatory account for your Taiwan branch office with a local Taiwan bank. Our role is limited to providing assistance, including preparing bank account opening documents and making appointments with the bank. The bank has the sole discretion to decide whether to approve your account opening application. If the company registration cannot be carried out due to the failure of the bank account opening, Kaizen will refund half of the service fee, which is USD1,400.
(3)	Capital Verification Report After the head office of the Taiwan branch remits the capital to the bank account in Taiwan, it is required that a Taiwan licensed certified public accountant be engaged to perform and issue a capital verification report. Immediately after the capital arrives at the bank account in Taiwan, Kaizen will carry out the verification and issue a report accordingly.
(4)	Import and Export Registration If your Taiwan branch is to conduct import and/or export business in Taiwan, it is required to complete the Import and Export Registration with Ministry Economic Affairs. Our package has included the registration service. Since the official language in Taiwan is Traditional Chinese, most of the official documents will show only the company’s Chinese name. Therefore, if an English company name is required, company could show it through the Import and Export Regsitration.
(5)	Application for Tax Code Kaizen will handle the application for the certificate of profit-seeking enterprise your Taiwan branch from the National Taxation Bureau. The taxation registration number is a taxation ID issued by the authority. According to different types of industries, there are two types of tax registration certificate and local tax registration.

Optional Services

In additional to the registration service set out in Section 1, Kaizen can also proivde the following services upon request:

No	Description	Fee (USD)
1	Business Address/year (Note 1)	1,930
2	Work Permit and Residence Visa (Note 2)	1,300
3	Translation (Note 3)	TBA

Note:

(1)	All branch offices in Taiwan must provide a physical address as business address. Client could provide their own Taiwan address (with lease agreement). Kaizen could provide the registered address service for our client as well. The service is on a yearly basis. Since the registered address will also be reported to the Taiwan National Taxation Bureau, client choses the address service must also entrust Kaizen to be the tax agent for bookkeeping and tax filing. A 6-month tax service fee (USD1,080) will be charged in advance.
(2)	Any foreigner who wish to work in Taiwan must apply for work permit with the Taiwan Ministry of Labor through the employer. Employer can then apply the work visa for the foreign employee after the work permit is issued. Foreigner who entered Taiwan with arrival visa or visa-free, shall apply the work visa outside Taiwan. After the foreigner arrived in Taiwan, he/she shall apply for the Alien Resident Certificate with Ministry of the Interior National Immigration Agency.
(3)	The fee stated in Section 1 does not include document translation. Taiwan’s official language is Chinese. If the required documents provided by client is written in languages other than Traditional Chinese, Chinese translation will also be required; or if client needs an English version of registration document for reference, Kaizen could provide a related translation service, specific prices are subject to the actual situation.

Time of Billing and Payment Methods

Upon receipt of your confirmation of engagement, we will issue an invoice and email it together with the detailed wire instructions to you for your settlement. When you are initiating a transfer/wire, please mark our invoice or account number in the message section of the remittance receipt and email a copy of the same to us for our records. Because of the nature of services, we require full payment in advance. In addition, once service is commenced, no service fees will be refunded.

We currently only accept check, cash or TT and credit card payment through PayPal. If invoice is settled by PayPal, an extra 5% service fee will be charged.

If Taiwan Business Tax Invoice is required, a Business Tax at 5% will be charged, according to the Taiwan Business Tax Act.

Basic Structure of a Taiwan Branch

A manager who must be a natural person
A Litigious and Non-litigious Agent who can be the same person as manager
Amount and contribution of the working capital must be provided
A registered business address in Taiwan

Required Documents and Materials

(1)	A set of identification documents of the foreign company which applies to set up the branch office. including its Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Association, Register of Shareholders, Register of Directors or documents of a similar nature. For the Hong Kong registered company, a Register of Significant Controller shall also be provided.
(2)	In the case where the shareholder of the foreign company is also a corporation, a group chart illustrating the Taiwan branch and its ultimate beneficiary owner who holds more than 25% of interest in the foreign company and the identification documents of the ultimate beneficiary owner.
(3)	A Power of Attorney of foreign parent company representative. The appointed representative will sign for registration documents and other compliance documents (if any) on behalf of the foreign parent company. Kaizen will prepare the document.
(4)	A minutes/written resolution of the shareholders or the board of directors of the foreign company evidencing the decision to set up a branch office in Taiwan. This package includes the preparation of the minutes/written resolution.
(5)	A Power of Attorney appointing an individual to act as the litigious and non-litigious agent and manager of the Taiwan branch. This package includes the preparation of the Power of Attorney and appointed resolution.
(6)	A copy of the passport or Taiwan identity card of the person who is to be appointed as the litigious and non-litigious agent and manager of the Taiwan branch office.
(7)	A lease agreement executed in respect of the office premise to be used by the Taiwan branch, a copy of house tax bill and a letter consenting to the use of the premise for commercial purpose issued by the building owner. In the case where client decides to use our registered/business address, then client don’t have to provide the above-mentioned documents.
(8)	The amount of operating capital to be remitted to Taiwan. Although a branch is not a separate legal entity and therefore the concept of registered capital is not applicable to a branch. Nevertheless, when applying to set up a branch in Taiwan, the foreign company is still required to state the amount of operating capital it will remit to Taiwan at the time of registration. There is no minimum requirement on the amount of operating capital, however, Kaizen suggests that investor should remit a capital of USD18,000 or more so as to support the operation of the branch for a period of 6 months.
(9)	A duly completed Taiwan Branch Registration Order Form (to be provided by Kaizen).

If any of the identification documents of the foreign company or authorisation is not in English, a Chinese translated copy should be provided.

Taiwan Branch Registration Procedures and Time Frame

The whole registration process would take around 7-9 weeks. The table below shows the estimated time frame for the registration process:

Item	Description	Time (Day)
Preparation
1	Client confirms with Kaizen the engagement for registration of Taiwan branch; Kaizen issues an invoice to client	1
2	Client delivers the identification documents of the foreign company, the person to be named as the manager and litigation and non-litigation of the branch to Kaizen by email. Client settles Kaizen’s invoice at the same time	Client’s schedule
3	Client leases an office premise for the Taiwan branch. Upon request, Kaizen can also arrange the business address for client (including a virtual office address or renting a share office)	Client’s schedule
Application for Registration
4	Kaizen apply for the company name reservation approval	2
5	Kaizen prepares the branch registration application documents and send them to client for signing by email	2
6	Client signs off the application documents and return them to Kaizen by delivery them to Kaizen’s Taiwan office	Client’s schedule
7	Kaizen applies for approval of registration of branch from the Ministry of Economics	10-15
8	Kaizen arranges to engrave an office stamp for the Taiwan branch	2
9	Kaizen visits the bank with branch representative to set up the preliminary bank account	5
10	Client remits the operating capital to the preliminary account and inform Kaizen	Client’s schedule
11	Kaizen arranges capital verification (capital verification report)	2
12	Kaizen submit the branch registration application documents	1
13	The Ministry of Economics issues branch registration certificate	6
Post-registration
14	Kaizen applies for tax registration	5
15	Kaizen visits the bank with branch representative to change the preliminary bank account to formal account	5
16	Kaizen handles import and export registration (if required)	1
Total		7-9 weeks

Note:

(1)	The estimated time is based on the assumption that the business to be carried out by the branch does not require any special license and capital source is not from China (the ultimate beneficial owner or controller is non-China citizen).
(2)	The bank account opening is divided into two parts, one is the preliminary account and another is the formal account. Both parts need the physical presence of the branch representative. As such, the schedule of the representative will have an impact on the time frame of the branch registration,
(3)	If the bank which the foreign parent company opened its account at has a Taiwan branch, it is possible that the Taiwan branch office account can be open through overseas instead of the representative visiting the bank in person.

Certificates and Documents Returned to Client

After the procedure completed, we will return the following documents to the client:
(1) Approval letter issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs;
(2) Business registration form;
(3) Approval letter issued by the Taxation Bureau of Taiwan;
(4) The stamp of the company and the stamp of the litigious and non-litigious agent;
(5) Uniform invoice certificate and business IC card;

Taiwan Branch Compliance and Maintenance Fees

After a branch office is officially registered in Taiwan, it is required to comply with the maintenance requirements. For example, in accordance with the Taiwan Company Act, branch office is required to prepare annual business report and financial statement and hire a Taiwan CPA for audit (if applicable). In accordance with the Taiwan Taxation Act, just like any other Taiwan companies, branch office is also required to updating books of accounts, filing of business tax bimonthly and filing of profit-seeking enterprise income tax returns. We have listed the fees of annual maintenance for a Taiwan branch office as below for easier reference:

Item	Description	Amount (USD)
1	Preparation of Business Report Services	400
2	Updating the books of accounts on a monthly basis (assuming an annual turnover of USD36,000), per month	180 up
3	Financial statements statutory audit (assuming a turnover of USD108,000 million), per annum	1,500 up
4	Tax computation and filing of profits tax return	360
5	Basic payroll service (per person/per month)	90
6	Business/registered office address (per annum)	1,930

See also:
Foreign Company Taiwan Branch Compliance and Maintenance Guide
Tax Differences Between Setting Up a Branch and a Subsidiary in Taiwan
Guide to Setting up a Branch Office in Taiwan
Taiwan Branch Office Registration Package (For Companies Registered in Mainland China / Foreign Companies Own by Mainland Chinese)

Taiwan Branch Registration Complete Package #TWB2 (For Company Registered in Places other than the Mainland China)

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