The recently amended Taiwan Company Act (2018) requires most companies to report their board members, registered managers, and major shareholders online by 31 January 2019. To report, log on to the Company Transparency Platform. This site is in Chinese only at the time of writing.

If the company’s registered representative (typically the chairman) is a foreign national without a Taiwan national health card or Digital Certificate IC card, the company will generally need to apply for a Business ID (公司工商憑證) card to use the Company Transparency Platform. Business ID cards can be applied for online from the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Certificate Authority. This site is currently only in Chinese. The company’s registered seals (chops) will be needed during the application process.

Private limited companies, closed companies, and companies limited by shares are subject to the reporting requirement unless they are an exempt business entity.

Business entities exempt from the reporting requirement include listed companies, reporting companies, branches of foreign companies, and representative offices.

Board members include directors and supervisors. Registered managers include the registered managers (such as the CEO or General Manager) of a Taiwan limited company or a company limited by shares. Companies do not need to report managers of branches. A major shareholder is any shareholder who owns more than 10% of the company. Only one level of shareholders must be reported. Shareholders of parent or grandparent companies do not have to be reported.

The following information must be reported about each individual:

1. Names
2. Nationality
3. Date of birth or date of incorporation registration
4. ID Number
5. Shareholding or capital contribution

From 2020 on, these reports must be filed for the preceding calendar year between March 1st and March 31st of the following year. For example, you will need to report your company’s responsible persons and major shareholders in 2019 between March 1st and March 31st 2020.

Any changes to reported information must be reported within 15 days of the change.

Failure to report or false reports will trigger a letter to remedy the report by a deadline. Failure to remedy by deadline will result in a fine of NT$50,000 to NT$500,000. Failure to remedy after a second warning letter can result in a fine of NT$500,000 to NT$5 million. The director registered as the company’s representative is personally liable for these fines. In serious cases, the company’s registration can be revoked.

The new reporting requirement is part of Taiwan’s efforts to combat money laundering.

For questions about or assistance with reporting please contact Michael Fahey at mfahey@winklerpartners.com.