Newsletter
Food Delivery Service is Soon to be Regulated
According to Article 8 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, food businesses that belong to a category and scale designated by the central competent authority in a public announcement may commence business operation only after registration with the competent authority. In order to provide the basis for the service providers of the food business to follow, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) promulgated the Regulations Governing the Registration of Food Businesses on December 3, 2013 and the Regulations Governing the Category and Scale of Food Businesses Which May Commence Business Operation after Applying for Registration and Date of Implementation on October 16, 2014. The amendments to the above two regulations were made afterwards.
The latest amendment to Article 4 of the Regulations Governing the Registration of Food Businesses was promulgated on July 18, 2018, which requires "Food Logistics Businesses" to register. On December 6, 2018, the MOHW further released the draft of amendment to the Regulations Governing the Category and Scale of Food Businesses Which May Commence Business Operation after Applying for Registration and Date of Implementation (the "Draft Regulation"). The Draft Regulation expressly defines "Food Logistics Businesses" as providers who engage in the business of delivering food or the business of food additive. The obligation of registration for a newly established factory, business, or company shall begin on the date of promulgation; for those who are already established (i.e., registered as a factory, business, or company), their obligation of registration starts on July 1, 2019. The period for commenting on the draft of the Regulations is sixty days, until February 3, 2019.
If the Draft Regulation is passed, according to the oral opinion from the MOHW, food delivery service providers shall be recognized as "Food Logistics Business" and shall apply for registration according to the amended Regulations Governing the Registration of Food Businesses; failure to do so after being requested to rectify the non-compliance within a certain timeframe will result in a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$3,000,000. In severe circumstances, the enterprise may be ordered to suspend its business for a certain period of time or terminate its business. Food delivery service providers shall monitor closely the development of the Draft Regulation.