Newsletter
Amended Commodity Labeling Act will take effect on May 18, 2023
The amendments to the Commodity Labeling Act (“Amended CLA”) were passed by the Legislative Yuan on May 3, 2022 and promulgated by the President on May 18, 2022. The Amended CLA will come into force one year after being promulgated by the President (i.e., on May 18, 2023). Said amendments are the largest overhaul of the Commodity Labeling Act since 2003. The main points of the Amended CLA are as follows:
1. The Amended CLA specifically stipulates that the entity obligated to put a label on a commodity (“Obligated Entity”) is the manufacturer (for locally manufactured commodities) or importer (for imported commodities) of such commodity. As for commodities manufactured by local contract manufacturers (i.e., ODM or OEM) or re-packed before being sold, Obligated Entities would be contract manufacturers or re-packers of such commodities (Article 5 of the Amended CLA).
2. An Obligated Entity shall label its name, address and contact number (Subparagraph 2, Paragraph 1, Article 6 of the Amended CLA). For imported commodities, names of foreign manufacturers or contract manufacturers of such commodities in a foreign language shall be additionally labeled (Paragraph 2, Article 6 of the Amended CLA). If there is any change to said Obligated Entity’s contact information after such commodity has been introduced in the domestic market, such change may be made publicly known in a manner allowing such change to be available to consumers at any time (such as announced on said Obligated Entity’s official website or released by news media), instead of re-labeling such commodity (Paragraph 3, Article 6 of the Amended CLA). The manufacturing date of a commodity can be “manufacturing year and month” or “manufacturing year and week” in the ROC calendar or Gregorian calendar. Nonetheless, “manufacturing year and week” shall be supplemented by the necessary wording (Subparagraph 6, Paragraph 1, Article 6 and Paragraph 4, Article 6 of the Amended CLA).
3. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) may allow certain types of commodities to be electronically labeled (such as using two-dimensional barcodes or QR codes) by making an announcement after taking into consideration any technological, industrial or economic developments (Article 10 of the Amended CLA).
4. A commodity’s “net weight, volume, quantity, measurements, etc.” can be labeled in measurements commonly used internationally (proviso of Subparagraph 5, Paragraph 1, Article 6 of the Amended Act). Moreover, a commodity’s “place of origin,” “major ingredients or materials,” “net weight, volume, quantity, measurements, etc.,” “manufacturing year and month/week” or any other item(s) required to be labeled according to the MOEA’s announcement(s) can be labeled using internationally accepted words or symbols; with the MOEA’s announcement(s), certain items can be labeled in English or other foreign language (proviso of Article 11 of the Amended CLA).
5. In addition to conducting random inspections on commodities in the domestic market, a local competent authority may conduct an on-site inspection at the facilities of the manufacturer, contract manufacturer, importer or re-packer of such commodities or other facilities where such commodities are manufactured, stored or re-packed. The manufacturer, contract manufacturer, importer or re-packer of such commodity or any other person in charge of such facilities shall not evade, impede or otherwise repudiate said inspection and shall provide the relevant information; otherwise, they may be subject to an administrative fine ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$200,000, which may be imposed consecutively until non-compliance ceases (Articles 14 and 19 of the Amended CLA).
6. To facilitate the local competent authorities’ investigation of the origin of a commodity sold on an Internet platform, the Amended CLA specifically stipulates that Internet platform operators have obligations to provide information on the person who listed, supplied or sold such commodity; otherwise, they may be subject to an administrative fine ranging from NT$20,000 to NT$200,000, which may be imposed consecutively until the non-compliance ceases (Articles 15 and 20 of the Amended CLA).
7. For a serious violation or a commodity representing immediate danger to one’s body or health, the local competent authorities may impose a penalty without giving a violator an opportunity to rectify his/her/its violation (Articles 16 through 18 of the Amended CLA).
Besides the points listed above, the MOEA will further amend the relevant labeling criteria and enforcement rules within said one-year transition period.