Database

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TAIWAN

Since May 1998, last amended in May 2019
Since May 1999, last amended in July 2021

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Government Procurement Act

Enforcement Rules for the Government Procurement Act
Under Art. 43(1) of the Government Procurement Act, except otherwise prohibited by treaties or agreements, a procuring entity in Taiwan may take into account for evaluation of a bid whether or not a supplier is willing to transfer its technology, provided that such a measure does not make up more than one third in the evaluation. This is further specified in Art. 45 of the Enforcement Rules for the Government Procurement Act.
Coverage Horizontal

TAIWAN

Since May 1998, last amended in May 2019
Since May 1999, last amended in August 2012

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Government Procurement Act

Regulations Governing the Participation of Foreign Suppliers in the Procurement Not Subject To Any Treaties or Agreement
Several procurement mechanisms under the Government Procurement Act are reported to undercut transparency of the institutional system. First, under Art. 36 of the Government Procurement Act (enacted in 1998), the qualification of foreign suppliers and the qualification documents to be submitted by them may be prescribed separately in the tender documentation only when there are actual needs for procurement, rather than being published on a regular basis, creating unpredictability and lack of transparency for foreign suppliers preparing for bids. Second, the requirement set forth in Art. 37 of the Act to procuring entities that the entities must prescribe only the qualifications essential to contract performance does not apply to foreign suppliers (see Art. 6 of Regulations Governing the Participation of Foreign Suppliers in the Procurement Not Subject To Any Treaties or Agreement).
Coverage Horizontal

TAIWAN

Since May 1998, last amended in May 2019
Since May 1999, last amended in August 2012

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Exclusion from public procurement
Government Procurement Act

Regulations Governing the Participation of Foreign Suppliers in the Procurement not Subject to any Treaties or Agreement
Foreign suppliers from countries that are parties to relevant treaties or agreements (e.g., WTO Agreement on Government Procurement) are accorded national treatment and non-discrimination from procuring entities. However, under Art. 17 of the Government Procurement Act (enacted in 1998), procuring entities in Taiwan may ban or restrict the participation of:
- foreign suppliers from countries that are not parties to such agreements or
- foreign suppliers in procurement activities to which Taiwan is not under any obligation to accord national treatment or non-discrimination.
Furthermore, per Art. 6 of the "Regulations Governing the Participation of Foreign Suppliers in the Procurement not Subject to any Treaties or Agreement," such suppliers are not accorded the equal opportunity to be invited to tendering procedures, the equal qualification requirements applicable to domestic suppliers, and the non-discrimination requirements.
Coverage Horizontal

TAIWAN

Since March 1997
Since December 2015

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Sub-pillar Participation in the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and 2015 expansion (ITA II)
Information Technology Agreement (ITA)

ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA II)
Taiwan is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).
Coverage ICT goods
"SELECT DISTINCT(post_id) FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'TW')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
[{"post_id":"49825"},{"post_id":"49826"},{"post_id":"49827"}]
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'impact' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'TW')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.1') OR\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.2')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
"SELECT meta_value FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'score' AND\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'country' AND meta_value = 'TW')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAND (\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id IN (SELECT post_id FROM prj_12_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'subchapter' AND meta_value = '1.3')\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t)"
ITA: [{"meta_value":"0.00"}]

TAIWAN

ITA signatory? I II

Pillar Tariffs and trade defence measures applied on ICT goods  |  Sub-pillar Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
Effective tariff rate to ICT goods (applied weighted average)
0.42%
Coverage rate of zero-tariffs on ICT goods (%)
54.42%
Coverage: Digital goods

SURINAME

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signature
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Suriname has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.
Coverage Horizontal

SURINAME

Since 2017

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Suriname has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
Coverage Horizontal

SURINAME

Since August 2017

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Framework for consumer protection applicable to online commerce
Electronic Legal Transactions Act 2017 (Wet Elektronisch Rechtsverkeer 2017)
The Electronic Legal Transactions Act 2017 provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions.
Coverage Horizontal

SURINAME

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Ratification of the UN Convention of Electronic Communications
Lack of signature of the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
Suriname has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.
Coverage Horizontal

SURINAME

Since October 2009

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on domain names
Terms and Conditions .SR-Domain Names 2009 (Deze Algemene Voorwaarden .SR-domeinnamen ziin 2009)
According to the Art. 3.3 of the Terms and Conditions ".SR" domain names of 2009, domain name applicants who do not reside or are not domiciled in Suriname shall designate an address in Suriname where written documents can be delivered to the domain name applicant and summons, if any, can be issued.
Coverage Horizontal

SURINAME

Reported in 2022

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on online payments
Restrictions for imports and exports
It is reported that in February 2021, the Foreign Exchange Commission implemented some measures regarding exchange rate policy including the requirement for exporters to repatriate earned export revenues to Suriname, which requires a buyer abroad to pay for purchased goods through a Surinamese commercial bank. In addition, exporters and foreign exchange offices must exchange 30% of their foreign currency income into Surinamese Dollars (SRD). In the case of imports, the new measures require that importers make payments for their imports through Surinamese commercial banks.
Coverage Imports and exports

SURINAME

Reported in 2022

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Threshold for ‘De Minimis’ rule
Lack of de minimis threshold
Suriname does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.
Coverage Horizontal

SURINAME

Since March 2007
N/A

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods, products and online services  |  Sub-pillar Self-certification for product safety
Decree Low Assets equipment 2007 (Besluit Laag Vermogen Apparatuur 2007)

Directive for the certification of radio devices
According to Arts. 2-4 of the Decree Low Assets Equipment, the TAS (Telecommunications Authority of Suriname) is responsible for issuing permits to have, construct, use, exploit and transmission of electronic equipment. However, the Conformity Assessment Systems in the Republic of Suriname recognize both European (EU) and American (FCC) Standards in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17050-1: 2004 in order to facilitate easy market access. It is reported that the homologation procedure in Suriname requires neither any local laboratory testing nor local representative contact and no additional requirements concerning product labeling are established by law.
According to the Directive for the certification of radio devices, the following reports must be submitted to proceed with the application for license to the TAS (Telecommunication Authority of Suriname): RF test report and EMC test.
Coverage Electronic products

SURINAME

Since September 2017

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbor for intermediaries for any activity other than copyright infringement
Electronic Legal Transactions Act 2017 (Wet Elektronisch Rechtsverkeer 2017)
The Electronic Legal Transactions Act 2017 establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Art. 44.2, an intermediary or provider shall not be liable to third parties, including those on whose behalf it provides services in respect of information contained in a data message or electronic record, for actions which, in the exercise of the powers provided for in this Article, it takes in good faith. In addition, under Art. 44.1 if an intermediary or provider has acquired actual knowledge of information or record in electronic form or of a data message that could give rise to civil or criminal liability, it shall remove the relevant information from public access and secure it in any information system as soon as practicable after becoming aware of it. Furthermore, according to Art. 45 an intermediary or provider who only provides a transmission line for data messages, recordings or information in electronic form shall not be liable for the content of such data messages, recordings, or information if the intermediary or provider has no actual knowledge of the material on the network.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

SURINAME

Since March 2007

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar User identity requirement
Telecommunication Facilities Act 2007, Decree Number Plan (Wet Telecommunicatievoorzieningen 2007, Besluit Nummerplan)
In accordance with the provisions delineated within the Telecommunication Facilities Act 2007, any individual seeking possession of a SIM card must duly furnish authentic and current forms of identification at the juncture of said acquisition. For non-native citizens, the admissible form of identification encompasses the presentation of their valid passports.
Coverage Telecommunications sector