Newsletter
COMPANY REGISTRATION REGULATIONS AMENDED
On 6 June 2008, the Ministry of Economic Affairs amended its Regulations Governing Company Registration and Recognition. The main amendments are as follows:
- In line with the amended minimum capital requirements for Taiwanese companies, the minimum working capital that a foreign company must remit to its place of business in Taiwan (i.e. working capital of branch office) is changed to NT$500,000 in the case of a company limited by shares, and NT$250,000 in the case of a limited company.
- A system of pre-registration review is introduced in line with the provisions of the Enterprise Merger and Acquisition Act. In cases where the regulatory authority for the relevant economic sector requires registrations relating to new incorporations, increases in capital, demergers, and mergers to be made on a specific record date, a proforma CPA-certified capital verification report may be submitted prior to the record date. A final version, covering the period up to the record date, should then be submitted within 15 days after the record date.
- When a company applies for incorporation, change of name, or change in scope of business, if it states in its application document the reference number of the approval for its company name and business scope reservation, it need not submit the reservation form.
- To prevent premises being fraudulently registered as the address of a company without the owner's consent, when registering the address of a company or a branch office, the applicant must submit the original of a statement of consent from the building owner, as well as a photocopy of the house tax payment receipt for the most recent taxation period, or a photocopy of the title deed. If the building is owned by the company itself, or if it is leased to the company and a photocopy of the lease agreement is submitted, the applicant need not submit a statement of consent. But it must still submit a photocopy of the most recent house tax receipt or the title deed.
- For greater clarity, new provisions specify the documents and forms to be submitted when a company limited by shares issues new shares due to a share swap, a share exchange, or an acquisition, or seeks new incorporation due to a share exchange.
- If a company limited by shares relocates to a different county or city, and the new address has already been decided by resolution of a shareholders' meeting, it is no longer necessary for the company to submit photocopies of board meeting minutes and the board meeting attendance register.
- If documents submitted by a foreign company evidencing its incorporated status are issued by a government agency in the jurisdiction where the company's headquarters are located, such documents need not be legalized by the Embassy or representative office of Taiwan government.