The following notification from the delegation of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, dated 15 September 2025, is being circulated to the Members of the Council for Trade in Services.

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1  MEMBER NOTIFYING:

The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu

2  NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE:

Article III:3 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services

3  DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE:

4 July 2025

3.1  Duration:

Indefinite

4  AGENCY RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE MEASURE:

National Communications Commission

5  DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE:

Measure:

The Amendment to Article 5 and Article 79 of the Telecommunications Management Act

Description:

The Amendment to Article 5 of the Telecommunications Management Act aims to achieve three main objectives:

First, to combat fraud and ensure the legal and orderly use of number resources, the amendment brings wholesale resellers of subscriber numbers under the scope of the Act.

Second, prior to the amendment, Internet Access Service Providers (IASPs) could voluntarily register with the authorities, making it difficult to track quantity and scale. This hindered enforcement and created vulnerabilities due to the absence of a comprehensive list. The amendment now mandates IASPs to register with the authority, closing potential loopholes for cybercrime.

Third, in line with these new registration requirements, Article 79 has been revised to impose penalties on entities that fail to comply with the registration obligations outlined in Subparagraph 2 of Article 5.

The main content of the Amendment is outlined below:

I._         Revision of types of services in market entry:

Telecommunications service providers engaging in any of the following practices shall register as a telecommunications enterprise with the competent authority:

1) Those that lease or purchase telecommunications services with subscriber numbers from other telecommunications enterprises in a wholesale approach and resell it to subscribers in its own name

2) Those that provide subscribers Internet Access Service.

II._       Consideration of tiered management classification:

For those telecommunications enterprises falling under Subparagraph 2 of the preceding paragraph, the number of subscribers and revenue of telecommunications service items, as well as other factors, shall be taken into consideration by the competent authority when determining classification of tiered management.

III.  One-year transitional period:

For enterprises that, prior to the enforcement of the amended provisions of this Act on June 17, 2025, have already been providing telecommunications services as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 5 shall register as a telecommunications enterprise with the competent authority within one year from the date of enforcement of the Act.

IV.   Penalties pertaining to violations of Article 5:

Telecommunications enterprises that violate Paragraph 2 of Article 5 by failing to register with the competent authority shall be fined not less than NT$ 1 hundred thousand but not more than NT$ 1 million and will be notified to make corrections within a prescribed deadline. The fine may be imposed consecutively for failure to make the necessary rectification by the prescribed deadline.

6  MEMBERS SPECIFICALLY AFFECTED, IF ANY:

None

7  TEXT AVAILABLE FROM:

https://ncclaw.ncc.gov.tw//EngLawContent.aspx?id=20105

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