EZ WAY Explained: Taiwan's Real-Name Clearance App

A parcel sitting at Taiwan Customs is more often stuck on identity than on tax. EZ WAY is the app that resolves it, and it also displays one number worth checking regularly — how many duty-free consignments you have left this half-year, which most people discover only when the exemption stops working.

Last updated:2026-08

It solves identity, not tax

EZ WAY (易利委) is the real-name authentication app run by Taiwan's Ministry of Finance Customs Administration. Its purpose is to confirm who the consignee of an imported courier consignment is, and to record the delegation that lets the courier declare on their behalf.

It has no bearing on how much tax you pay. This is the most common misunderstanding.

The background: courier consignments are declared by the courier, and that requires a delegation from the consignee. When the delegation was generic, two problems followed — identities were used without the holder's knowledge, and duty-free counts could not be attributed reliably. Real-name authentication addresses both.

A consignment without completed authentication cannot clear. It waits at Customs, storage accrues, and prolonged inaction ends in return.

Three steps, and only the last repeats

Step	What it does	When
Registration	Create the account with a mobile number and identity details	Before you order, not after
Identity verification	Upload identity documents	With registration
Declaration confirmation	Confirm the declared contents of each consignment	Every consignment

The first two are one-off. The third recurs for every shipment, and it is where most stalled parcels are stuck — a push notification missed, or notifications switched off entirely.

Check the app directly rather than waiting to be prompted. A parcel can sit for days because a notification never surfaced.

What to check when confirming

The confirmation screen shows the declared contents. Verify that the description and value match what you actually bought.

Two situations warrant attention.

The declared value does not match what you paid. Some sellers under-declare to reduce a buyer's tax. Confirming a declaration you know to be inaccurate moves the exposure onto you, because the consignee is the taxpayer.

A parcel you did not order. A confirmation request for an unfamiliar shipment suggests someone is using your identity to clear goods. Decline it and report it.

The number worth checking

The app displays how many clearances you have used, in the real-name delegation section.

This matters because of the frequency rule: a taxpayer clearing goods under the low-value exemption more than six times in a half-year is classified as importing frequently and loses the exemption. Half-years run January to June and July to December.

That means twelve duty-free consignments a year at most, and most people discover the limit exists when the seventh parcel arrives with a bill. Checking the number before ordering is what lets you decide whether to consolidate or defer.

Full rules in Taiwan's six-time rule and The NT$2,000 de minimis threshold.

Being abroad

Registration requires mobile verification, which is awkward from overseas with a Taiwanese number while a parcel is already in transit.

Complete registration and identity verification before travelling. Once those are done, per-shipment confirmation only needs the app to receive a notification, which works from anywhere.

If the consignee is not the person collecting the parcel, note that authentication attaches to the consignee. Receiving under a family member's name means their authentication and their duty-free count.

Delegation scope

Delegation can be handled per consignment or set up in advance. Per-consignment means confirming each shipment; advance delegation authorises subsequent consignments without responding to each notification.

The trade-off is convenience against oversight. Advance delegation removes the repeated step, but it also removes the opportunity to inspect each declaration — and inspecting declarations is part of why the real-name system exists.

Frequent buyers generally prefer advance setup. Occasional buyers, and anyone who has encountered a seller under-declaring, are better served by confirming each one.

Registration problems that recur

Four situations account for most of the difficulty, and three of them are avoidable by registering early.

No Taiwanese mobile number. Verification depends on it. Foreign residents with a local number are fine; someone relying on an overseas number is not, and there is no workaround at the point a parcel is already in transit.

Name mismatch. The name on the identity document, the name on the account and the name the seller put on the shipping label all have to correspond. Ordering under an English name and holding an identity document in Chinese is a common cause of a confirmation that will not go through.

Someone else's address. Delivering to an office or a friend does not change who the consignee is, but a mismatch between the consignee named on the declaration and the account confirming it will stall the shipment.

Multiple household members. Each person needs their own account, and each has their own duty-free count. Consolidating a household's orders under one name concentrates the counts on that person, which exhausts them roughly proportionally faster.

What it does not do

Worth being explicit, because the app's role is narrower than its prominence suggests:

• It does not calculate or reduce tax
• It does not confirm that goods are permitted for import
• It does not substitute for an import permit or inspection
• It does not verify the seller's declared value on your behalf

The last one is the most consequential. The screen shows what was declared; it does not check whether the declaration is true. That verification is yours, and confirming an inaccurate declaration transfers the exposure to you as the taxpayer.

Authentication is not the only gate

Completing it does not guarantee release. A parcel can still be held for:

• Restricted or prohibited goods
• A required import permit or inspection certificate
• A declared value Customs has questioned
• Intellectual property concerns

See Parcel held at Taiwan Customs for which of these are resolvable, and What you cannot ship to Taiwan for the categories that are not.

Further reading

For the full rules on buying from abroad, see Shopping overseas and importing to Taiwan. For the tax that applies once a parcel clears, see the Taiwan import tax guide and the import duty calculator.

Primary sources: Customs Act Article 49 (關稅法第 49 條) and the Air Express Consignment Clearance Regulations (空運快遞貨物通關辦法).

Frequently asked questions

What is EZ WAY?

EZ WAY (易利委) is the real-name authentication app operated by Taiwan's Customs Administration. It confirms the identity of the consignee of an imported courier consignment and records the clearance delegation. Courier parcels cannot complete clearance without it.

What happens if I do not have it?

The parcel stops at Customs. Couriers need the consignee's authentication and delegation before they can declare on your behalf, so an unconfirmed consignment simply waits, accruing storage, and eventually faces return.

Does completing authentication mean I do not pay tax?

No. Authentication resolves identity and delegation, and has nothing to do with tax. A consignment above the exemption threshold is assessed normally once authentication is complete. The app makes clearance possible, not free.

How do I check how many duty-free imports I have left?

Open the app and go to the real-name delegation section, where the number of clearances used is displayed. More than six in a half-year classifies you as a frequent importer and ends the exemption, so the number is worth checking before ordering.

I am overseas and cannot receive the SMS code — what now?

Registration requires mobile verification, which is difficult abroad with a Taiwanese number. Complete registration and identity verification before travelling. Once done, per-shipment confirmation works anywhere the app receives notifications.