Clothing Import Duty in Taiwan: Why It Is Always Taxed

Clothing is the category that most reliably produces a tax bill on an overseas order, and the reason is structural rather than bad luck. Across the 364 apparel tariff lines in Taiwan's schedule there is not one zero-rated line, and the rate is decided by two things a product listing rarely states.

Last updated:2026-08

This category has no zero-rated lines

Across 364 apparel tariff lines in Taiwan's schedule, not one carries a 0% rate.

Chapter	Lines	Rate range	Average	Concentration
61 (knitted)	195	10.5% – 12%	11.77%	163 lines at 12%
62 (woven)	169	10.5% – 12%	11.71%	136 lines at 12%

The overwhelming majority sit at 12%. For estimating purposes, 12% gives a close upper bound, with the remainder falling to 10.5%.

This is unusual. Most categories in the schedule contain a mix of zero-rated and dutiable lines — roughly half the electrical and electronic chapter is duty-free. Apparel is one of the few where the answer is always "yes, there is duty." See the Taiwan import tariff tables for how other categories compare.

Two layers decide the rate

Layer one: knitted or woven. This single distinction determines chapter 61 versus chapter 62, and it is judged on fabric structure, not on the garment's appearance or intended use.

	Knitted (ch. 61)	Woven (ch. 62)
Structure	Yarn looped through itself	Warp and weft interlaced
Stretch	Yes	Low
Typical items	T-shirts, polos, sweaters, underwear, sweatshirts	Shirts, suits, jeans, trench coats

A "shirt" can be either. The word on the label tells you nothing; the fabric construction does.

Layer two: fibre composition. Cotton, wool, synthetic, regenerated fibre and silk each map to different lines. Blends are classified by the fibre that predominates by weight.

This is where classification most often goes wrong, because a blend at 55/45 and one at 45/55 fall in different lines despite being commercially interchangeable.

See The complete HS Code guide for how the classification rules work more generally.

The composition label is the key document

Ask suppliers for fibre percentages, not product descriptions. A listing that says "cotton blend" does not contain enough information to classify the goods.

What works:

• The care label photograph, which carries the composition by law in most markets
• A supplier specification sheet stating percentages
• For bulk orders, a written confirmation in the purchase documentation

What does not work: the product title, the marketing copy, or the category the seller filed it under on their own platform.

A worked example

A knitted cotton T-shirt order: goods NT$2,400, international freight NT$600, insurance NT$30.

Step	Calculation	Amount
Customs value	2,400 + 600 + 30	3,030
Below NT$2,000?	No	Taxed in full
Duty at 12%	3,030 × 12%	364
Business tax	(3,030 + 364) × 5%	170
Total		534

Two observations.

Freight took this over the threshold. The goods alone were NT$2,400 — already over — but on a smaller order the freight is frequently what crosses the line. See How customs value is calculated.

The effective burden is about 17.6% of the customs value, because business tax applies on top of duty rather than alongside it. See Duty, business tax and commodity tax.

What this means for buying decisions

Because apparel duty is effectively fixed at roughly 12%, the variables you can actually control are the customs value and the exemption:

Freight matters more than for other categories. With a 12% duty rate plus business tax, every dollar of freight carries about 17.6 cents of tax with it.

The exemption is worth using deliberately. A clothing consignment under NT$2,000 clears entirely free; one at NT$2,100 pays roughly NT$370. That is a large step for a small difference — see The NT$2,000 de minimis threshold.

Consolidation usually hurts here. Combining several clothing orders almost guarantees crossing the threshold, and the rate is high enough that the freight saved rarely compensates. The calculus differs from low-rate categories — see Taiwan's six-time rule for how the counts interact.

Four garments that are frequently misclassified

The knitted-versus-woven and composition rules are simple to state and awkward to apply to real products. These four are where disputes concentrate.

Technical outerwear. A waterproof jacket may have a woven face fabric, a membrane and a knitted lining. Classification follows the fabric that gives the garment its essential character, which is usually the outer shell rather than whichever layer is thickest.

Garments with substantial non-textile components. A coat with a leather yoke or extensive plastic panelling may fall outside the apparel chapters entirely if the non-textile material predominates. The threshold is not intuitive, and the outcome moves the rate significantly.

Coated and laminated fabrics. Coating can move a garment into a different heading depending on whether the coating is visible to the naked eye — a test that sounds subjective but is applied consistently and produces a different line.

Sets and multi-piece items. A two-piece set sold as one product may be classified as a set or as separate garments, depending on whether the pieces are presented for retail sale together. Where the pieces would carry different rates, this matters.

In each case the resolution comes from the same place: the objective construction of the goods, evidenced by a specification sheet. Marketing descriptions do not settle any of them. For higher-volume or repeat imports where the rate difference is material, an advance ruling converts the question into a settled answer — see The complete HS Code guide.

Beyond duty: labelling

Clothing imported for personal use carries no labelling obligation. Clothing imported for sale must meet Taiwan's textile labelling requirements covering fibre composition, country of origin and care instructions.

This is one of the practical differences between the two, alongside the tax treatment — see Personal use versus commercial import.

Further reading

For the tax structure overall, see the Taiwan import tax guide. For US and Japanese sources specifically, see US to Taiwan shipping and Shipping from Japan to Taiwan. To run figures, use the import duty calculator.

Primary source: Customs Act (關稅法) and the Customs Administration tariff schedule.

Frequently asked questions

What is the import duty rate on clothing in Taiwan?

Between 10.5% and 12%, with the overwhelming majority at 12%. Chapter 61 knitted apparel averages 11.77% across 195 lines and chapter 62 woven apparel averages 11.71% across 169 lines. Neither chapter contains a single zero-rated line.

Why is clothing taxed when electronics often are not?

Because the tariff schedule treats them differently by design. Roughly half the electrical and electronic lines are zero-rated, while apparel has none. Two consignments of identical value can produce very different bills purely on contents.

What decides which apparel rate applies?

Two layers. First, whether the fabric is knitted (chapter 61) or woven (chapter 62), judged on fabric structure rather than appearance. Second, the fibre composition — cotton, wool, synthetic, regenerated or silk each map to different lines, with blends classified by the predominant fibre by weight.

What document do I need from the supplier?

The fibre composition percentages, not the product name. Classification turns on which fibre predominates by weight, so a listing saying "cotton blend" is not enough. The care label or a supplier specification sheet carries the figures you need.

Can I estimate before knowing the exact line?

Yes, within a narrow band. Since almost all apparel lines sit at 12% and the floor is 10.5%, using 12% gives a close upper estimate. The uncertainty on apparel is small compared with categories spanning 0% to 30%.