EZ WAY Guide: Taiwan Customs Real-Name Authentication for Inbound Parcels

Shipping goods from overseas back to Taiwan requires two things before your parcel reaches customs: a one-time real-name authentication in the EZ WAY app, and a confirmation tap for every shipment when the broker files your declaration. This is a Taiwan Customs Administration requirement, not something logistics companies invented. Since 1 March 2026, advance confirmation of delegation applies across the board - if you do not tap confirm, your broker cannot file, and the goods sit in the warehouse.

In this guide

• What is EZ WAY and why is it mandatory?
• How do you register and complete real-name authentication?
• What changed with advance delegation in March 2026?
• How do you confirm a push notification?
• What happens if you never confirm?
• Do I have to handle import tax myself?
• Frequently asked questions

What is EZ WAY and why is it mandatory?

EZ WAY is a free app built by Tradevan on behalf of Taiwan's Customs Administration. It replaces the paper customs delegation form with an online tap. You bind a mobile number to your national ID number or residence permit number, so when a broker files an express import declaration in your name, the system can verify the consignee is genuinely you.

The legal basis is Article 17, Paragraph 3 of the Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Air Express Consignments. Customs relaxed the rules in 2018 to allow paper delegation for simplified express declarations to be handled online through the app, and from 16 May 2020 customs systems began verifying delegation for express consignments.

The consequence matters: when an importer engages a broker to declare imported express cargo, if no declaration of delegation is affirmed and the declarant has not completed real-name authentication, customs will not accept the filing. Without authentication, that shipment simply cannot complete import formalities.

This applies regardless of origin. Whether you are shipping from Japan, the United States or China, personal express imports follow the same rule.

How do you register and complete real-name authentication?

Authentication is essentially a once-in-a-lifetime step. After that, each shipment only needs a confirmation. Registration splits into two paths depending on whether the mobile number is registered in your own name.

Path one: your own mobile number (telecom verification)

1. Download the EZ WAY app (free, iOS and Android)
2. Enter nationality, mobile number, name and ID number
3. Answer "yes" to whether the number belongs to you
4. Set an account, password and email
5. Turn Wi-Fi off and use mobile data - the carrier verifies identity through the number itself, and Wi-Fi breaks that check
6. Registration completes once the carrier verifies you

Path two: someone else's number (SMS verification)

1. Enter the same details but answer "no"
2. Upload clear photos of both sides of your ID and pass image recognition
3. Receive and enter an SMS code
4. Review takes roughly three business days

Those three business days are what catches people out. If you are using a family member's number, a company line or a prepaid SIM, and you only start registering once the goods have landed, the parcel sits in a warehouse while you wait. Register the moment you place the order, not when the parcel boards a plane.

One hard limit: one mobile number can only bind to one ID number. If several people in a household receive parcels, each needs their own number. Couples or parents and children sharing a single line is one of the most common places this gets stuck.

Foreign nationals register the same way, using a residence permit number.

What changed with advance delegation in March 2026?

This is the biggest recent change, and many people still picture the old flow.

Previously the broker filed first and you confirmed afterwards. That order is now reversed: the broker must push the cargo details to you, and only after you confirm "declaration matches" can the filing be submitted.

The system arrived in stages:

The Ministry of Finance announced full implementation in a press release dated 24 February 2026. High-risk importers means those with prior violations, repeated failures to confirm delegation through the app, or abnormal account activity.

The reason is identity theft. People were using other individuals' ID numbers to import prohibited goods or scam parcels, and by the time the victim noticed, the goods had cleared. With confirmation required first, nobody can complete an import in your name without your tap.

You can check whether it applies to you in the app: a red-background "advance delegation" label on your profile page means you are covered.

How do you confirm a push notification?

Open the app's customs delegation import query page, tap into the house bill of lading number, and select "declaration matches". The confirmation goes to the single-window system and the broker, who can then submit the filing.

It takes about ten seconds. If you have a shipment in transit, tap "declaration matches" when the push arrives.

Item descriptions on a declaration are entered by the broker according to the clearance method and tariff classification, so they will not necessarily read word for word like the product name on the shopping site - especially for consolidated shipments under tax-inclusive clearance. Different wording is normal and is not a reason to tap "does not match".

The one case that warrants "declaration does not match" is this: you have nothing in transit at all. That suggests someone may be filing under your identity, and the tap stops the goods. For anything else, ask us first - that tap blocks the shipment from being declared, and the goods held up are your own.

What happens if you never confirm?

The outcome is simple: the goods cannot be declared for import.

Customs states it plainly - if the importer does not respond, or responds "does not match", that shipment cannot be imported because delegation was never completed. This is not a delay; the process stops.

In practice that brings:

• Goods sitting in a bonded warehouse with storage fees accruing daily, ultimately billed to the consignee
• Other people's cargo in the same consolidated container potentially held up too
• Return shipment if it drags on, usually costing more than the original freight

So build the habit: after ordering, watch for the push and act on it. Many people mute app notifications or install and forget, and only learn they need to confirm when the courier calls - by which point storage fees are already running. Turn notifications on once you finish authentication; it is the only channel that will remind you.

If the app itself misbehaves - forgotten password, connection failures, stalled authentication - contact Tradevan directly on (02)7735-2812 or ezway@tradevan.com.tw. That is the official technical channel and it is faster than asking your forwarder.

Do I have to handle import tax myself?

No. Our inbound Taiwan lanes are all tax-inclusive. Duties and the taxes customs collects on import are handled by us and built into the freight quote, so nothing is charged again on arrival and you never need to work out tariff classifications or tax amounts yourself.

You only have two things to do: complete real-name authentication once, and tap "declaration matches" when each shipment arrives. The tax side does not change based on what you tap or what appears on the declaration - your price is fixed before the goods ship.

To compare freight and transit times across lanes, see the guide to shipping back to Taiwan or check routes and rates. For unusual items, higher values or anything else you are unsure about, talk to us before shipping and we will advise.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Do I need to authenticate every time?

No. Real-name authentication is one-time and stays valid. What repeats is confirming delegation - receive the push, tap "declaration matches" - and that is needed for every shipment.

Q: I am overseas. Can I register on behalf of family in Taiwan?

No. One number binds to one ID number, so the consignee must register with their own number and their own ID. You can walk them through it, but you cannot do it for them.

Q: Will registering with a family member's number work?

Yes, via SMS verification: answer "no" to the ownership question, upload both sides of your ID, pass image recognition and SMS verification, then wait roughly three business days. That is much slower than telecom verification, so start early.

Q: Is EZ WAY compulsory, or can I use a formal declaration instead?

Most of our inbound Taiwan lanes run as simplified express declarations, and on those, real-name authentication and delegation confirmation are unavoidable.

If your shipment suits a formal declaration - commercial imports, high-value goods, or cases needing a full declaration and input tax documentation - we can arrange that instead. Formal declarations are delegated through the broker's paperwork rather than per-shipment taps in EZ WAY, but they require invoices, packing lists and similar documents, and lead times, costs and the way tax is handled all differ. They are quoted separately.

Both are available; the difference is paperwork and cost. Tell us which you need before shipping and we will advise based on the goods and value.

Q: If I tap "does not match", will the goods be returned?

Not necessarily. If the broker simply keyed something wrong, they correct it, re-push, and you confirm. Return only follows genuine impersonation cases. The point is that holding a questionable shipment is far easier than unwinding one that already cleared.

Q: I am shipping many boxes. Do I confirm many times?

It depends how the broker files. One declaration means one push; separate filings mean several. The app's query page lists every pending house bill number, so open and check each one.

Remember the order and nothing goes wrong: authenticate when you order -> watch for the push before arrival -> tap "declaration matches". Only after those four steps can the broker handle the rest. To compare routes and transit times from different countries, see the guide to shipping back to Taiwan, or check routes and rates directly.

Sources

• Taiwan Customs Administration, express consignee real-name authentication section (introduction and operating instructions; advance confirmation of delegation)
• Ministry of Finance press release, 24 February 2026, on full implementation of advance confirmation of delegation from 1 March
• Regulations Governing Customs Clearance for Air Express Consignments, Article 17, Paragraph 3

Regulatory details are compiled from the public sources above; current customs rules govern in practice.