Amendments to the Income Tax Exemption Rules for Royalties and Technical Service Fees

Summary:

On May 13, 2026, the authority promulgated amendments to the “Directions Governing Reviews of Applications for Exemption from Income Tax on Royalty and Technical Service Fees Collected by Foreign Profit-Seeking Enterprises from Manufacturing Industries, Technical Service Industries and Power-Generating Industries” (the “Directions”). The amendments revise and supplement the detailed rules governing applications by foreign profit-seeking enterprises (“foreign enterprises”) for income tax exemption under Article 4, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 21 of the Income Tax Act. The key amendments include expanding the scope of eligible industries, introducing measures to prevent double non-taxation, specifying the application deadline, and establishing the applicable period for the tax exemption.

Analysis:

Under Article 4, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 21 of the Income Tax Act, royalties paid to a foreign enterprise for the use of its patent rights, trademarks, and/or various kinds of special licensed rights in order to introduce new production technology or products, improve product quality, or reduce production cost under the approval of the competent authority as a special case, as well as remuneration paid to a foreign enterprise for the provision of technical services in construction of a factory for an important productive enterprise determined and approved as such by the competent authority, the aforementioned royalty and remuneration may qualify for income tax exemption. The amendments to the Directions introduce four key changes to the administration of this tax incentive, including:

1. Expanding the Scope of Eligible Industries
   
   To align with Taiwan’s industrial development policies and its net-zero emissions objectives, the amendments expand the scope of eligible industries by adding the “Hydrogen Fuel Cell Industry,” “Aviation and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV),” and “Shipbuilding Industry,” while removing the “Intelligent Living Industry” and “Information Services Industry.”
   Following the amendments, a total of 21 industries are eligible under the Directions. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical, IC design, wind and solar power generation, cloud computing, and optoelectronics industries are expected to remain the primary users of this tax incentive, as they frequently obtain technologies or license intellectual property from foreign enterprises.
    
2. New Restrictions for Low-Tax Jurisdictions
   
   In line with international anti-tax avoidance trends and to prevent situations of double non-taxation arising from foreign enterprises benefiting from this tax incentive in both their jurisdictions of residence and Taiwan, foreign enterprises will not be eligible to apply for this income tax exemption if the statutory income tax rate levied on such royalty or technical service fee in their jurisdictions of residence is below 15%.
    
3. Specifying the application deadline
   
   Foreign enterprises shall submit an application to the Industrial Development Administration or the Energy Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (“MOEA”) before the effective date of the agreement or during the term of the agreement. Upon approval, the foreign enterprises shall apply to the tax authority for the income tax exemption within two months from the day following the issuance date of the approval letter.
    
4. Establishing the applicable period for the tax exemption
   
   The tax exemption period shall be three years from the date of application submitted to the MOEA. If the application is submitted before the effective date of the agreement, the tax exemption period shall instead be three years from the effective date of the agreement and shall not exceed the term of the agreement or the period for technology licensing or plant construction. If the agreement remains effective after the expiration of the approved tax exemption period, the foreign enterprise shall submit an extension application before the expiration of the approved period.

The amendments support the government’s key industrial development policies. Going forward, enterprises in the aviation, UAV, hydrogen energy, and related industries may benefit from the withholding tax exemption when introducing technologies or making royalty payments. Meanwhile, to reflect international anti-tax avoidance principles, foreign enterprises receiving royalty payments through low-tax jurisdictions will no longer be eligible for the income tax exemption. Moreover, Enterprises should strengthen contract management to ensure timely filing of applications and avoid losing the tax incentive due to procedural issues.

內文：

115 年 5 月 13 日發布修正「外國營利事業收取製造業技術服務業與發電業之權利金及技術服務報酬免納所得稅案件審查原則」針對外國營利事業（下稱「外國公司」）申請適用所得稅法第 4 條第 1 項第 21 款規定免納所得稅案件之適用細節進行修正與補充。本次修正重點包含調整適用產業、防範雙重不課稅情形、規範申請期限並增訂適用期間。

解析：

依據所得稅法第 4 條第 1 項第 21 款規定，我國營利事業因引進新生產技術或產品，或改進產品品質、降低生產成本而使用外國公司之專利權、商標權等各種特許權利而給付之權利金，其業經專案核准者；抑或是其屬經核定之重要生產事業，因建廠而須支付予外國公司之技術服務報酬，得免納所得稅。本次針對前開租稅優惠適用審查原則進行修正與補充，包含四大重點：

（一）擴大適用產業範圍

為配合產業發展政策、落實淨零碳排目標，本次修正新增「氫能燃料電池產業」、「航空及無人機產業」及「船艦產業」，並刪除「智慧生活產業」與「資訊服務產業」。修正後適用產業共 21 項，其中生技醫藥、IC 設計、風力與太陽能發電、雲端運算及科技光電等皆屬較常引用外國公司相關技術或專利而申請適用此等租稅優惠之產業。

（二）增訂低稅負國家或地區相關限制

為接軌國際反避稅趨勢，避免適用該等租稅優惠之外國公司於所在地與我國境內發生雙重不課稅情形，如該外國公司所在地規定該等權利金或技術服務報酬之所得稅法定稅率低於 15%者，不得申請適用此免稅優惠。

（三）規範申請期限

外國公司應於契約簽訂後生效前、或契約有效期間內向經濟部產業發展署或能源署提出申請。經核准後，並應於核准函發文日次日起 2 個月內向稅務稽徵機關申請適用免納所得稅。

（四）增訂適用期間

前述免稅適用期間係以向經濟部申請之日起算 3 年。如係於契約簽訂後生效前申請者，則適用期間應為契約生效日起算 3 年，不得超過契約有效期間或授權、建廠期間。如免稅適用期間屆滿後契約仍繼續有效者，外國公司應於免稅核准期滿前再行申請延長適用。

本次修正配合政府重點產業政策發展，未來航空、無人機、氫能及相關產業引進技術或支付權利金，將有機會可享有免扣繳之租稅優惠；另導入國際反避稅精神，未來外國公司透過低稅率國家收取權利金，將無法適用免稅優惠。最後，企業須強化合約之控管，以期能在期限內完成申請程序以避免符合資格條件卻無法順利適用。