(Requirements vary among local governments in Taiwan. This article uses opening a restaurant in Taipei City as an example.)
When starting a food service business, the first issue is finding a business address.
In addition to considering market conditions,
another important consideration is
whether the address is in an area where a restaurant business may operate.
If you are starting a business in Taipei City,
you can use the Taipei City Department of Commerce's "Business Location Prior Inquiry" system.
https://www.businesslocationinfo.gov.taipei/BLBQS/Home/Notice
You can check free of charge whether a restaurant business may operate at your desired address.
When making the inquiry, however, you must upload a "Type II Building Registration Transcript" (建物登記第二類謄本), which contains detailed information about the building.
Anyone may request a Type II Building Registration Transcript for any address from a land office (地政事務所).
If it is difficult to visit a land office (地政事務所) in person,
you may ask an acquaintance in Taiwan, the landlord, a real estate agent, or a lawyer for help.
If the inquiry result shows that restaurant use is not permitted, the city government may not accept the registration when you later apply to register the company.
Please therefore take care.
Q. Must every type of business use the "Business Location Prior Inquiry" system to check whether it may operate at a particular location?
We recommend that every type of business use the "Business Location Prior Inquiry" system to confirm whether it may operate at the proposed location.
However, companies commonly register multiple business items and may seek to register around ten items at once.
In practice, therefore, it is not necessary to conduct an inquiry for every business item when registering a company.
Under the "Taipei City Business Location Assisted Inquiry Service Operating Guidelines" (臺北市營業場所協助查詢服務作業須知) and the city's current notice,
since January 1, 2023 an application to register the establishment, relocation, or addition of business items of a company or business (including branches and sub-branch offices) must attach the business-location pre-inquiry result, whatever the business item.
The list of "business items subject to proactive inquiry" (主動查詢之營業項目) below covers the items the Department of Commerce queries on its own initiative during registration review (隨案主動查詢) when the application names such an item but the attached inquiry result omits it; an item absent from this list is not exempt from the inquiry.
If a restaurant opens at a location where restaurant operations are not permitted, the competent authority may later impose an administrative fine and order the use to stop.
"Business items subject to proactive inquiry" (主動查詢之營業項目)
This concludes the guide. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact a Taiwan attorney.
Administrative agency rules may change frequently, so it is advisable to confirm the latest regulations before registering a company.
Read more:
Wei Tseng (曾雋崴), Taiwan Attorney
