The Ministry of Environment promulgated amendments to the Management Regulations for the Import and Export of Industrial Waste (hereinafter referred to as the Management Regulations) on June 10, 2025 in order to meet the needs of industrial waste import and export permit application, foreign-related document practical management, and verification. It is clearly stipulated that certain documents indicated in the Management Regulations shall be submitted in paper form, excluding the application of the Electronic Signatures Act.

Most of the foreign-related documents required by the Management Regulations are public documents, such as consent documents issued by foreign competent authorities or governments. However, practical operations still rely on paper-based notarization (certification) and authentication to certify the authenticity of these public documents. It’s still difficult to do so in other alternative methods. In addition, the Agreement between the Association of East Asian Relations and the Interchange Association to Control the Transboundary Movement and Disposal of Hazardous Waste also explicitly requires that relevant matters shall be conducted in paper form. There is still a need to maintain paper operations in practice. Therefore, in response to Paragraph 1, Article 11 of the Electronic Signatures Act, Article 25-1 is added to the Management Regulations to clearly stipulate documents that shall be submitted in paper form and exclude the application of electronic records and electronic signatures to facilitate the practical operation of the application for industrial waste import and export permits.

For further information on the regulatory amendments, please refer to the Ministry of Environment’s News Section or download the official documents from the Executive Yuan Gazette Online (https://gazette.nat.gov.tw/egFront/) three days after the announcement date.

Attachment: Amendment of Article 25-1 of the Management Regulations for the Import and Export of Industrial Waste