This is the checklist behind a bid in Taiwan: each document and step a Taiwanese government tender involves, in the order you meet them, and who may lawfully handle each one. How Taiwanese procurement works overall, from thresholds and treaty coverage to evaluation and protests, is in How to bid for government contracts in Taiwan.
Before you bid
You don’t need to be on any national prequalification register to bid on paper. Each tender names its basic qualification documents, and you collect them in time to enclose them with your bid.
1. Registration proof and the unified business number (公司登記 or 商業登記, and 統一編號). Proof that you are lawfully registered: the company or business registration and, where relevant, factory registration, permits or practising licences.
- Cost: free, because a printout of your record from the regulator’s public website can replace the certificate.
- Time: the same day.
- Valid: it must show the latest data before the bid deadline.
- Who does it: anyone can print the public MOEA registry record, so an adviser can attach it for you.
2. Tax payment proof (納稅證明). For business tax (營業稅): the payment receipt or the tax-office-stamped latest sales and tax return (form 401), or a no-violation, no-arrears certificate (無違章欠稅之查復表) from the National Taxation Bureau. A newly established firm uses its establishment approval letter. It covers the latest, or the previous, filing period. Your 會計師 or bookkeeper supplies the stamped return or requests the certificate; you authorise the request.
3. Credit proof, where the tender sets capacity-related qualifications. Either a certificate from the Taiwan Clearing House or a bank, issued within 6 months before the bid deadline, showing no refused-account status and no bounced cheques in the past 3 years; or CPA-certified financial statements; or a credit certificate from a bank or credit agency. You ask your bank for it, or your 會計師 provides certified statements.
4. Graded licences, business items and specialist staff. Where the law grades licences or sets contracting limits, as for construction firms (營造業登記: 綜合營造業, 專業營造業 or 土木包工業, registered with local governments under the Construction Industry Act), tenders apply those grades and limits. Tenders can also require particular business items from the MOEA business-item code list. You meet the capital and professional-staff requirements and file with the regulator; a lawyer or CPA can prepare the application.
Specialist staff licences go with them: proof that you or your employees hold government-issued professional or technical licences, such as a professional engineer’s (技師). A tender may set the number of such staff only where the law requires it. Your licensed staff provide copies; you must actually employ them.
5. Extra qualifications for special or huge-value procurement. These tenders can ask for any of:
- Experience: similar contracts in the last 5 years, one worth at least 2/5 of the budget or together worth at least the budget, proven by the buyers’ acceptance certificates.
- Finance: paid-in capital of at least 1/10 of the budget, or CPA-certified (簽證) statements showing equity of at least 1/12 of the budget, current assets no lower than current liabilities, and total liabilities no more than 4 times equity. A joint performance-and-indemnity guarantee from a bank or insurer can stand in for the financial-capacity requirement.
- Staff and equipment, as the tender sets.
- Quality certification, such as ISO 9001 or a national equivalent, from a TAF-accredited body; it lasts 3 years with surveillance audits.
A bid writer compiles the evidence and a 會計師 certifies the finances; you supply the past acceptance certificates and sign the declarations.
6. The MOEA business certificate (工商憑證), if you will collect documents or bid electronically. Electronic procurement is signed with a certificate from a CA designated by the PCC, and this is the standard company certificate.
- Cost: NT$420 per card, whether main card, attached card (附卡) or non-IC card.
- Valid: 5 years from issue.
- Who does it: only the registered company, which applies to the MOEA Certification Authority (經濟部工商憑證管理中心) and holds the card and PIN. Attached cards are issued to the company for its own staff, never to outsiders.
- The supplier account: with the certificate you register on the Government e-Procurement System (web.pcc.gov.tw), which handles electronic tender collection, e-bidding and notifications. Firms without a Taiwan business number get a foreign supplier code. You don’t need an account to bid on paper, and anyone can search notices without one.
With your bid
7. Collect the tender documents (領標). Where the tender allows electronic collection, you download it under your own account and must attach the e-receipt (領標電子憑據) to your bid, paper or electronic, or the bid is rejected. The buyer may charge a cost fee for electronic documents, never more than for paper ones. Paper collection is in person or as the notice says.
Alongside the bid, the PCC template asks you to sign eligibility declarations confirming the country box, any mainland China or PRC-funding restrictions, any political-party ties and, in works, where listed materials come from. Sign them truthfully.
8. A lawyer-certified litigation list (when the tender asks). Larger works and goods tenders can ask, as proof that you can perform on time, for a list issued by a 律師 describing pending lawsuits about your liability for damages, as of the bid date. You disclose the cases to the lawyer.
9. Joint-bidding agreement (共同投標協議書), where the tender allows joint bids. Two or more firms bid and sign together, with joint and several liability for the contract period; a joint bid by firms in the same industry must comply with the Fair Trade Act. A 律師 drafts it on the PCC model and every member signs. It is a common way for a foreign firm to team up with a Taiwanese one.
10. Bid bond (押標金), mainly in works and goods tenders; services are waived in principle.
- Amount: a fixed sum up to 5% of the budget or estimate, or up to 5% of the bid price, with a ceiling of NT$50 million; e-bidders can get up to 10% off.
- Form: cash, bank cheques, pledged certificates of deposit, a bank’s written joint guarantee (銀行書面連帶保證), an irrevocable standby letter of credit (擔保信用狀) or an insurer’s surety policy (保證保險單), also in electronic form.
- Valid: a guarantee, standby letter of credit or policy must run 30 days beyond the bid validity.
- Who does it: a bank or insurer issues it with the buyer as beneficiary, and it can be enclosed with the bid. You apply and fund it before the deadline.
11. Submit on paper (書面投標) or electronically (電子投標), as the tender says. Submission is free. An e-bid is signed with your own 工商憑證 and uploaded before the deadline. A paper bid is signed or sealed by your responsible person, sealed, and delivered or mailed to the stated place; a courier or someone you trust can carry it.
12. The opening and price-reduction rounds (授權書). Your responsible person, agent or authorised representative may attend the opening. If every bid is above the reserve price, up to three rounds of price reduction can follow with the bidders present, so whoever attends needs your written authorisation and your price limits. Openings are in Chinese: bring an interpreter.
Before the contract
| What | Who issues or does it | Key facts | Your part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance bond (履約保證金) | A bank or insurer, in favour of the buyer | Up to 10% of the budget or contract amount; valid until 90 days after final completion; at least 14 days to lodge it for procurements at or above the supervision threshold; advance-payment, warranty and price-difference guarantees may be added; services are waived in principle | Apply and fund it |
| Hiring quota (Procurement Act Art. 98) | You | Winners with more than 100 employees in Taiwan must employ disabled and indigenous people totalling at least 2% during the contract, or pay a substitute fee; foreign workers can’t fill the gap | Meet the quota or pay |
| Contract | You | Signed electronically or on paper as the tender sets; refusing to sign without good cause is a debarment ground | Sign or seal it |
Who does what
| Step | Who can do it | What only you do |
|---|---|---|
| Registration proof | Anyone, by printing the public record | — |
| Tax payment proof | A 會計師 or bookkeeper | Authorise the request |
| Credit proof | Your bank, or a 會計師 with certified statements | Ask your bank |
| Graded licences | A lawyer or CPA prepares the application | Meet capital and staff rules; file it |
| Specialist staff licences | Your licensed staff | Employ them |
| Huge-value qualification evidence | A bid writer; a 會計師 certifies the finances | Supply past acceptance certificates; sign declarations |
| Quality certification | A TAF-accredited certification body | Undergo the audit |
| 工商憑證 and e-procurement account | — | Apply, hold the card and PIN, register |
| Tender collection | — | Collect under your own account and keep the e-receipt |
| Eligibility declarations | Checked with an adviser | Sign them truthfully |
| Litigation list | A 律師 | Disclose pending cases |
| Joint-bidding agreement | A 律師 drafts | Sign it |
| Bid and performance bonds | A bank or insurer | Apply and fund |
| Paper bid delivery | A courier or someone you trust | Sign or seal the bid |
| E-bid | — | Sign it with your own certificate |
| Opening and price rounds | A representative under your 授權書 | Sign the authorisation; set the price limits |
| Contract | — | Sign it |
The professionals involved
| Professional | Licensed or regulated by | What they do for a bidder |
|---|---|---|
| 會計師 (certified public accountant) | Financial Supervisory Commission; National Federation of CPA Associations | Certifies (簽證) the financial statements used for financial capacity in special or huge-value procurement; prepares the business-tax filings whose stamped receipts serve as tax proof |
| 律師 (attorney) | Taiwan Bar Association; Ministry of Justice | Issues the certified list of pending liability litigation; acts as your local agent for protests (異議) and complaints to the Complaint Review Board for Government Procurement; reviews joint-bidding agreements and contracts |
| 公證人 (court or private notary); a home-country notary with ROC mission authentication | Judicial Yuan and Ministry of Justice; Bureau of Consular Affairs | Notarises or certifies Chinese translations of foreign qualification documents; foreign public documents go through home notarisation and then authentication by an ROC (Taiwan) overseas mission |
| Translator (Traditional Chinese) | No statutory licence | Translates foreign qualification documents for notarisation or certification, and the foreign-language attachments of a protest |
| Banks and insurers | Financial Supervisory Commission | Issue bid and performance bonds by joint guarantee, standby letter of credit or surety policy, also electronically; confirm standby letters of credit from foreign banks not registered in Taiwan; give joint performance-and-indemnity guarantees in place of financial-capacity requirements |
| 技師 (professional engineer) and other licensed specialists | Public Construction Commission under the Professional Engineers Act (技師法), and sector regulators | Provide the licences tenders ask for as proof of specialist skills; sign technical documents for works and technical services |
| Certification bodies | Taiwan Accreditation Foundation; Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection | Issue ISO 9001 and other quality certification, and product certification for regulated goods |
| Bid writer (Chinese-language) | No statutory licence | Prepares service proposals for most-advantageous-tender evaluations and attends the presentation with you |
Financial certification is 會計師 work, and protests, complaints and legal advice are 律師 work.
If your company is from abroad
You don’t need a Taiwan subsidiary where your country is eligible, and the portal gives firms without a Taiwan business number a foreign supplier code; whether your country is eligible for a given tender is explained in How to bid for government contracts in Taiwan. For the paperwork:
In place of Taiwanese registration proof, you provide your home-country registration documents; a Taiwan branch (外國公司分公司) uses its MOEA branch registration instead. Tax proof is the equivalent home-country tax document the tender specifies, and foreign suppliers may leave out membership of a Taiwan trade association. Credit proof can be a home-country bank credit certificate or audited statements. Overseas experience counts unless the tender limits it, and foreign quality certificates from IAF-accredited bodies are accepted; foreign staff licences count only if the tender accepts them, and a litigation list can come from a Taiwan lawyer or your home lawyer as the tender allows. Every one of these needs a notarised or certified (公證或認證) Chinese translation, and where the translation is wrong the original prevails. Because Taiwan is not an Apostille party, home-country public documents are notarised and then authenticated by an ROC (Taiwan) overseas mission; alternatively, a Taiwan notary certifies the translation. Without a Taiwan entity you can’t hold a 工商憑證, so you collect documents on paper and bid on paper where the tender allows. Bonds may be in foreign currency where foreign suppliers may bid, but a standby letter of credit from a foreign bank not registered in Taiwan must be confirmed by a bank in Taiwan. For the opening, a Taiwan-based authorised representative is practical. The hiring quota counts only your employees in Taiwan. If you need to protest and have no domicile or office in Taiwan, you must appoint an agent with a Taiwan address, usually a 律師 under a power of attorney.
Pitfalls
- Never lend or hand over the 工商憑證 or its PIN. E-collection and e-bids are signed by your company alone.
- Never let anyone bid in your name, or bid in someone else’s. Allowing others to use one’s name or certificates to bid is a debarment ground under Procurement Act Art. 101, and so is lending a licence.
- Never collude. Collusion between bidders is a criminal offence under the Procurement Act.
- Don’t bid where you advised the buyer. A firm that drafted the tender documents, or provided planning, design, tender review or project management for the buyer, may not bid or assist any bidder in that procurement.
- Check the country box first. If your country isn’t listed in a non-treaty tender you can’t bid, and mainland China suppliers are excluded unless the tender expressly allows them.
- Attach the e-receipt. A bid without the electronic collection receipt, where electronic collection was used, is rejected.
- Watch the 6-month window. Credit certificates must be issued within 6 months before the bid deadline.
- Protest in Chinese. Protests must be written in Chinese and signed or sealed by you, with any foreign-language attachments translated.
- No Taiwan office? Protest through a Taiwan-based agent. A foreign firm without a Taiwan office must file protests through one.
- The original counts. If a Chinese translation is wrong, the original document prevails.
- Don’t walk away from an award. Refusing to sign the contract without good cause can get you debarred.
Doing it with askTender
In Taiwan, e-bids are signed with the company’s own certificate, so you log in and press submit yourself, in a guided session with askTender. Everything before that is prepared for you, and a sealed paper bid can be delivered by an askTender Partner. The askTender Desk assembles the qualification documents, checks the eligibility box and tracks the deadlines; askTender Partners, such as a 會計師, a 律師 or a translator and notary, do the steps their licence covers; you sign only what the law reserves to you.
Questions
Which documents do I need to bid in Taiwan?
Usually the basic qualification documents named in the tender: proof of lawful registration, which can be a printout from the regulator’s public website, and tax payment proof, such as the stamped latest business-tax return. Many tenders add credit proof issued within 6 months before the bid deadline. Special or huge-value procurement can also ask for past contracts, financial capacity, specialist staff, equipment and quality certification.
What does the MOEA business certificate cost?
NT$420 per card, whether a main card, an attached card for your own staff or a non-IC card. It lasts 5 years. Only entities registered under Taiwan’s Company or Business Registration Acts can apply, and the company holds the card and its PIN itself.
Can someone else submit my bid in Taiwan?
An e-bid is signed with your own certificate, so your company signs it. A sealed paper bid, signed or sealed by your responsible person, can be delivered by someone else or by courier. At the opening, a person you authorise in writing can attend and offer reduced prices within the limits you set.
How much is the bid bond and the performance bond?
The bid bond is a fixed amount up to 5% of the budget or estimate, or up to 5% of the bid price, never more than NT$50 million, and e-bidders can get up to 10% off. The performance bond is up to 10%. Services are waived in principle. Guarantees and standby letters of credit must outlast bid validity by 30 days, and final completion by 90 days.
Do foreign documents need an apostille in Taiwan?
No: Taiwan is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Foreign public documents are notarised at home and authenticated by an ROC (Taiwan) overseas mission, and qualification documents need a notarised or certified Chinese translation; a Taiwan notary can certify the translation instead.
Sources
- Government Procurement Act, Laws & Regulations Database
- Enforcement Rules of the Government Procurement Act
- Standard for bidder qualifications and special or huge-value procurement
- Regulation on bid bonds, performance bonds and other guarantees
- Regulations for Electronic Procurement
- Regulations on foreign suppliers in non-treaty procurement
- MOEA Certification Authority: applying for the business certificate
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.