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Article 7
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The capital amount of a company applying for registration of incorporation shall be audited by an independent certified public accountant; such company shall attach an auditing certificate from an independent certified public accountant when applying for registration of incorporation or within 30 days after the registration of incorporation.
The capital amount of a company applying for alteration of the registered capital amount shall first be audited by an independent certified public accountant.
Regulations governing the process set forth in the two preceding paragraphs shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
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Article 12
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In a company, after its incorporation, fails to register any particular that should have been registered or fails to register any changes in particulars already registered, such particulars or changes in particulars cannot be set up as a defence against any third party.
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Article 13
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A company shall not be a shareholder of unlimited liability in another company or a partner of a partnership enterprise.
When a public company becomes a shareholder of limited liability in other companies, the total amount of its investments in such other companies shall not exceed forty percent of the amount of its own paid-up capital unless it is a professional investment company, or otherwise provided for in its Article of Incorporation, or has obtained the consent of a resolution adopted, at a shareholders’ meeting, by a majority of the shareholders present who represent two-thirds or more of the total number of its outstanding shares.
In the event the total number of shares represented by the shareholders present at a shareholders’ meeting is less than the percentage of the total shareholdings required in the preceding Paragraph, the resolution may be adopted by two-third of the voting rights exercised by the shareholders present at the shareholders’ meeting who represent a majority of the outstanding shares of the company.
Where there is any higher percentage of the total number of shares represented by the shareholders present and/or the total number of the voting rights required in the Articles of Incorporation, such higher percentage shall prevail in the preceding two paragraphs.
Shares received by a company as a result of distribution of surplus earnings or capitalization of legal reserves by its invested company shall not be included in the total amount of investments set forth in Paragraph Two of this Article.
The responsible person of a company who has violated the provisions of Paragraph One or Two of this Article shall be liable for the damages incurred by the company there-from.
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Article 15
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Unless otherwise under any of the following circumstances, the capital of a company shall not be lend to any shareholder of the company or any other person:
- Where an inter-company or inter-firm business transaction calls for such lending arrangement; or
- Where an inter-company or inter-firm short-term financing facility is necessary provided that the amount of such financing facility shall not exceed forty percent of the amount of the net value of the lending enterprise.
The responsible person of a company who has violated the provisions of the preceding Paragraph shall be liable, jointly and severally with the borrower, for the repayment of the loan at issue and for the damages, if any, to company resulted there-from.
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Article 16
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A company shall not act as a guarantor of any nature, unless otherwise permitted by any other law or by the Articles of Incorporation of the company.
The responsible person who has violated the provision set out in the preceding Paragraph shall take up the surety-ship on his own and shall be liable for the damages, if any, to the company resulted there-from.
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Article 17
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If the business of a company should require special permission of the government in accordance with the law or an order given by a competent authority duly authorized by the law, such company may apply for company registration only after having received the foregoing government permission document.
Where revocation or rescission of a business permit granted under the preceding Paragraph becomes final, the government authority in charge of the relevant end-enterprise shall advise, by a notice, the central competent authority to cancel or to nullify the company registrations, in whole or in part, previously made by the said company.
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Article 17-1
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Where a company was operated in a manner in violation of the governing laws and/or regulations and is ordered, by a conclusive injunction, to closedown, the authority giving such injunction shall notify the central authority to cancel the company registrations, in whole or in part, previously made by the said company.
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Article 18
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A corporate name shall be in Chinese Character. No company may use a corporate name which is identical with that of another company or limited partnership. Where the corporate names of two companies or a company and limited partnership contain any marks or identifying words respectively that may distinguish the different categories of business of the two companies, such corporate names shall not be considered identical with each other.
A company may conduct any business that is not prohibited or restricted by the laws and regulations, except for those requiring special approvals which shall be explicitly described in the Articles of Incorporation of the company.
Any category of business to be conducted by a company shall, when making the registration thereof, be identified with the Category Code applicable to the said business category as assigned in the Table of Categories of Businesses by the central competent authority. For a company which has already been registered, and the category of business conducted by it is registered with descriptive words, then, such descriptive words shall be replaced with the applicable Category Code as assigned in the foregoing Table, while applying for alteration of the entries of existing company registration record.
A company shall not use a name which tends to mislead the public to associate it with the name of a government agency or a public welfare organization, or has an implication of offending against public order or good customs.
Before proceeding to the company incorporation registration procedure, a company shall first apply for approval and reservation, for a specific period of time, of its corporate name and the scope of its business. Rules for examination and approval of such application shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
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Article 20
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A company shall, at the end of each fiscal year, submit to its shareholders for their approval or to the shareholders’ meeting for ratification the annual business report, the financial statements, and the surplus earnings distribution or loss make-up proposal.
Where a company's equity capital exceeds a certain amount or a company's equity capital does not exceed a certain amount but the company is with a certain scale, the company shall first have its financial statements audited and certified by a certified public accountant. Such certain amount, scale as well as auditing and certification rules shall be prescribed by the central competent authority. The provision set out in this Paragraph shall not apply to the companies whose stocks are offered in public and which are subject to the provisions otherwise stipulated by the competent authority in charge of securities affairs.
The provisions of Paragraph One, Article 29 of this Act shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the appointment, discharge and remuneration of the certified public accountant set forth in the preceding Paragraph.
The competent authority may, at any time or from time to time, send its officer(s) to examine or may require, by an order, a company to submit, within a given time limit, the documents and statements set forth in Paragraph I under this Article in accordance with the regulations to be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Upon violation the provisions set out respectively in the preceding Paragraphs I or II, the responsible person of the violating company shall be imposed with a fine of not less than NT$ 10,000 but not more than NT$ 50,000; or shall be imposed with a fine of not less than NT$ 20,000 but not more than NT$ 100,000 if the company evades, impedes, or refuses the foregoing examination or fails to make the submission thereof after expiry of the deadline date.
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Article 21
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The competent authority may, in conjunction with the authority in charge of the end enterprise concerned, at any time or from time to time, send their respective officials to inspect the operation and financial conditions of a company, to which the responsible person of the company shall not impede, refuse or evade.
The responsible person of a company who impedes, refuses or evades the inspection set forth in the preceding Paragraph shall be imposed with a fine of not less than NT$ 20,000 but not more than NT$ 100,000. For successive acts in terms of impeding, refusing or evading such inspection, the responsible person of a company shall be imposed successively in each case a fine of not less than NT$ 40,000 but not more than NT$ 200,000.
When sending its official to conduct the inspection as set forth in Paragraph I of this Article, the competent authority may, depending on actual requirement, appoint a certified public accountant, a lawyer or any other professional personnel to assist in carrying out such inspection.
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Article 22
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In examining the documents and statements submitted by a company under Article 20 or in inspecting the operation and financial conditions of a company under the preceding Article, the competent authority may order the company to present evidential documents, vouchers, books and statements and other relevant information, but shall, unless otherwise provided for by law, keep the same as confidential information; and shall complete the examination and return the same to the company within fifteen days after its receipt thereof.
The responsible person of a company who has violated the provisions of the preceding Paragraph by refusing to provide such information shall be imposed with a fine of not less than NT$ 20,000 but not more than NT$ 100,000. For successive act in terms of refusing to provide the information required, the responsible person of a company shall be imposed in each case a fine of not less than NT$ 40,000 but not more than NT$ 200,000.
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Article 23
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The responsible person of a company shall have the loyalty and shall exercise the due care of a good administrator in conducting the business operation of the company; and if he/she has acted contrary to this provision, shall be liable for the damages to be sustained by the company there-from.
If the responsible person of a company has, in the course of conducting the business operations, violated any provision of the applicable laws and/or regulations and thus caused damage to any other person, he/she shall be liable, jointly and severally, for the damage to such other person.
In case the responsible person of a company does anything for himself/herself or on behalf of another person in violation of the provisions of Paragraph 1, the meeting of shareholders may, by a resolution, consider the earnings in such an act as earnings of the company unless one year has lapsed since the realization of such earnings.
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Article 24
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A dissolved company shall be liquidated, unless such dissolution is caused by consolidation or merger, split-up, or bankruptcy.
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Article 25
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A dissolved company in the process of liquidation shall be deemed as not yet dissolved.
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Article 26
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A dissolved company as referred to in the preceding article may, during the period of liquidation, temporarily transact its business for the purpose of settling pending affairs and facilitating the liquidation.
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Article 26-1
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Where the official registrations of a company are cancelled or invalidated by the central competent authority, the provisions set out in the preceding three Articles shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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Article 26-2
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In case a company which has been dissolved, cancelled or nullified its registration, its corporate name can be approved to be used by others’ application without subject to the restriction set forth in Paragraph 1 of Article 18, if the company has not completed its liquidation after 10 years from the date of its dissolution, cancellation, or nullification of its registration; or if the company has not been adjudicated by court to end its bankruptcy after 10 years from the date of its bankruptcy registration, provided, however, that the restriction set forth in Paragraph 1 of Article 18 still applies if the company obtains an approval with good cause from the central competent authority 6 months before the expiration of such 10-year period.
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