Draft of the Organic Agriculture Act 
1 November 2015 
Article Content Comments 
Chapter 1 General Provisions  
Article 1     The purpose of this Act is  to: be environmentally friendly; promote 
ecological balance and agricultural sustainability; improve the quality of organic agricultural products; improve public health; safeguard consumer rights; achieve the 
objective of an organic and ecological environment; and promote organic agriculture and an organic lifestyle for consumers. 
     This Act is primarily applicable to organic agriculture issues. Issues not specified 
in this Act are covered by other laws.  
Article 2     For the purposes of this Act 'competent authority' means the Council of 
Agriculture at central level, the special municipal government at special municipal 
level and the county or city at county (or city) level.  
Article 3     For the purposes of this Act: 
     (1) ‘Agricultural product’ means any product which is produced or processed by the industries by utilising natural resourc es, agricultural materials and technology, 
including farming, forestry, aquaculture or animal husbandry. 
     (2) ‘Agricultural product operator’  means an entity that produces, processes, 
packages, imports, distributes or sells agricultural products.      (3) ‘Organic agriculture’ means an agricultural system that produces agricultural 
products in areas such as farming, forestry, aquaculture and animal husbandry, and is based on the principle of ecological balance and nutrient cycling by not using chemical fertilisers or chemical pesticides and not using genetically modified 
organisms or products thereof. 
     (4) ‘Organic agricultural product’ means an agricultural product for which the 
production, processing, packaging and di stribution processes comply with the 
organic standards formulated by the cen tral governing authorities and have passed 
the inspection required in this Act. This also includes imported agricultural products 
provided that they comply with this Act. 
     (5) ‘In-conversion organic agricultural product’ means an agricultural product for which the production, processing, packag ing and distribution processes are being 
converted to produce an organic product.  During this period, the in-conversion 
organic agricultural product meets the orga nic standards formulated by the central 
governing authorities and has passed th e inspection required in this Act. 
     (6) ‘Organic agricultural product label’ means a label indicating that an agricultural product has been certifie d in accordance with this Act. 
     (7) ‘Labelling’ means the use of texts, images, markings or additional instructions affixed on the agricultural product,  on its container(s), or on the internal 
or external packaging when the product is on display or for sale. 
     (8) ‘Accreditation body’ means an organisation, institu tion or legal person 
approved by the central authorities to carry  out accreditation in accordance with this 
Act.      (9) ‘Accreditation’ means the appr oval process by which an accreditation body 
decides whether an organisation, instituti on, school or legal person is capable of 
carrying out the certification work set out in this Act and the two parties formulate a 
private contract.      (10) ‘Certification body’ means an  organisation, institution, school or legal 
person that has passed the accreditation, h as signed a contract with an accreditation 
body and is permitted to carry out certification.      (11) ‘Certification’ means the a pproval process by which a certification body 
decides whether an agricultural produc t is produced, processed, packaged or 
distributed in accordance with this Ac t, and the certification body and the  agricultural product operator sign a private contract. 
Chapter 2     The promotion of organic agriculture  
Article 4     In order to harmonise ag ricultural production with the environment, 
competent authorities shall promote organic agriculture to reduce environmental impact and maintain biodiversity.       Competent authorities shall strike a balance between production and marketing, 
while promoting organic agriculture an d having due regard to research and 
application of new technologies. Competent authorities shall help improve production technologies and product quality of  agricultural product operators and 
facilitate consumer purchase of organic agricultural products. Competent authorities 
shall promote public understanding of orga nic agricultural products, instil consumer 
confidence in organic agricultural products, and encourage farmers to take part in 
organic farming.  
Article 5     In order to promote the sustainable development of agriculture, the 
central authorities shall establish an or ganic agriculture fund worth TWD xxx. 
Furthermore, the central authorities shall pl an the budget yearly over x years after 
this Act takes effect, and formulate a deta iled action plan to promote and implement 
relevant measures.      The sources of funding for the organic agriculture fund include the following: 
     (1) The sum indicated in the aforementioned yearly budgeting. 
     (2) Income from donations.      (3) Yield from the fund.      (4) Other incomes. The fund may be used for the following purposes: 
     (1) Conducting inspections on the actual implementation of organic agriculture. 
     (2) Production and marketing of or ganic agricultural products and providing 
advice for certification.      (3) Providing advice for establishi ng sales channels for organic agricultural 
products. 
     (4) Giving rewards for conversion to organic agricultural production. 
     (5) Carrying out scientific and t echnological research and development, and 
training staff in the areas of organic fa rming and organic agricultural products. 
     (6) Promoting organic agricultural products and organic fa rming education for 
organisations and schools at ev ery level and for consumers. 
     (7) Providing advice to civil society groups to help promote organic agriculture. 
     (8) Other work promoting the development of organic agriculture. 
     The central authorities shall ask fo r suggestions from organisations and civil 
society groups and formulate an organic agriculture promotion programme every four years, and implement the programme upon approval of the Executive Yuan.      To further promote organic agriculture, competent authorities of special 
municipalities and counties (or cities) shall establish sufficient budgets to 
complement the work of the central authorities.  
Article 6     Competent authorities of special municipalities and counties (or cities) 
shall take into account the circumstances in  their jurisdiction and establish areas for 
organic agriculture and also encourage private facilities.      Competent authorities shall provide advice on public facilities in designated organic agricultural areas, or provide subsidies.  
Article 7     Competent authorities shall provide appropriate assistance to 
agricultural product operators in terms of costs of certification, technological 
improvements, expansion of sales channe ls, production and marketing facilities (or 
equipment), loans for material resources  and other issues related to organic 
agriculture, and provide rewards for organic breeding and organic seedling production.  
Article 8     Competent authorities shall establish online database platforms; organise 
the certification information collected by certification bodies; provide materials for  organic production and marketing; provide  other materials related to organic 
agricultural products and seeds; orga nise information on certified imported 
agricultural products; and make that in formation available to the public. 
Article 9     Competent authorities sh all advise organisations, institutions and 
associations on setting up farmers' markets to help establish sales channels for 
organic agricultural products.  
Article 10   Competent authorities sha ll conduct research and development for 
science and technology in the area of organic agriculture, provide information and provide staff training.      Competent authorities shall encourage staff in the organic agriculture sector to 
participate in relevant educational programmes. 
     Competent authorities shall be members of international organisations; 
participate in international cooperation;  and organise information exchanges, 
technological exchanges and personnel exch anges related to organic agriculture.    
Chapter 3     Management of accreditation and certification bodies  
Article 11     Organisations, institutions and legal persons inte nding to operate as 
accreditation bodies shall provide the necess ary documents and resources, when 
applying to the central authorities for a licence. Only upon obtaining an accreditation body licence certificate may they perform the following on behalf of the central authorities: 
     (1) With the permission of the central authorities, designate competent 
accreditation bodies in countries or regions which may accept accreditation applications.      (2) Examine applications according to the accreditation criteria.      (3) Sign accreditation contracts with accredited parties.      (4) Issue an accreditation certificate to the certification body according to the 
type of accredited certification work it conducts ('accreditation certificate'). 
     (5) Evaluate the certification work of certification bodies accredited by these accreditation bodies.      (6) Conduct other work as permitted by the central authorities.      The period of validity of the afor ementioned licence shall not exceed five years. 
Before the licence has expired, an appli cation for extension may be made to the 
central authorities. Each extension period shall not exceed five years.      Accreditation bodies shall comply with the following when they carry out 
accreditation work:      (1) Report any additions, modifications  or deletions ('amendments') made to the 
accreditation criteria listed in Paragraph 1 Subparagraph 2 of this Article to the 
central authorities within seven days fo r recording and examination, and publish 
them on the website.      (2) Keep at least five years of records related to accreditation. Accreditation bodies shall report their accreditation work to the central authorities on a regular basis. 
     (3) Accept inspections from the cent ral authorities at any time, and not avoid, 
hinder or refuse audit proceedings.      (4) Upon receiving notification from the central authorities, accreditation bodies 
shall meet with the central authorities and inspect certification bodies that they have 
accredited. 
     (5) If any changes are made to th e information on the licence of the accreditation 
body, the accreditation body shall apply for permission to make those changes to the 
central authorities within thirty days.      (6) If an accredited certification body has not inspected the agricultural products 
provided by agricultural product operators according to the certification criteria set 
out in Article 13 Paragraph 2 formulated by the central authorities, the matter shall 
be handled according to the contract signed by the certification body and the 
agricultural product operator within ten days.       (7) If an accredited certification bo dy that has passed accreditation is unable to 
carry out certification work due to a termination of accreditation, rescission 
cancellation of contract, dissolution or some other reason, the accreditation body 
shall assist and coordinate with the agri cultural product operators who originally 
signed a contract with the certification body, and the agricultural product operator may sign a new contract with another certification body.      (8) Other items as permitted by th e central authorities. Item 1: For the licence 
application: qualifications, procedures, the necessary supporting documents, records, 
licensing conditions, and the issuing and ev aluation of the accreditation body licence 
shall be prepared. Item 2: For the appli cation for accreditation extension, the central 
authorities will decide the necessary suppor ting documents, records, items listed in 
Item 1 of this Paragraph, application records, inspection procedures, methods, 
approval criteria, items recorded in the accreditation body licence, deadlines for 
changes to an application, supporting documents, records and procedures. 
Article 12     Organisations, institutions and legal persons inte nding to operate as 
certification bodies shall make an agreem ent with accreditation bodies. Once the 
former have passed the type of accred itation necessary, they may receive their 
accreditation certificate and operate as certification bodies.      The scope of their certification work is as follows:      (1) Sign a contract with agricultural product operators and certify the agricultural 
products of agricultural product operators according to the certification standards set 
out in Article 13 Paragraph 2 by the central authorities.      (2) Issue certification documents for organic agricultural products or organic in-
conversion agricultural products ('cer tification document') and issue organic 
agricultural product labels. Monitor the usage of the above items      (3) Inspect agricultural products in accordance with signed contracts. 
     (4) Conduct other work as announced by the central authorities. 
     When carrying out the aforementioned certification work, certification bodies shall comply with the inspection items, procedures and periods set out by the central authorities, keep all relevant informati on and records, and accept inspections from 
the central authorities. Certification bodies shall not avoid, hinder or refuse 
inspection proceedings.  
Article 13     Certification bodies shall arrange with agricultural produce operators 
for inspections to be carried out on production, processing, packaging and 
distribution processes.      The type, variety, and certification criteria of the agricultural products mentioned in Article 12 will be announced by the central authorities.       The central authorities will announce the maximum fees to be charged by the 
certification bodies for  the certification work they carry out. 
     If a certification body is unable to carry out certification work due to a 
termination of accreditation, cancellation of  contract, dissolution or some other 
reason, the agricultural product operators who had signed contracts with the certification body shall, within the announce ment period, sign a new agreement with 
another certification body. Agricultural products or agricultural products in 
conversion that were originally certified will still be considered certified during the 
announcement period.  
Article 14     The central authorities shall announce which items are and are not to 
be recorded in contracts between accred itation bodies and certification bodies, and 
between certification bodies and agricultural product operators. 
     Any clauses in the aforementioned contracts that violate the conditions set out in the aforementioned announcements will be  nullified. If the contract is still 
considered valid without those parts, then th e rest of the contract will still be valid. 
However, if the contract is obviously unfair  to one party, the entire agreement will 
be null and void.    
Chapter 4     Management of organic agricultural products  Article 15 
    The central authorities shall announce which substances are permitted to be used 
in organic agriculture. 
    Apart from these substances, the produ ction, processing, packaging, distribution 
and sale of organic agricultural products  and in-conversion agricultural products 
shall not use substances containing genetically modified organisms, chemical pesticides, chemical fertilisers, animal medicines or other chemical substances 
('biological and chemical substances'). 
     Agricultural product operators shall take necessary preventiv e mesaures to ensure 
that the production, processing, packaging and distribution of organic agricultural 
products and in-conversion agricultural produc ts do not contain any biological or 
chemical substances.  
Article 16 
     Only if an agricultural product has been certified as organic with respect to its production, processing, packaging and dist ribution, may the agricultural product 
operator use the term 'organic' on labels  and displays and in advertisements. 
    Only if an agricultural product has been certified as organic in conversion with respect to its production, processing, packaging and distribution, may the agricultural product operator use the term 'organic in conversion' on labels and 
displays and in advertisements. 
    Agricultural product operators who ar e non-natural persons may not use the term 
'organic' in all or part of their entity na mes until a year after this Act takes effect. 
However, this is not applicable to those cer tified agricultural products that they sell.  
Article 17 
Only if agricultural imports meet one of the following requirements, may the term 
'organic' be used on their labels or in advertisements.  (1) Organic agricultural products certified in designated countries by domestic or 
foreign accredited certification bodies. 
(2) Certification bodies that are accredited by a country with equivalence regarding 
organic imports or by a member of the World Trade Organisation will carry out domestic certification work in that country or that WTO member state. Certified importers may apply for approval from the central authorities and obtain an agricultural import approval doc ument ('approval document'). 
     Countries with equivalence regardi ng organic imports or members of the World 
Trade Organization mentioned in Paragraph 2 above shall sign a bilateral protocol or 
agreement on mutual recognition of equiva lence regarding organic imports, which 
would later be announced by the central authorities.        The application requirements, aud it procedures, data conservation, labelling 
methods and relevant manageme nt mentioned in Paragrah 1, Subparagragh 2 will be 
decided and formulated by the central authorities.   
Article 18 
     The container or packaging of or ganic agricultural products or in-conversion 
agricultural products shall be written in Chinese and commonly used symbols, and shall clearly state the following information:      (1) Product name. For organic agricultu ral products, the term 'organic' shall be on 
the label. For organic products in conversi on, the term 'organic in conversion' shall 
be on the label. 
     (2) List of raw materials. For mixtures that contain two or more raw materials, these shall be listed in descending order of  weight. Products which are made up of 
only one raw material, and whose names are the same as their raw materials may be exempted from raw material labelling requirements. 
     (3) The name, address and telephone number of the agricultural product operator. 
For imported organic agricultural products , the name, address and telephone number 
of the importer shall be listed. 
(4) Place (or country) of origin; except wh en the address of the manufacturing or  certification site is displayed in a way that the place (or country) of origin can be 
easily identified. 
     (5) Name of the certification body. 
    (6) The certification document number. Imported agricultural products shall also state their approval document number, as mentioned in Article 17, Paragraph 1, 
Subparagraph 2.     (7) Other labelling information as re quested in announcements made by the 
central authorities. 
     If, due to surface area, material type or other reasons, it is difficult to affix a label 
with the information required in the abov e paragraphs, the central authorities shall 
allow an exemption of part of the label, or the information shall be displayed in 
other ways.   In addition to the information listed in  the two paragraphs above, the labelling of 
organic agricultural products and in-conve rsion agricultural products shall also 
comply with the Food Safety and Sanitation Act, where appropriate. 
     Any changes to the labelling inform ation specified in the subparagraphs in 
Paragraph 1 shall be made within three m onths of the occurrence of the change in 
labelling. 
Article 19           Agricultural product operators intending to sell loose organic agricultural 
products or in-conversion agricultural produc ts shall indicate the product name and 
the place (or country) of origin on a signboa rd at the point of display or point of 
sale. Furthermore, they shall display a copy of the certification document for the 
agricultural product or in-conversion agricu ltural products. For organic agricultural 
imports, a copy of the products' a pproval document shall be displayed. 
     The rules set out in the preceding Article, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs 1 and 6 
may apply to the display of the product name and place (or country) of origin. 
     The font size of the characters indicating the place (or country) of origin as required by Paragraph 1 shall be at least three centimetres in height and width.       Apart from complying with requirements stated in the above three paragraphs, organic agricultural products and in-convers ion agricultural products that are sold 
loose shall also comply with the Food Sa fety and Sanitation Act, where appropriate.  
Article 20 
     Only certified agricultural products may use the organic agricultural product 
labelling.       The central authorities will decide the specifications, logo, usage rules and other compliance measures of the organic agricultural product labelling.  
Article 21 
     Parties in the communications i ndustry who agree to advertise for organic 
agricultural products or in-conversion agricultu ral products shall keep records of the 
entity's details asking for an advertisemen t for six months after broadcast of the 
advertisement, including full name or d esignation, National Identification Card 
number or Unified Business Number, residential address, business or office address, telephone number and adver tising content. If the central authorities require 
disclosure of that advertising information, the parties in the communications industry may not avoid or refuse to provi de it, or cover up any information.  
Article 22 
     Competent authorities may dispatch personnel with ID cards to visit business 
premises or means of transport of an agricultural product operator that labels, 
displays or advertises for the production, pr ocessing, packaging, storage, or sale of 
organic or in-conversion organic produc ts, whereupon the personnel may conduct 
inspections, spot checks, examinations, or request the agricultural operator to 
provide relevant certification or records. No one may refuse, avoid, or hinder the 
conduct of such visits. 
     In order to handle a major or urge nt incident relating to organic agricultural  product safety, competent authorities may en ter the business premises or means of 
transport mentioned in the paragraph above and conduct inspections. If the 
competent authorities are met with refusals, avoidance or hindrance, they may 
impose mandatory inspections and fine the agricultural product operator in accordance with Article 30, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3. 
Article 23      Inspection methods of organic agricultural products and in-conversion 
agricultural products will be announced by the central authorities. If no announcement is made, the inspection methods shall comply with the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation pub lished by the Ministry of Health and 
Welfare. In the event that no announcement is made and that the Ministry of Health 
and Welfare has not indicated an inspection method, internationally recognised methods shall be used instead.  
Article 24 
     If agricultural product operators have  objections to the inspection results, they 
shall make an application to the inspecti on body for a re-inspection within fifteen 
days of receipt of notification, and pay the re-inspection fees. Operators may only 
apply for re-inspection once. 
     The aforementioned inspection body wh ich accepts re-inspection shall inform the 
personnel who conducted the first inspection of the re-inspection. However, re-
inspections will be dismissed if the item to be inspected has spoiled or was not 
stored properly.  
Article 25 
     If the organic agricultural products  or in-conversion agricultural products are 
found to contain biological and chemical substances, the competent authority may 
take one or more of the following actions:        (1) Prohibit the agricultural product operator or owner from moving the product to another location, order the product to be removed from shelves, recall the product, or take othe r appropriate action. 
     (2) The competent authority may or der the party who places an advertisement to 
request that the advertisement is no longer  published or broadcast and to recall the 
advertising materials, or it may order the party who broadcasts the advertisement to 
stop publishing or broadcasting the advertisement.  
Article 26 
     The competent authorities shall pr otect the identity of individuals reporting 
violations of this Act and provide a reward.      The central authorities shall estab lish reward schemes for reporting violations.  
Chapter 5 Penalties  
Article 27 
    In any of the cases below, a fine of no less than 600 000 TWD and no more than 
60 000 000 TWD shall be imposed: 
     (1) Entities that conduct accreditation work without authorisation from the central authorities, in violation of Article 11, Paragraph 1.      (2) Accreditation bodies that are suspended from accepting new applications for accreditation but nonetheless accept new accred itation applications, in violation of 
Article 33, Paragraph 1.  
Article 28 
Entities that have not been accredited by an accreditation body but have 
nonetheless carried out certification work, are in violation of Article 12 Paragraph 1 
and shall be fined no less than 300 00 0 TWD and no more than 30 000 000 TWD.  
Article 29 
    If any of the following acts are committed, a fine of no less than 200 000 TWD and no more than 2 000 000 TWD shall be imposed for each violation:      (1) Using uncertified organic agricultu ral product labels, in violation of Article  20, Paragraph 1. 
     (2) Using the term 'organic' in la bels, displays, or advertisements without 
authorisation for a period of time specified by competent authorities, in violation of 
Article 32, Paragraph 3. 
Article 30      If any of the following acts are committed, a fine of no less than 100 000 TWD and no more than 1 000 000 TWD shall be imposed for each violation:      (1) Refusing, avoiding or hindering the performance of an inspection by a competent authority; failing to comply with the rules, procedures and time frames 
set out by the central authorities; or failing to keep all relevant information and 
records, in violation of Article 12, Paragraph 3. 
     (2) Failing to keep records; refusing, avoiding or hindering the provision of records; or providing false information, in violation of Article 21.      (3) Refusing, avoiding or hindering competent authorities from entering premises or a means of transport, conducting inspec tions, spot checks or examinations, or 
failing to provide certification or records, or deliberately providing false certification 
or records, in violation of Article 22, Paragraph 1.       (4) Failing to stop a broadcast when orde red to do so by a competent authority, in 
violation of Article 34, Paragraph 2.      If agricultural product operators have been fined in accordance with 
Subparagraph 3 due to agricultural produc ts being in violation of Article 15 
Paragraphs 2 and 3, Article 16, and Artic le 17, Paragraph 1, competent authorities 
may enforce Article 22, Paragraph 1 and enter premises or means of transport to conduct mandatory inspections, spot checks or examinations.   
Article 31 
If agricultural product operators commit any of the following acts, they shall be fined no less than 60 000 TWD and no more th an 600 000 TWD, to be applied for 
each violation: 
     (1) Deliberately using biological or ch emical substances, in violation of Article 
15, Paragraph 2.       (2) If the organic agricultural prod ucts or in-conversion agricultural products 
contain biological or chemical substances, in violation of Article 15, Paragraph 3. 
However, if the agricultural product opera tors can prove that necessary preventive 
measures have been adopted, no fines will be imposed. 
     (3) If the agricultural products have not passed certification, or have not passed import inspections, but nonetheless use the term  'organic' in labels, on displays, or in 
advertisements in Chinese or in a foreig n language, or otherwise using misleading 
information, in violation of Article 16, Pa ragraphs 1 and 2, or Article 17, Paragraph 
1. 
(4) In violation of Article 16, Paragraph 3, agricultural product operators who are 
non-natural persons using the term 'organic' in  all or part of their entity names, when 
their agricultural products have not passed cer tification or inspection, as specified in 
Article 17, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2. 
(5) Using the term 'organic' in labels , displays, or advertisements without 
authorization for a period of time specified by competent authorities, in violation of 
Article 32, Paragraph 3. 
For violations of the nature described in  Subparagraph 2 above, penalties shall be 
applied in accordance with Article 44, Pa ragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Act 
Governing Food Safety and Sanitation and not this Act. 
If agricultural product operators have fo llowed the instructions given by a 
commissioning agent or a client in the course of production, processing, packaging, or distribution of agricultural products, a nd if any of the above subparagraphs in 
Paragraph 1 are violated, the commissioning agent or the client who gave instructions will be penalised.   
Article 32        If agricultural products operators commit any of the following acts, a fine of no 
less than 30 000 TWD and no more than 300 000 TWD shall be imposed. 
Rectifications shall be made within a sp ecified time period; failing that, penalties 
shall be applied for each violation:      (1) Using labels that do not comply with Article 18, Paragr aph 1, using labels 
with false information, or failing to change the original label within three months of 
the occurrence of an information change, as specified in Article 18 Paragraph 4.  
     (2) Failing to display the product name or place of origin, or failing to display a 
copy of certification documents for the organic agricultural products and organic 
agricultural products in coversion, or a copy of  the organic labelling approval 
document,  as specified in Article 19 Paragraph 1.      (3) Violating rules relating to the specifications, logo or usage of labels as 
specified in Article 20, Paragraph 2.  
     If the agricultural product in question has been certified for less than a year, then 
instead of issuing a penalty, the competent authority shall first order the operator to 
rectify the situation within a certain time  period. If the situation is not rectified 
within the time period specifed, the operato r will be penalised according to rules set 
out in the aforementioned paragraphs.       If any of the subparagraphs in Paragraph 1 above are violated, the competent 
authority will order the agricultural product operator to suspend the use of organic 
agricultural product labelling or the term 'organic' for a period of more than three months but less than a year. 
Article 33      If an accreditation authority commits  any of the following acts, the central 
authorities may decide, depending on the sev erity of the situation, to issue a 
warning, or to order a suspension of accr editation on new applications, for a period 
of no less than two months but no more than two years: 
     (1) Refusing without cause an accreditation application, or accepting accreditation applications from countries or regions outside of the scope of its 
licence, in violation of Article 11, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1.       (2) Failing to examine accreditati on cases according to the accreditation criteria, 
in violation of Article 11, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2. 
     (3) Refusing without cause to sign a contract with parties that have passed 
accreditation, in violation of Article  11, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3. 
     (4) Failing to issue an accreditation certificate to a certification body in accordance with the type of certification work , in violation of Article 11, Paragraph 
1, Subparagraph 4. 
     (5) Failing to report any amendmen ts to accreditation criteria to the central 
authority within seven days, in violation of  Article 11, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 1. 
     (6) Failing to keep records relating to accreditation for at least five years or 
keeping false records, in violation of Ar ticle 11, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 2 or 
failing to follow the procedures set out by the central authorities regarding keeping 
reports for future reference in accord ance with Article 11, Paragraph 4. 
     (7) Refusing, avoiding or hindering the proceedings of an audit by the central 
authorities, in violation of Article  11, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 3. 
     (8) Failing, without cause, to meet with certification bodies accredited by the central authorities, upon notification by the latter, in violation of Article 11, 
Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 4.  
     (9) Failing to notify the central authorities within thirty days if any changes are made to the information on the licence of  the accreditation body, in violation of 
Article 11, Paragraph 3, Subparagraph 5. 
      (10) Failing to comply,  within ten days, with terms s tipulated in the contract, in 
violation of Article 11, Pa ragraph 3, Subparagraph 6. 
     (11) Violating the items specified by the central authorities regarding evaluation 
arrangements, as specified in Article 11, Paragraph 4.       If the central authorities suspend an accreditation body from conducting 
accreditation work twice in three years and it commits an act in violation of any of 
the aforementioned rules a third time, the central authorities will revoke the 
accreditation body's licence and  bar the accreditation body from applying for a new 
licence for the next two to five years, in  accordance with Article 11, Paragraph 1. 
     If an accreditation body has its li cence revoked in accord ance with the rules 
above, certification bodies previously accredited by that accreditation body may continue their certification contracts with the central authorities acting as their 
accreditation body, beginning on the date on which the former accreditation body’s 
licence is revoked. These certification bodies sh all seek to sign contracts with other 
accreditation bodies within the period of announcement by the central authorities. 
Article 34      If any violations regarding agri cultural products advertised in related 
advertisements are committed as described in subparagraphs in Article 30, Paragraph 1, Article 32, Paragraph 1 or Article 33, Paragraph 1, penaltities will be 
imposed by the competent authority in accord ance with the rules in this Act, and the 
following measures will be taken:      (1) The party that placed the advertisement will be required place a new advertisement with rectifications of certain  content, with the same page size (in the 
case of print media), or the same time slot (in terms of broadcast media) as the 
previous advertisement, to be published or  broadcast for a certain number of times. 
The content shall include an apology an d clarify any misleading information. 
     (2) Competent authorities may order the advertising company to stop publishing or broadcasting the advertisement, or  to remove advertising materials.  
Article 35 
          If any of the Paragraphs or Subparagraphs in Articles 29 to 32 are violated, the competent authorities shall impose a penalty in accordance with this Act. 
Furthermore, the competent authorities sha ll announce the details of the violation, 
the name of the agricultural product, the name and adress of the agricultural product 
operator, the name of the legal person or  group, the office or business premise, the 
name of the manager or representative, and the place and date of the spot check of 
the agricultural product.  
Article 36 
     Penalties shall be imposed by competent authorities of special municipalities, counties (or cities) unless otherwise specified. However, penalties for accreditation 
bodies and certification bodies shall be imposed by the central authorities.  
Chapter 7 Supplementary Provisions  
Article 37 
     If countries that have been r ecognised by the central authorities as having 
equivalence regarding organic imports befo re this Act is implemented do not sign 
bilateral protocols or agreements recognisi ng the equivalence of organic regulations 
within one year of implementation of this Act, the central authorities shall make an 
announcement to revoke the equivalence recognition.       Nationally accredited certification bodi es that have had their organic equivalence 
revoked for the above reasons may still use th e term 'organic' on labels, displays and 
advertisements for any certified agricultura l products that have been examined by 
the central authorities and were imported be fore the organic equivalence revocation 
came into force.   
Article 38 
    Accreditation and certification bodies that carry out their respective accreditation and certification work on organic agricultura l products according to the rules of the 
Agricultural Production and Certification Act will be considered working in 
compliance with this Act within six months  after the implementation of this Act. 
      Before the central authorities ma ke an announcement in accordance with Article 
13, Paragraph 2, the agricultural product quality types, varieties and certification  criteria as specified in Article 13, Paragra ph 1 will not yet be in effect, and the rules 
specified in Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Agricultural Production and Certification 
Act will be used instead. 
Article 39     When no organisation, institution or  legal person acts as a domestic accreditation 
body, the central authorities shall announce the designation of an organisation, an institution, a school, or a legal person to act as an accreditation body (an 'appointed accreditation body') for a certain period of time. Certification bodies who have not 
yet signed a contract with the appoi nted accreditation body in accordance with 
Article 12, Paragraph 1, shall sign a cont ract with the appointed accreditation body 
within seven days from the date of en try into force of said announcement. 
      When no organisation, institution or legal person acts as a domestic certification body, the central authorities shall announce the appiontment of an organisation, an institution, school or a legal person to act as a certification body (hereafter known as the appointed certification body) for a certain period of time. Agricultural product 
operators who have not signed a contract with the appointed certification body in 
accordance with Article 13, Paragraph 1, sh all sign a contract with the appointed 
certification body within seven days from the date of entry into force of said announcement.  
Article 40 
     Detailed rules for implementation of this Act shall be laid down by the central 
authorities.   
Article 41 
     This Act shall come into force on the date of promulgation.