Several people have reported that they had received packets of soil or seeds from China that came with their purchases made via Taobao, Shopee, or Facebook.


This packet of seeds came as a gift with a purchase of glass beads via Taobao. Meanwhile, this packet of sand was a gift for a purchase of a battery charger from China via Taobao.

Soil and seeds coming from abroad may contain plant diseases and insect pests, which could harm the ecological system and agriculture. However, there are no laws at present to penalize online retailers that sell these types of products.

There's no law like the Statute for Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases on penalties for platforms selling these foreign plant products. We consulted with the Chinese Non-Store Retailer Association, and asked it to inform sellers on these platforms that if they wish to sell these foreign plant products, they must include the place of origin.

Between July 28 and July 31, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine received nine notifications about packets of soil and seeds sent from China. Two of the cases involved purchases of lotus flower seeds via Facebook. The buyers said they thought the products would be sent from Taiwan and they didn't know they were coming from China. The Council of Agriculture says anyone who reports a case won't be fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.

If you receive unsolicited packages, including ones that may originate from places that violate animal and plant quarantine regulations, you won't be fined if you take the initiative to report it to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.

However, there was one case involving a person who received a packet of soil for cultivation and reported it on July 28. This person did not explain the source, so there are questions as to whether customs authorities are responsible. The Customs Administration says it is investigating.



這包草類種子是民眾從淘寶網站，買玻璃珠另外贈送的，這包砂土更誇張，也是民眾從淘寶買充電器附贈，順便從中國寄來的。

土壤跟種子若從國外寄來，可能會帶來病蟲害威脅生態，造成農業損失，但尚無法令可裁罰賣這些東西的電商平台。

農委會防檢局副局長 鄒慧娟表示：「沒有像動物傳染病防治條例，有要求說，在平台上面，販賣國外的這個植物產品，要有罰責。洽請了中華民國無店面商業公會，就是要求去宣導這個賣家，在平台上面，要宣導賣家，如果有要販售，這個國外的植物產品的話，一定要標註產地。」

從七月二十八號至三十一號，農委會防檢局共收到九件民眾通報，收到中國寄來的土壤跟種子，其中兩件是在臉書平台購買蓮花種子，但民眾表示，以為在台灣買，卻不知道竟然從中國寄來，農委會強調，只要民眾收到主動通報，都不會被罰三萬到十五萬元。

農委會主委 陳吉仲表示：「只要接受到這些不明的郵包，甚至來源，可能是違反相關的動物、植物檢疫的部分，只要主動的提供給防檢局，不會有任何的這個罰責。」

不過其中有一件，就是七月二十八號民眾通報收到培養土，但民眾卻沒交代來源，是不是報關行有責任？關務署表示，已經在追查，目前還無法公布。