Key Points for Inmates on Installment Payment of Fines

Key Points for Prosecutors' Offices at Courts of Various Levels to Handle the Gradual Payment of Fines by Convicted Persons . According to 中華民國83年9月13日法務部83檢字第19828號函

1. A person serving a sentence who is unable to fully pay the fine may apply to the prosecutor within two months of the final judgment to pay the fine in installments.
2. The prosecutor shall allow the person to pay the total fine amount in equal installments based on the requested number of installments, for a maximum of eight installments. However, if the statute of limitations is about to expire, installment payment can only be allowed within the remaining period before the expiration.
3. Installment payment of the fine is calculated on a monthly basis. If the person delays payment for one installment, the prosecutor may revoke the permission for installment payment and proceed with forced execution or substitute labor in accordance with the law.
4. If the fine amount to be paid by the person is below NTD 5,000, unless there are actual difficulties, the person should be encouraged to pay the fine in full at once, and installment payment should be permitted only in exceptional cases.
5. When allowing installment payment of the fine, the prosecutor should inform the person in writing or orally about the payment dates, amounts for each installment, and the consequences of non-compliance. In the case of oral notification, a record should be made.
6. If the person voluntarily surrenders, regardless of whether it is a summoned case or voluntarily surrender during a wanted status, installment payment of the fine can be permitted upon submission of a guarantee letter. If the person is apprehended through arrest or wanted status, or is serving substitute labor, they may be required to provide a guarantee letter from a reliable person or establishment, and installment payment can be permitted after paying one installment in advance. In the case of a person already serving substitute labor under prison supervision, the executing prosecutor should contact the prison monthly. If the person still requests installment payment, it should be forwarded and the person should be informed that they can apply to the commanding executing prosecutor at any time.
7. The guarantee letter should explicitly state, "In the event the person serving the sentence absconds or fails to pay on time, the guarantor agrees to bear full responsibility for payment."
8. The installment payment of the fine does not have a statute of limitations during execution. However, if the person fails to make further payments and has already been put on the wanted list, a warrant should be issued before the expiration of the statute of limitations, applying the provision of Article 85, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Code to extend the statute of limitations by one-fourth.
9. Outside working hours, each level of court and its prosecutor's offices should designate a person to collect fines.
10. The spouse, blood relatives within the third degree, or in-laws within the second degree of a person under arrest, wanted, or serving substitute labor may inquire about the amount of fine to be paid and be permitted to handle the installment payment procedures on behalf of the person.
11. If a person who was apprehended through a wanted status and was permitted to pay the fine in installments is subsequently arrested again through arrest or wanted status and fails to make further payments, installment payment should not be allowed.
12. If the fine has been permitted for installment payment and the period has not yet expired, it is not considered a delayed case.
13. For prosecutors and court clerks who handle fine installment payment cases diligently and achieve outstanding results (e.g., considering the number of cases closed by prosecutors as a performance indicator), it should be considered an important reference for annual performance evaluations.
14. Prosecutors and court clerks who violate the provisions of these guidelines or perform poorly in handling fine installment payment cases should be subject to appropriate disciplinary measures.