Customs Audit in Japan

According to the website of the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan Customs audited 3,312 companies in 2022. This means that Japan Customs conducted audits of approximately 9–10 companies per day on average.

Year of 2022

Number of audit	3,312 Companies
Percentage of audits with issues identified by authorities	73.6%

In addition, the Ministry of Finance released information regarding the most frequent issues pointed out by Japan Customs.

Frequent cases Japan Customs pointed out

• Imports with undervalued invoices or fake invoices
• Adjustment paid by the importer to the exporter (e.g. Transfer pricing adjustment)
• Wrong origin determination, not eligible for FTA duty rate

Adjustment payment (Transfer Pricing Adjustment)

The second case is the Adjustment payment. This refers to cases where the importer makes adjustment payments in addition to the original payment for the imported goods.

Transfer pricing adjustment is one example. Global companies often make transfer pricing adjustments quarterly or annually, to keep arm’s length profit in accordance with the Corporate/Income Tax compliance perspective. However, such retrospective payment from importer to exporter, Japan Customs may point out that this results in an upward adjustment to the customs value.

FTA / EPA

The third case is the importer initially imported goods with FTA duty rate, because the origin determination was incorrect or contained errors. So Japan Customs said that imported goods were not eligible for FTA duty rate. The origin status of imported goods should be determined entirely in accordance with each specific FTA’s rule. Otherwise, a significant penalty may be imposed.

Track Record – Attorney for Customs Procedures (ACP) Services

We have supported import and export operations in Japan for over 200 clients across more than 40 countries.

Examples of International Logistics Partners We Have Worked With

We have a proven track record of working with a wide range of logistics providers. As the Attorney for Customs Procedures (ACP), we handle customs-related responsibilities while logistics companies manage transportation and warehousing operations.

...and many other logistics providers in Japan and around the world.

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