Order for Enforcement of the Consumption Tax Act

The powers of the director-general of a customs house pertaining to the collection under Article 8, paragraph (6) of the Act, and the powers of the director-general of a customs house under the provisions of laws and regulations concerning the consumption tax collected thereby, are delegated to the head of the customs office specified in the following items according to the category of powers listed in those items; provided, however, that this does not preclude the director-general of a customs house from exercising on his or her own the powers of the director-general of a customs house under Article 40 (Delinquent Tax Collection Procedure) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes (Act No. 66 of 1962) as applied with replacement of terms pursuant to Article 45, paragraph (1) (Replacement of Terms Where the Director-General of the Customs House or the Regional Commissioner Collects National Tax) of that Act, and under Article 43, paragraphs (4) and (5) (Competent Agency for Collection of National Taxes) of that Act:

the powers of the director-general of a customs house pertaining to the collection under Article 8, paragraph (6) of the Act, and the powers of the director-general of a customs house under the provisions of Article 32, paragraphs (1) through (4) (Assessment and Determination) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes as applied with replacement of terms pursuant to Article 33, paragraph (3) (Competent Agency for Assessment and Determination, etc.) of that Act, Article 33, paragraph (4) of that Act, Article 36 (Notice of Tax Payment), Article 38, paragraphs (1) and (2) (Advance Demand) and Article 40 of that Act as applied with replacement of terms pursuant to Article 45, paragraph (1) of that Act, and the proviso to Article 43, paragraph (1) and Article 43, paragraphs (4) and (5) of that Act, in respect of the consumption tax collected thereby (those powers are referred to as the "powers of the Director-General of Customs" in this paragraph) (excluding those delegated to the head of the customs office specified in the following item pursuant to that item): the customs branch office having jurisdiction over the matters subject to the disposition pertaining to those powers of the Director-General of Customs;

the powers of the Director-General of Customs: the customs sub-offices and customs branch sub-offices, and the customs surveillance offices and customs branch surveillance offices designated by the director-general of a customs house, that have jurisdiction, as determined by the director-general of a customs house, over the matters subject to the disposition pertaining to those powers of the Director-General of Customs.

The director-general of a customs house may, where the director-general finds it necessary, limit the scope of the powers delegated to the head of the customs office specified in each item pursuant to the items of the preceding paragraph.

Where the director-general of a customs house has determined the jurisdiction of the customs offices specified in paragraph (1), item (ii), has made the designation under that item, or has limited the scope of the powers delegated to the heads of customs offices pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the director-general must give public notice of these particulars.

Where the director-general of a customs house has decided, pursuant to the proviso to paragraph (1), to exercise on his or her own the powers prescribed in the proviso to that paragraph, the director-general is to notify the taxpayer to that effect without delay.

Where a business operator, in the base period, has received returned goods, or granted a discount or rebate, with respect to a taxable transfer, etc. of assets for which consumption tax is exempted under the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1) of the Act, Article 8, paragraph (1) of the Act or other laws or treaties (excluding those that fall under a specified transfer, etc. of assets; the same applies from the following Article through Article 25-4), and has thereby refunded all or part of the amount of consideration for the taxable transfer, etc. of assets (meaning the amount of consideration provided for in Article 28, paragraph (1) of the Act; the same applies in this Article, Article 22, Article 23 and Article 25-4, paragraph (1)) or reduced all or part of the amount of accounts receivable or other claims pertaining to the amount of consideration for the taxable transfer, etc. of assets (referred to as the "refund, etc. of consideration for export transactions, etc." in this Article), the calculation of the amount listed in Article 9, paragraph (2), item (i), (a) of the Act is to be made including the amount of the refund, etc. of consideration for export transactions, etc. made during that base period.

The taxable periods specified by Cabinet Order as provided for in Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act are the following taxable periods:

the taxable period that includes the day on which a business operator commenced a business pertaining to taxable transfers, etc. of assets in Japan;

where an individual business operator has succeeded, by inheritance, to the business of a decedent who was subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act, the taxable period that includes the day of that inheritance;

where a corporation has succeeded, by a merger (excluding the case where a corporation is established by the merger), to the business of a merged corporation that was subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act, the taxable period that includes the day of that merger;

where a corporation has succeeded, by an absorption-type company split, to the business of a splitting corporation that was subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act, the taxable period that includes the day of that absorption-type company split.

Where a business operator that intends to be subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act has, owing to unavoidable circumstances, been unable to submit the written notification under that paragraph (referred to as the "notification of election to be a taxable business operator" in this Article) by the day before the first day of the taxable period for which it intends to be subject to the application of that paragraph (where that taxable period is the taxable period provided for in the preceding Article, the last day of that taxable period; the same applies in this paragraph and paragraphs (3) and (4)), and has obtained the approval of the district director having jurisdiction over its place for tax payment to be subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act for the taxable periods on or after that taxable period, the business operator is deemed to have submitted the notification of election to be a taxable business operator to that district director on the day before the first day of the taxable period for which it intends to be subject to that application.

Where a business operator that intends to cease to be subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act has, owing to unavoidable circumstances, been unable to submit the written notification under paragraph (5) of that Article (excluding a written notification stating that the business has been discontinued; referred to as the "notification of withdrawal from election as a taxable business operator" in this Article) by the day before the first day of the taxable period for which it intends to cease to be subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act, and has obtained the approval of the district director having jurisdiction over its place for tax payment to cease to be subject to the application of that paragraph for the taxable periods on or after that taxable period, the business operator is deemed to have submitted the notification of withdrawal from election as a taxable business operator to that district director on the day before the first day of the taxable period for which it intends to cease to be subject to that application.

A business operator that intends to obtain the approval under the preceding two paragraphs must submit to the district director having jurisdiction over its place for tax payment, within a reasonable period after the circumstances have ceased, a written application stating the date of the first day of the taxable period for which it intends to be subject to the application of Article 9, paragraph (4) of the Act or to cease to be subject to it, the circumstances that prevented it from submitting the notification of election to be a taxable business operator or the notification of withdrawal from election as a taxable business operator by the day before the first day of that taxable period, and other matters specified by Ministry of Finance Order.

Where a written application under the preceding paragraph has been submitted and the district director finds that there were no unavoidable circumstances for the business operator that filed the application having been unable to submit the notification of election to be a taxable business operator or the notification of withdrawal from election as a taxable business operator by the day before the first day of the taxable period pertaining to the application, the district director is to dismiss the application.

Where a written application under paragraph (3) has been submitted and the district director makes a disposition of approval or dismissal of the application, the district director is to notify the business operator that filed the application to that effect in writing.

In the application of Article 9, paragraph (7) of the Act in the case where the purchase, etc. of an adjustment-target fixed asset provided for in Article 9, paragraph (7) of the Act is the taking out of a bonded area of taxable goods pertaining to the submission of a special return (excluding those for which consumption tax is exempted under the provisions of laws or treaties; the same applies in this Article, Article 25, paragraph (2) and Article 25-6), or is the taking out of a bonded area of taxable goods pertaining to a determination on a special return (meaning a determination (meaning a determination under Article 25 (Determination) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes) on the amount listed in Article 47, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the Act that is to be stated in the special return; the same applies in Article 25, paragraph (2) and Article 25-6), the phrase "the same applies in paragraph (9)" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph, paragraph (9)", the phrase "(including where" is deemed to be replaced with "(where the purchase, etc. of an adjustment-target fixed asset is the taking out of a bonded area of taxable goods pertaining to the submission of a special return, the case where that special return is submitted, where it is the taking out of a bonded area of taxable goods pertaining to a determination on a special return (meaning a determination (meaning a determination under Article 25 (Determination) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes) on the amount listed in Article 47, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) that is to be stated in the special return), the case where notice of that determination on a special return is received, and including where", and the phrase "it made that purchase, etc. of an adjustment-target fixed asset" is deemed to be replaced with "that special return was submitted or notice of that determination on a special return was received".

The provisions of Article 19 apply mutatis mutandis to the calculation of the amount listed in Article 9-2, paragraph (2), item (i) of the Act. In this case, the phrase "in the base period" in Article 19 is deemed to be replaced with "in the specified period provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (1) of the Act", the phrase "this Article, Article 22, Article 23 and Article 25-4, paragraph (1)" with "this Article", the phrase "Article 9, paragraph (2), item (i), (a) of the Act" with "Article 9-2, paragraph (2), item (i) of the Act", and the phrase "during that base period" with "during that specified period".

The things excluded from the previous business year provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (4), item (ii) of the Act, being those specified by Cabinet Order as provided for in that item, are the following:

the previous business year of the business year, where that previous business year is seven months or less;

the previous business year of the business year (excluding a previous business year that is seven months or less) for which the period from the day following the last day of the six-month period provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (4), item (ii) of the Act (where the last day of that six-month period falls under any of the cases listed in the items of paragraph (1) of the following Article, the day specified in the relevant item) to the day on which that previous business year ends is less than two months.

The things excluded from the second preceding business year provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (4), item (iii) of the Act, being those specified by Cabinet Order as provided for in that item, are the following:

the second preceding business year of the business year, where that second preceding business year is included in the base period of that business year;

the second preceding business year of the business year (excluding a second preceding business year that is six months or less) for which the period from the day following the last day of the six-month period provided for in Article 9-2, paragraph (4), item (iii) of the Act (where the last day of that six-month period falls under any of the cases listed in the items of paragraph (2) of the following Article, the day specified in the relevant item) to the day on which the business year following that second preceding business year ends is less than two months;

the second preceding business year of the business year (limited to a second preceding business year that is six months or less) for which the business year following it is less than two months.