Consumption Tax Act

In the case of inheritance, the heir succeeds to the following obligations of the decedent, and in the case where a corporation merges, the merging corporation succeeds to the following obligations of the merged corporation, respectively.

the obligation to file a return under the provisions of Article 42, paragraph (1), (4) or (6), Article 45, paragraph (1), or Article 47, paragraph (1) (limited to the case of paragraph (3) of that Article);

the obligation to make records and retain books under the provisions of the preceding Article.

In the case where, with respect to matters recorded in an electronic or magnetic record retained by a business operator (meaning the purchase record information prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (2) and other records specified by Cabinet Order, and excluding, where records retained in accordance with the provisions of this Act and other laws concerning consumption tax (including orders based on them) (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "specified electronic or magnetic records") are retained in a manner that satisfies the requirements specified by Ministry of Finance Order as contributing to the proper performance of tax liability for national taxes, those specified electronic or magnetic records (limited to those that have been retained, satisfying those requirements, continuously on or after the day on which that business operator retained the specified electronic or magnetic records); the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph), a return filed after the due date prescribed in Article 18, paragraph (2) (Filing of a Return after the Due Date) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes or an amended return prescribed in Article 19, paragraph (3) (Amended Return) of that Act is filed for consumption tax, a reassessment is made under the provisions of Article 24 (Reassessment) or Article 26 (Reassessment of Previous Reassessment) of that Act, or a determination is made under the provisions of Article 25 (Determination) of that Act (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "return filed after the due date, etc."), and the case falls under Article 68, paragraph (1) or (2) (Heavy Penalty Tax) of that Act, the amount of heavy penalty tax under paragraphs (1) and (2) of that Article is, notwithstanding those provisions, the amount obtained by adding to the amount calculated under those provisions the amount calculated by multiplying the amount of tax that is to be the basis prescribed in those provisions (if there are facts that are to be the basis for calculating that tax other than the facts relating to matters recorded in that electronic or magnetic record that give rise to that return filed after the due date, etc. (limited to those concerning facts that were concealed or disguised; hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "fact relating to matters recorded in an electronic or magnetic record"), limited to the amount calculated, as provided by Cabinet Order, as the amount of tax based on the facts relating to matters recorded in an electronic or magnetic record) by 10 percent.

Cabinet Order provides for the necessary particulars concerning the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

A business conducted by the national government or a local government as operations relating to the general account, or a business conducted by the national government or a local government by establishing a special account, is deemed to be a business conducted by a single corporation for each such general account or special account, and the provisions of this Act apply accordingly; provided, however, that among the businesses conducted by the national government or a local government by establishing special accounts, a business conducted by establishing a special account specified by Cabinet Order is deemed to be a business conducted as operations relating to the general account.

Transfers, etc. of assets, taxable purchases and taking out of taxable goods from a bonded area conducted by the national government or a local government may, as provided by Cabinet Order, be treated as having been conducted on the last day of the fiscal year in which the consideration for the transfer, etc. of assets is to be received and of the fiscal year in which the costs of the taxable purchase and of the taking out of taxable goods from a bonded area are to be paid.

With respect to the time at which a corporation listed in Appended Table 3 that is specified by Cabinet Order as a corporation equivalent to the national government or a local government conducted transfers, etc. of assets, taxable purchases and taking out of taxable goods from a bonded area, it is specified by Cabinet Order in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

In the case where the national government or a local government (limited to the case where it conducts a business by establishing a special account), a corporation listed in Appended Table 3, the trustee business operator prescribed in Article 15, paragraph (3) with respect to a public interest trust prescribed in the proviso to Article 14, paragraph (1) (referred to as a "public interest trust trustee" in paragraph (8)), or an association or foundation without legal personality (excluding one whose obligation to pay consumption tax is exempted under the provisions of the main clause of Article 9, paragraph (1)) makes a taxable purchase or takes taxable goods out of a bonded area, and in the taxable period that includes the day of the taxable purchase or the day of the taking out of the taxable goods from a bonded area (if a special return has been submitted for those taxable goods, the day on which that special return was submitted or the day on which notice of the determination on a special return was received) there is income other than consideration for transfers, etc. of assets (excluding income specified by Cabinet Order; hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "specified income"), and the case falls under a case specified by Cabinet Order as one where the total amount of that specified income is not insignificant compared with the amount obtained by adding the total amount of that specified income to the total amount of the amounts of consideration for transfers, etc. of assets in that taxable period (meaning the amount of consideration prescribed in Article 28, paragraph (1)), then, except where Article 37 applies, the total amount of the amount of tax on taxable purchases, etc. (meaning the amount of tax on taxable purchases, etc. prescribed in Article 30, paragraph (2); the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph and the following paragraph) that may be deducted from the amount of consumption tax set out in Article 45, paragraph (1), item (ii) for that taxable period (referred to as "consumption tax on the tax base amount" in the following paragraph and paragraph (6)) is, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 30 to 36, the amount equivalent to the remainder obtained by deducting, from the total amount of that amount of tax on taxable purchases, etc. as calculated under those provisions, the amount calculated, as provided by Cabinet Order, as the amount of tax on taxable purchases, etc. relating to specified income. In this case, that amount is deemed to be the consumption tax on purchases prescribed in Article 32, paragraph (1), item (i) for that taxable period.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if there is an amount that cannot be fully deducted when the amount calculated as provided by the Cabinet Order prescribed in that paragraph is deducted from the amount of tax on taxable purchases, etc. prescribed in that paragraph, that amount that cannot be fully deducted is deemed to be consumption tax relating to taxable transfers, etc. of assets and is added to the consumption tax on the tax base amount for the taxable period referred to in that paragraph.

Where the national government or a local government conducts a business as operations relating to the general account, the provisions of Articles 9, 42, 45, 57 and 58 do not apply.

In addition to what is provided for in the preceding paragraphs, special provisions on the deadline for filing a return under the provisions of Article 42, paragraph (1), (4) or (6) or Article 45, paragraph (1) of the national government or a local government (limited to a business conducted by establishing a special account) or of those specified by Cabinet Order among the corporations listed in Appended Table 3, and other particulars necessary for the application of this Act to the national government, a local government, a corporation listed in Appended Table 3, a public interest trust trustee or an association or foundation without legal personality, are specified by Cabinet Order.

In addition to what is provided for in this Act, applications concerning permission or approval under the provisions of this Act, procedures concerning the provision of security, matters to be stated in documents, procedures for submitting them, and other particulars necessary for implementing this Act are specified by Ministry of Finance Order.

A business operator that makes a specified transfer, etc. of assets (limited to one that constitutes a specified taxable purchase made by another person in Japan) must, in advance at the time of that specified transfer, etc. of assets, indicate that the business operator that makes that specified taxable purchase is liable to pay consumption tax under the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1).

When a business operator (excluding a business operator whose obligation to pay consumption tax is exempted under the provisions of the main clause of Article 9, paragraph (1)), in the case of making taxable transfers, etc. of assets (excluding those for which consumption tax is exempted under the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (1), Article 8, paragraph (1) or other laws or treaties; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) to unspecified and numerous persons (excluding the case of making them exclusively to other business operators), displays in advance the price of the assets or services relating to the taxable transfers, etc. of assets, it must display a price that includes an amount equivalent to the total of the amount of consumption tax and the amount of local consumption tax relating to those assets or services.