Regulation for Enforcement of the Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers

Pursuant to the provisions of the Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers (Act No. 25 of 1998), the Regulation for Enforcement of the Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers is established as follows.

①In this Ministerial Order, "national tax," "books and documents related to national tax," "electronic or magnetic record," "person required to preserve," "electronic transaction," or "computer output microfilm" means, respectively, national tax, books and documents related to national tax, an electronic or magnetic record, a person required to preserve, an electronic transaction, or computer output microfilm prescribed in Article 2 of the Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers (Act No. 25 of 1998; hereinafter referred to as the "Act").

②In this Ministerial Order, the meanings of the terms set forth in the following items are as prescribed respectively in those items:

①The books related to national tax specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (1) of the Act are books that are required to be kept and preserved pursuant to the provisions of the Income Tax Act (Act No. 33 of 1965) or the Corporation Tax Act (Act No. 34 of 1965), other than those in which all transactions affecting assets, liabilities, and capital are recorded in an orderly and clear manner in accordance with the principles of regular bookkeeping (in the case of books required to be kept and preserved pursuant to the provisions of the Corporation Tax Act, the principles of double-entry bookkeeping).

②A person required to preserve who intends, pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (1) of the Act, to substitute the keeping and preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to books related to national tax (meaning books related to national tax prescribed in that paragraph; the same applies hereinafter, except in paragraph (6), item (iii)) for the keeping and preservation of those books related to national tax must keep and preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with the following requirements (excluding the requirement set forth in item (iii) where the person required to preserve is, in accordance with the requirement prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (5), item (i), keeping and preserving those electronic or magnetic records).

③The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the preservation of electronic or magnetic records by a person required to preserve who intends to substitute the preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to documents related to national tax (meaning documents related to national tax prescribed in Article 2, item (ii) of the Act; the same applies hereinafter) for the preservation of those documents related to national tax pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (2) of the Act. In this case, the phrase "in accordance with the requirement prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (5), item (i), keeping and" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "ensuring a function enabling a search of the recorded matters of those electronic or magnetic records (limited to a function enabling the transaction date or other date to be set as a search condition and enabling a condition to be set by specifying a range thereof) and".

④The documents specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act are, among documents related to national tax, inventory lists, balance sheets, and profit and loss statements, and other documents prepared in relation to calculation, arrangement, or settlement of accounts.

⑤The device specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act is a scanner.

⑥A person required to preserve who intends, pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act, to substitute the preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to documents related to national tax (limited to documents related to national tax prescribed in that paragraph; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) for the preservation of those documents related to national tax must preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with the following requirements (excluding the requirement set forth in item (v) (limited to the part pertaining to (b) and (c)) where the person required to preserve is able to comply with a request to present or submit those electronic or magnetic records under the provisions of laws concerning national tax).

⑦A person required to preserve who intends, pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act, to substitute the preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to documents related to national tax for the preservation of those documents related to national tax may, where the person records in electronic or magnetic records the matters stated in those documents related to national tax that are specified by the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency (hereinafter in this paragraph and paragraph (9) referred to as "general documents"), notwithstanding the requirements set forth in items (i) and (iii) of the preceding paragraph, preserve the electronic or magnetic records relating to those general documents by keeping, together with the preservation of those electronic or magnetic records, a document clarifying the administrative procedures for the preparation and preservation of those electronic or magnetic records (limited to one for which the person responsible for those administrative matters has been determined). In this case, with regard to the application of the provisions of that paragraph, the phrase "gradations of each of red, green, and blue" in item (ii), (a), (2) of that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "gradations from white to black", the phrase "promptly after the preparation or receipt of those documents related to national tax," in (b) of that item is deemed to be replaced with "promptly after the preparation or receipt of those documents related to national tax, or when reading those documents related to national tax with a scanner,", the phrase "promptly to attach that" is deemed to be replaced with "promptly, or when reading those documents related to national tax with a scanner, to attach that", the phrase "color display" in item (iv) of that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "display", and the phrase "color printer" is deemed to be replaced with "printer".

⑧Where a person required to preserve prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act proves that, due to a disaster or other unavoidable circumstances, the person was unable to preserve the electronic or magnetic records relating to the documents related to national tax prescribed in the first sentence of that paragraph in accordance with the Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in the first sentence of that paragraph, the person may, notwithstanding the preceding two paragraphs, preserve those electronic or magnetic records; provided, however, that this does not apply where, had those circumstances not arisen, it is found that the person would not have been able to preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with that Ministry of Finance Order.

⑨Where a person required to preserve who substitutes, pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act, the preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to documents related to national tax for the preservation of those documents related to national tax records in electronic or magnetic records the matters stated in those documents related to national tax that were prepared or received before the date on which the preservation of those documents related to national tax is replaced (referred to as the "base date" in item (ii)) (excluding general documents; hereinafter in this paragraph through paragraph (11) referred to as "past important documents"), and has submitted in advance a written notification stating the type of the past important documents relating to the matters to be recorded and the following matters (hereinafter in this paragraph and the following paragraph referred to as an "application notification") to the competent district director with jurisdiction over the place for tax payment, etc. (where the past important documents are documents under the proviso to Article 52, paragraph (4) (Obligation to Keep Books) of the Order for Enforcement of the Liquor Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 97 of 1962), the proviso to Article 17, paragraph (5) (Obligation to Keep Books) of the Order for Enforcement of the Tobacco Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 5 of 1985), the proviso to Article 17, paragraph (5) (Obligation to Keep Books) of the Order for Enforcement of the Gasoline Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 57 of 1957), the proviso to Article 21, paragraph (4) (Obligation to Keep Books) of the Order for Enforcement of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 5 of 1966), or the proviso to Article 20, paragraph (8) (Obligation to Keep Books) of the Order for Enforcement of the Petroleum and Coal Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 132 of 1978), or import permits, documents under Article 27, paragraph (6) (Matters to Be Stated in Books, etc.) of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Consumption Tax Act (Ministry of Finance Order No. 53 of 1988) or documents certifying that import permission has been granted, or a passenger list prescribed in the proviso to Article 7 (limited to the part pertaining to overseas business operators under that Article) (Obligation to Keep Books) of the Order for Enforcement of the International Tourist Tax Act (Cabinet Order No. 161 of 2018), the Director-General of Customs with jurisdiction over the place for tax payment, etc.; referred to as the "competent district director, etc." in the following paragraph) (limited to the case where the person has not previously submitted an application notification relating to documents of the same type as those past important documents), the person may, notwithstanding the requirement set forth in paragraph (6), item (i), preserve the electronic or magnetic records relating to those past important documents by keeping, together with the preservation of those electronic or magnetic records, a document clarifying the administrative procedures for the preparation and preservation of those electronic or magnetic records (limited to one for which the person responsible for those administrative matters has been determined). In this case, with regard to the application of the provisions of that paragraph, the phrase "promptly after the preparation or receipt of those documents related to national tax," in item (ii), (b) of that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "when reading those documents related to national tax with a scanner,", and the phrase "(meaning a business that provides services of attaching time stamps to information recorded in electronic or magnetic records) (where rules on the processing of each task from the preparation or receipt of those documents related to national tax to the attachment of that time stamp have been established, after the ordinary period for processing the relevant business has elapsed, promptly to attach that time stamp to those recorded matters)" in that item is deemed to be replaced with "(meaning a business that provides services of attaching time stamps to information recorded in electronic or magnetic records)".

⑩Where, with regard to the past important documents for which the person required to preserve prescribed in the preceding paragraph intends to receive the application of that paragraph, there is, besides the competent district director, etc., a district director who is convenient for submitting the application notification (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as a "district director other than the competent district director"), and that district director other than the competent district director finds that there are reasonable grounds for the circumstances making it convenient, the person may submit to the competent district director, etc., via that district director other than the competent district director, an application notification stating the details of the circumstances making it convenient. In this case, where the application notification has been accepted by the district director other than the competent district director, the application notification is deemed to have been submitted to the competent district director, etc. on the date on which it was accepted.

⑪Where a person required to preserve who preserves the electronic or magnetic records relating to past important documents pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (9) proves that, due to a disaster or other unavoidable circumstances, the person has become unable to preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with the Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in the first sentence of Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act, the person may, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (9), preserve those electronic or magnetic records; provided, however, that this does not apply where, had those circumstances not arisen, it is found that the person would have become unable to preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with that Ministry of Finance Order.

⑫The requirements specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in the second sentence of Article 4, paragraph (3) of the Act are that the electronic or magnetic records relating to the documents related to national tax in the second sentence of that paragraph are preserved, at the place where those documents related to national tax are preserved, for the period during which the preservation of those documents related to national tax is required under the provisions of laws concerning national tax.

①A person required to preserve who intends, pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Act, to substitute the keeping of electronic or magnetic records relating to books related to national tax and the preservation of those electronic or magnetic records by computer output microfilm for the keeping and preservation of those books related to national tax must keep those electronic or magnetic records and preserve them by computer output microfilm in accordance with the requirements set forth in the items of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article (excluding the requirement set forth in paragraph (2), item (iii) of the preceding Article where the person required to preserve is keeping those electronic or magnetic records and preserving them by computer output microfilm in accordance with the requirement prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (5), item (ii)) and the following requirements.

②The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the preservation by computer output microfilm of electronic or magnetic records by a person required to preserve who intends, pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (2) of the Act, to substitute the preservation by computer output microfilm of the electronic or magnetic records relating to documents related to national tax for the preservation of those documents related to national tax. In this case, the phrase "the items of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "items (i) and (iii) of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article", the phrase "keeping those electronic or magnetic records and preserving them by computer output microfilm in accordance with the requirement prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (5), item (ii)" is deemed to be replaced with "preserving those electronic or magnetic records by computer output microfilm in accordance with the requirements set forth in Article 5, paragraph (5), item (ii), (c) through (e)", and the phrase "及び次に" (and the following) is deemed to be replaced with "並びに次に" (and the following, joining larger groups).

③The cases specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (3) of the Act are cases where, with regard to all or part of the books related to national tax of a person required to preserve who substitutes the keeping and preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to books related to national tax for the keeping and preservation of those books related to national tax pursuant to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph (1) of the Act, or the documents related to national tax of a person required to preserve who substitutes the preservation of electronic or magnetic records relating to documents related to national tax for the preservation of those documents related to national tax pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of that Article, the person intends to substitute preservation by computer output microfilm for the preservation of those electronic or magnetic records for the entire preservation period (meaning the period during which the preservation of books related to national tax or documents related to national tax is required under the provisions of laws concerning national tax) (limited to the period on or after the date on which the person intends to substitute preservation by computer output microfilm for the preservation of those electronic or magnetic records).

④The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the preservation by computer output microfilm of electronic or magnetic records relating to books related to national tax or documents related to national tax by a person required to preserve who intends, pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (3) of the Act, to substitute the preservation by computer output microfilm of the electronic or magnetic records relating to those books related to national tax or those documents related to national tax for the preservation of those electronic or magnetic records.

①A person required to preserve prescribed in Article 7 of the Act must, where the person has engaged in an electronic transaction, take any of the following measures and preserve the electronic or magnetic records relating to the transaction information (meaning the transaction information prescribed in Article 2, item (v) of the Act; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph and paragraph (3)) of that electronic transaction, at the place where, under the provisions of laws concerning national tax, the document would be required to be preserved if the receipt of that transaction information had been made in writing or if the sending of that transaction information had been made in writing and a copy of it had been prepared, for the period during which that document would be required to be preserved, in accordance with the requirements set forth in Article 2, paragraph (2), item (ii) and paragraph (6), item (v) and, as applied mutatis mutandis in item (vi) of that paragraph, paragraph (2), item (i) of that Article (limited to the part pertaining to (a) of that item) (excluding, where the person required to preserve has made it possible to comply with a request under the provisions of laws concerning national tax to present or submit those electronic or magnetic records (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as a "request to present or submit electronic or magnetic records"), the requirements set forth in paragraph (6), item (v) of that Article (limited to the part pertaining to (b) and (c)) (in the case where the person required to preserve is a business operator whose sales in the base period relating to its determination period are 50 million yen or less, or in the case where the person has made it possible to comply with a request to present or submit a document, prepared by outputting those electronic or magnetic records under the provisions of laws concerning national tax, that is output in an orderly format and clear state and arranged by transaction date or other date and by business partner, and has made it possible to comply with the request to present or submit electronic or magnetic records, the requirements set forth in that item)).

②In the preceding paragraph and this paragraph, the meanings of the terms set forth in the following items are as prescribed in those items:

③Where a person required to preserve prescribed in Article 7 of the Act, in the case where the person has engaged in an electronic transaction, proves that, due to a disaster or other unavoidable circumstances, the person was unable to preserve the electronic or magnetic records relating to the transaction information of that electronic transaction in accordance with the Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in that Article, or where the competent district director with jurisdiction over the place for tax payment, etc. finds that there are reasonable grounds for the person having been unable to preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with that Ministry of Finance Order and the person required to preserve has made it possible to comply with a request under the provisions of laws concerning national tax to present or submit those electronic or magnetic records and documents prepared by outputting those electronic or magnetic records (limited to those output in an orderly format and clear state), the person may, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), preserve those electronic or magnetic records; provided, however, that this does not apply where, had those circumstances not arisen or had those grounds not existed, it is found that the person would not have been able to preserve those electronic or magnetic records in accordance with that Ministry of Finance Order.

①The books related to national tax specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (4) of the Act are the following books relating to the matters giving rise to an amended return, etc. prescribed in that paragraph (hereinafter in this paragraph and the following paragraph referred to as an "amended return, etc."): journals, general ledgers, and other necessary books prescribed in Article 58, paragraph (1) (Books Relating to Transactions and Matters to Be Stated) of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Income Tax Act (Ministry of Finance Order No. 11 of 1965) (limited to those pertaining to the recording of matters relating to transactions specified by the Minister of Finance); journals, general ledgers, and other necessary books prescribed in Article 54 (Books Relating to Transactions and Matters to Be Stated) of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Corporation Tax Act (Ministry of Finance Order No. 12 of 1965) (limited to those pertaining to the recording of matters relating to claims and obligations on bills (excluding accommodation bills), matters relating to accounts receivable (including unreceived processing fees and other things of a nature similar to accounts receivable) and other claims (excluding matters relating to deposits into and withdrawals from checking accounts), matters relating to accounts payable (including unpaid processing fees and other things of a nature similar to accounts payable) and other obligations, matters relating to securities prescribed in Article 2, item (xxi) (Definitions) of the Corporation Tax Act (excluding those that are merchandise), matters relating to depreciable assets prescribed in item (xxiii) of that Article, matters relating to deferred assets prescribed in item (xxiv) of that Article, matters relating to sales (including the provision of services such as processing and other things of a nature similar to sales) and other revenue, and matters relating to purchases and other expenses (excluding wages, salaries and allowances, statutory welfare expenses, and employee welfare expenses)); or the books prescribed in Article 30, paragraph (7) (Deduction of Consumption Tax on Purchases), Article 38, paragraph (2) (Deduction of Consumption Tax in the Case of a Refund, etc. of Consideration for Sales), Article 38-2, paragraph (2) (Deduction of Consumption Tax in the Case of Receipt of a Refund, etc. of Consideration for Specified Taxable Purchases), and Article 58 (Keeping of Accounts) of the Consumption Tax Act (Act No. 108 of 1988) (limited to these books (hereinafter in this paragraph and the following paragraph referred to as "special books related to national tax") in the case where the person required to preserve has submitted in advance, to the competent district director with jurisdiction over the place for tax payment, etc. (or, where the special books related to national tax relating to the matters giving rise to that amended return, etc. are the books prescribed in Article 30, paragraph (7) of the Consumption Tax Act (limited to those set forth in paragraph (8), item (iii) of that Article) and the books prescribed in Article 58 of that Act (limited to those pertaining to the recording of matters relating to taking delivery, from a bonded area prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1), item (ii) (Definitions) of that Act, of taxable goods prescribed in that Article), the Director-General of Customs with jurisdiction over the place for tax payment, etc.; referred to as the "competent district director, etc." in the following paragraph and paragraph (3)), a written notification stating that, where an amended return, etc. is made with regard to the matters recorded in the electronic or magnetic records or computer output microfilm relating to these books, the person is to receive the application of Article 8, paragraph (4) of the Act, and the following matters).

②A person required to preserve prescribed in the preceding paragraph who intends to cease receiving the application of Article 8, paragraph (4) of the Act in the case where an amended return, etc. is made with regard to the matters recorded in electronic or magnetic records or computer output microfilm relating to special books related to national tax must submit in advance to the competent district director, etc. a written notification stating that effect and the following matters. In this case, where that written notification has been submitted, the written notification under the preceding paragraph ceases to be effective for the taxable period that includes the date on which it was submitted and the taxable periods following it.

③A person required to preserve prescribed in paragraph (1) who intends to change a matter stated in the written notification under that paragraph must submit in advance to the competent district director, etc. a written notification stating to that effect and the following matters.

④The provisions of Article 2, paragraph (10) apply mutatis mutandis to the submission of the written notifications under the preceding three paragraphs.

⑤The requirements specified by Ministry of Finance Order prescribed in Article 8, paragraph (4) of the Act are the requirements prescribed in the following items according to the categories of persons required to preserve set forth in those items.

⑥In the application of Article 12, paragraph (1) (Place of Submission of Documents Relating to a Request for Review) of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes (Ministry of Finance Order No. 28 of 1962) in the case where Article 8, paragraph (5) of the Act applies, the word "又は" (or) before "paragraph (4)" in the proviso to that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "若しくは" (or, joining a smaller group of alternatives), and the phrase "(Heavy Penalty Tax)" in that proviso is deemed to be replaced with "(Heavy Penalty Tax) or under Article 8, paragraph (5) (limited to the part pertaining to the heavy penalty tax under Article 68, paragraph (3) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes) (Application of the Provisions of Other Laws Concerning National Tax) of the Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers (Act No. 25 of 1998)".

⑦In the application of paragraph (7) of the Supplementary Provisions (Cases Where a Business Is Found to Be Conducted Properly) of the Regulation for Enforcement of the Inheritance Tax Act (Ministry of Finance Order No. 17 of 1950) in the case where Article 8, paragraph (5) of the Act applies, the phrase "(Heavy Penalty Tax)" in item (iii) of that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "(Heavy Penalty Tax) or under Article 8, paragraph (5) (limited to the part pertaining to the heavy penalty tax under Article 68, paragraph (1) or (2) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes) (Application of the Provisions of Other Laws Concerning National Tax) of the Act on Special Provisions concerning Preservation Methods for Books and Documents Related to National Tax Prepared by Means of Computers (Act No. 25 of 1998; hereinafter in this item referred to as the 'Electronic Books Preservation Act')", and the phrase "(limited to the part pertaining to the heavy penalty tax under paragraph (3) of that Article)" is deemed to be replaced with "(limited to the part pertaining to the heavy penalty tax under paragraph (3) of that Article) or under Article 8, paragraph (5) of the Electronic Books Preservation Act (limited to the part pertaining to the heavy penalty tax under Article 68, paragraph (3) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes)".

⑧Where Article 8, paragraph (4) or (5) of the Act applies, the written notice of assessment and determination prescribed in Article 32, paragraph (3) (Assessment and Determination) of the Act on General Rules for National Taxes relating to the penalty tax for understatement or heavy penalty tax is to bear a notation that Article 8, paragraph (4) or (5) of the Act applies to that penalty tax for understatement or heavy penalty tax.