Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act Enforcement Order

When an immigration control officer has, pursuant to the provisions of Article 37-2, paragraph (1) of the Act, placed retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order in the custody of their owner or any other person whom the immigration control officer finds appropriate, the immigration control officer must notify the person who held the articles at the time of the retention, seizure or seizure with a recording order to that effect.

The public notice pursuant to the provisions of Article 37-2, paragraph (2) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "public auction notice" in this Chapter) is to be given by posting the following matters in a place easily visible to the public at the regional immigration services bureau:

the names and quantities of the items of the retained articles, etc. (meaning retained articles or seized articles; the same applies hereinafter in this Chapter) to be put up for the public auction under Article 37-2, paragraph (2) of the Act (hereinafter referred to simply as the "public auction" in this Chapter);

the date and time, place, method and reason of the public auction;

the deadline for payment of the purchase price;

matters concerning the deposit; and

in addition to what is set forth in the preceding items, matters necessary for the public auction.

A public auction notice is to be given no later than ten days before the date of the public auction; provided, however, that if the retained articles, etc. to be put up for the public auction are, by their nature, required to be sold promptly, that period may be shortened.

When the director of the regional immigration services bureau has deposited the proceeds of retained articles, etc. pursuant to Article 37-2, paragraph (2) of the Act, the director is to notify the known owner, holder or other interested party of the retained articles, etc. concerned in that deposit to that effect.

The director of the regional immigration services bureau may, for two years on or after the date on which a person found to fall under any of the following items came to fall under the relevant item, refuse to allow that person to participate in a public auction, restrict that person's entry into the place of the public auction, or have that person leave that place. The same applies to a person who, in a public auction, employs any of these persons as an agent, manager or other worker.

a person who has formed a combination for the purpose of unfairly lowering the price in a public auction;

a person who has obstructed participation in a public auction, or obstructed the conclusion or performance of a contract by a person who participated in a public auction;

a person who has failed to perform a contract without a justifiable reason;

a person who participated in a public auction under a false name;

a person who has intentionally damaged retained articles, etc. put up for a public auction and thereby reduced their value; and

in addition to the persons set forth in the preceding items, a person who has committed an act that obstructs the conduct of a public auction.

When a person found to fall under any of the items of the preceding paragraph, or a person prescribed in the latter sentence of that paragraph, has made a bid under paragraph (1) of the following Article, the director of the regional immigration services bureau may treat that bid as not having been made.

When the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds it necessary for applying the provisions of paragraph (1), the director may require participants in a public auction to provide proof of their identity.

With respect to retained articles, etc. put up for a public auction, immigration control officers and other officials engaged in affairs relating to investigation into violations, and the owner of the articles, may not purchase them, whether directly or indirectly.

A public auction is to be conducted by the method of bidding.

When putting retained articles, etc. up for bidding, the director of the regional immigration services bureau must determine an estimated price, which the director finds appropriate in consideration of the prices of articles of the same or a similar kind, for the articles that are the object of the bid. In this case, the director of the regional immigration services bureau must seal the determined estimated price (hereinafter referred to simply as the "estimated price" in this Chapter) in an envelope and place it at the place of the opening of bids at the time of the opening of bids.

The director of the regional immigration services bureau must require a person who intends to participate in the bidding for retained articles, etc. to pay, in cash or by a check drawn or certified by a bank, a deposit in an amount determined by the director of the regional immigration services bureau at five percent or more of the estimated price; provided, however, that if the estimated price is less than 500,000 yen, the director of the regional immigration services bureau may waive the requirement of that payment.

When the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds it necessary, the director may post the estimated price, together with the public auction notice, at a place in the regional immigration services bureau that is easily visible to the public, or post it at the place of the public auction or another appropriate place before conducting the public auction. In this case, the provisions of the latter sentence of paragraph (2) do not apply.

The opening of bids must be conducted in the presence of the bidders, at the date, time and place of the public auction indicated in the public auction notice; provided, however, that if any bidder does not attend, an official not involved in the bidding affairs must be made to attend.

A bidder may not exchange, change or cancel the written bid that the bidder has submitted.

In the case of the opening of bids, if none of the bids of the respective persons has reached the estimated price, the articles may be immediately put up for bidding again.

A buyer of retained articles, etc. may, if there is a deposit paid pursuant to the main clause of paragraph (3), apply that deposit to the purchase price.

In the case where a buyer fails to pay the purchase price by the payment deadline, or a person who has paid a deposit has been subject to the disposition under paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, the deposits paid by those persons revert to the national treasury.

The director of the regional immigration services bureau must post, together with the public auction notice, at a place in the regional immigration services bureau that is easily visible to the public, a statement that, in the case prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the deposit prescribed in that paragraph reverts to the national treasury.

If there are two or more persons who made bids at the same price that should be successful, the successful bidder is to be determined by having them bid further. In this case, if those bids are at the same price, the successful bidder must be determined by lot.

In the case of the latter sentence of the preceding paragraph, if, among the bidders, there is a person who does not attend the opening of bids or a person who does not draw lots, an official not involved in the bidding affairs may be made to draw lots in place of those persons.

When putting up for a public auction a large quantity of retained articles, etc. of the same kind and at the same price, the director of the regional immigration services bureau may, if the director finds it necessary, adopt a method of having persons who intend to bid, within the range of that quantity, bid the quantity they wish to buy and the unit price, and of making successful bidders of the bidders, in sequence from the bidder with a unit price not lower than the estimated price, until the quantity of those retained articles, etc. is reached. In this case, if there are two or more bidders in the last rank who should be successful, the bidder with the larger bid quantity is to be the prior-ranking bidder, and if the bid quantities are the same, the prior-ranking bidder is to be determined by lot.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the case where the prior-ranking bidder is determined by lot pursuant to the provisions of the latter sentence of the preceding paragraph.

In the case where successful bidders have been determined by the method under the preceding two paragraphs, if the bid quantity of the last-ranking successful bidder, when added to the bid quantities of the other successful bidders, exceeds the quantity put up for bidding, the excess quantity is to be treated as not having been successfully bid for.

In the case where the director of the regional immigration services bureau has determined successful bidders by the methods under paragraphs (1) and (2), if any of the successful bidders does not perform the contract, the director may, only where the director determines successful bidders successively following the opening of bids and has the price paid immediately, within the range of the quantity for which the person who does not perform the contract was the successful bidder, first treat as successfully bid for the quantity that was treated as not having been successfully bid for pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph (excluding the quantity treated, with respect to the person who does not perform the contract, as not having been successfully bid for pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph), and next make successful bidders of the bidders who did not become successful bidders under the provisions of the latter sentence of paragraph (1). In this case, if there are two or more bidders who should be successful, the provisions of the latter sentence of that paragraph and paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis.

The provisions of paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the case where successful bidders have been determined by the method under the preceding paragraph.

In a public auction, if there is no bidder even when the articles are put up for bidding, if the bid price of the bidders does not reach the estimated price, if the successful bidder does not perform the contract, or if there is no longer a successful bidder because a bid was treated as not having been made pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, paragraph (2), the director of the regional immigration services bureau may put the articles up for a public auction again pursuant to the provisions of Articles 6 through the preceding Article. In this case, if the director of the regional immigration services bureau finds it necessary, the director may, notwithstanding those provisions, change the estimated price, shorten the period prescribed in the main clause of Article 6, paragraph (3), or otherwise change the conditions of the public auction.

The public notice under the provisions of Article 37-3, paragraph (2) of the Act is to be given with respect to the following matters:

to the effect that public notice is given pursuant to the provisions of Article 37-3, paragraph (2) of the Act;

the names and quantities of the items;

the date and place of the retention, seizure or seizure with a recording order;

the name and address or residence of the person subject to the disposition of retention, seizure or seizure with a recording order; and

to the effect that, if no request for return is made even after six months have elapsed from the date of the public notice, the retained articles, seized articles or articles seized with a recording order revert to the national treasury.

The public notice under the provisions of Article 37-3, paragraph (2) of the Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 37-4, paragraph (2) of the Act is to be given with respect to the following matters:

to the effect that public notice is given pursuant to the provisions of Article 37-3, paragraph (2) of the Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 37-4, paragraph (2) of the Act;

the names and quantities of the items;

the date and place of the seizure;

the name and address or residence of the person subject to the seizure;

particulars sufficient to specify the electromagnetic records recorded on the recording media to be delivered or the electromagnetic records to be permitted to be copied; and

to the effect that, if no request for delivery or copying under the provisions of Article 37-4, paragraph (1) of the Act is made even after six months have elapsed from the date of the public notice, the recording medium prescribed in that paragraph may not be delivered, or the electromagnetic records recorded on that recording medium may not be copied.

The public notices under the preceding two paragraphs are to be given by posting them for 14 days in a place readily visible to the public in the regional immigration services bureau.