Regulation for Enforcement of the Income Tax Act

A blue-return filer (in the case where the provisions of Article 125, paragraphs (1) through (3) (Filing a Tax Return If the Taxpayer Has Died Partway Through the Year) of the Act apply, a person who is to file a return under paragraph (1) of that Article or a person who may file a return under paragraph (2) or (3) of that Article) must, on December 31 of each year (in the case where that Article or Article 127 (Filing a Tax Return If the Taxpayer Will Become Absent From Japan Partway Through the Year) of the Act applies, the date of the blue-return filer's death or the time of the start of the blue-return filer's Absence From Japan; the same applies in the following Article), take stock of Inventory and otherwise organize the matters necessary for the settlement of accounts, and clearly record the results.

A person who has newly become a blue-return filer in that year must, on January 1 of that year (in the case where the person has newly commenced, partway through the year, operations that are to give rise to real property income, business income or timber income, the date on which the person commenced those operations), take stock of Inventory (including Securities that give rise to business income and cryptoassets prescribed in Article 48-2, paragraph (1) (Calculation of Costs of Cryptoassets Transferred and Valuation Methods) of the Act; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) and organize the necessary matters concerning the various account titles, and clearly record the results.

When taking stock as prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs, a blue-return filer must prepare an inventory list and enter the quantity, unit price and amount for each different type, quality, model, etc. of Inventory. In this case, the unit price to be assigned to Inventory is to be entered as the value calculated by the method, from among the following, that the blue-return filer has selected: the valuation method prescribed in Article 99, paragraph (1) (Valuation Methods for Inventory) of the Order or the valuation method approved by the district director pursuant to Article 99-2 (Special Valuation Methods for Inventory) of the Order, the valuation method prescribed in Article 105, paragraph (1) (Valuation Methods for Securities) of the Order, or the valuation method prescribed in Article 119-2, paragraph (1) (Valuation Methods for Cryptoassets) of the Order (in the case where the approval of the district director has been obtained for a change of valuation method pursuant to Article 101 (Procedures for Changing the Valuation Method for Inventory), Article 107 (Procedures for Changing the Valuation Method for Securities) or Article 119-4 (Procedures for Changing the Valuation Method for Cryptoassets) of the Order, the method for which that approval was obtained, and for a blue-return filer to whom Article 102, paragraph (1) (Statutory Valuation Method for Inventory), Article 108, paragraph (1) (Statutory Valuation Method for Securities) or Article 119-5, paragraph (1) (Statutory Valuation Method for Cryptoassets) of the Order applies, the method determined under those provisions as the one that person is to use).

A blue-return filer prescribed in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article must, on December 31 of each year, prepare a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement in accordance with the account titles specified by the Minister of Finance.

When the Minister of Finance has made the specification referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister issues public notice of it.

If the district director finds it necessary, the district director may order a blue-return filer who pays a salary to a relative who shares a livelihood with that blue-return filer to keep books and to enter in them the period during which the relative engaged in labor services, the nature of the labor services and other matters that make clear the record of those labor services.

A blue-return filer prescribed in Article 60, paragraph (1) (Settlement of Accounts) must organize the following books and documents and keep them for seven years from the first day for the calculation (five years for those documents set forth in item (iii) other than documents that fall under cash and deposit transaction-related documents), at the location of the person's place of domicile or place of residence, or of the office, place of business or other similar place pertaining to the business the person carries on:

the books prescribed in Article 58 (Books and Entries Related to Transactions) and other books prepared in relation to all transactions that affect the assets, liabilities and capital of that blue-return filer;

inventory lists, balance sheets and profit and loss statements, and other documents prepared in relation to calculation, organization or the settlement of accounts;

order forms, contracts, invoices, receipts, estimates and other similar documents received from counterparties in relation to transactions and, for those documents prepared by the filer of which copies exist, the copies.

A blue-return filer under the preceding paragraph whose total amount of the amount of real property income and the amount of business income for the year before last, as of March 15 of that year (meaning the total amount prescribed in Article 195, item (i) of the Order (Requirements for a Small Enterprise) and, in the case where Article 125, paragraphs (1) through (3) (Filing a Tax Return If the Taxpayer Has Died Partway Through the Year) of the Act apply, that total amount pertaining to the Resident prescribed in those provisions), is the amount prescribed in that item or less is not required, notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, to keep the documents set forth in item (iii) of that paragraph that were prepared or received in that year for more than five years from the first day for the calculation.

The cash and deposit transaction-related documents prescribed in paragraph (1) means, among the documents set forth in item (iii) of that paragraph, those prepared at the time of receiving or paying out cash or of depositing or withdrawing Deposits and Savings, and, in the case where daily total amounts have been entered collectively in books in place of individually entering the matters concerning transactions prescribed in Article 58, paragraph (1), documents for confirming the matters concerning the transactions pertaining to that collective entry.

The first day for the calculation prescribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) means, for books, the day following March 15 of the year following the year that includes the date of their closing, and for documents, the day following March 15 of the year following the year that includes the date of their preparation or receipt.

When the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency has specified documents pursuant to the provisions of item (i) of the table in the preceding paragraph, the Commissioner is to give public notice of the same.

When the Minister of Finance has specified methods pursuant to the provisions of the items of the table in paragraph (5), the Minister is to give public notice of the same.

Where, owing to the type of industry, form of business, scale or other circumstances, it is difficult for a blue-return filer to comply with the provisions of Articles 58 to 62 (Books and Documents, etc. of Blue-Return Filers), the blue-return filer may, with the approval of the competent district director with jurisdiction over the place for tax payment, omit or modify part of the matters to be stated as prescribed in those provisions.

The documents to be attached to a Blue Return pursuant to the provisions of Article 149 (Documents to Be Attached to a Blue Return) of the Act are to be those listed in the following items (where those listed in the items are prepared as electronic or magnetic records (meaning records made in an electronic form, a magnetic form or any other form that cannot be perceived by the human senses, which are used in information processing by a computer; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph), or where, in lieu of preparing those listed in the items, an electronic or magnetic record recording the information to be stated in those listed in the items has been prepared, the documents stating the content of the information recorded in those electronic or magnetic records).

the balance sheet and profit and loss statement;

a detailed statement of the calculation of the amount of real property income, the amount of business income or the amount of timber income (where there is an amount of Fluctuating Income or Ad Hoc Income within the amount of business income, a detailed statement that divides it into that amount of Fluctuating Income or Ad Hoc Income and the amount of other business income, and where there is an amount of Ad Hoc Income within the amount of real property income, a detailed statement that divides it into that amount of Ad Hoc Income and the amount of other real property income);

a detailed statement of the calculation of the amount of Net Loss;

A blue-return filer to whom the provisions of the proviso to Article 56, paragraph (1) (Books and Documents to Be Kept by Blue-Return Filers) apply is not required to attach a balance sheet to a Blue Return, notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The matters specified by Ministry of Finance Order as prescribed in Article 151, paragraph (1) (Ending Blue Return Filings) of the Act are the following:

the name and domicile (where the person has no domicile in Japan, the residence) of the person who submits the written notification under Article 151, paragraph (1) of the Act, and, where the place of domicile (where the person has no domicile in Japan, the place of residence) differs from the place for tax payment, that place for tax payment;

any other matters for reference.