Local Tax Act

If the article to be inspected on site or the article to be seized is a recording medium relating to electronic or magnetic records, the competent tax collection official may request the person subject to the on-site inspection, or the search or seizure, to provide necessary cooperation, such as the operation of a computer.

The competent tax collection official must, toward a person subject to an on-site inspection, search, seizure or order to provide electronic or magnetic records, take, with respect to the warrant for those dispositions, the measure specified in each of the following items in accordance with the classification of cases listed in those items:

where the warrant is in writing: present the warrant;

where the warrant is in the form of an electronic or magnetic record: display the matters recorded in the warrant and the name of the judge of the district court or summary court pertaining to the measure under Article 22-4, paragraph (10) (limited to the part pertaining to item (ii)), as specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, on the screen of a computer, on paper or on another medium for presentation, or have the person subject to the disposition display them on the screen of a computer used by that person, on paper or on another medium for presentation.

Where the competent tax collection official issues an order to provide electronic or magnetic records and it is necessary in order to take the measure under the preceding paragraph, the official may, with the permission of a judge of the district court or summary court, enter a person's residence or a mansion, building or vessel guarded by a person.

When granting the permission under the preceding paragraph, a judge of the district court or summary court must state or record in the warrant the place to be entered.

In taking the measure under paragraph (1) where the competent tax collection official issues an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (limited to the case where the permission under paragraph (2) has been obtained), the official may take the following dispositions and other necessary dispositions:

unlocking locks;

prohibiting any person from entering or leaving the place where the measure is to be taken without the permission of the competent tax collection official;

having a person who does not comply with a disposition under this paragraph (limited to the part pertaining to the preceding item) leave, or placing a guard over that person until the taking of that measure is completed.

When conducting questioning, inspection, retention, on-site inspection, search or seizure, or issuing an order to provide electronic or magnetic records, under the provisions of this Subsection, the competent tax collection official must carry a certificate proving the official's identity and present it if requested by a person concerned.

The competent tax collection official may request the assistance of police officers if necessary when conducting an on-site inspection, search or seizure, or issuing an order to provide electronic or magnetic records.

When conducting an on-site inspection, search or seizure in a person's residence, or in a mansion, building or other place guarded by a person, the competent tax collection official must have the owner or administrator thereof (including the representative, agent or other person acting in the place of such persons), or an employee of such persons or a relative living with them who has reached the age of majority, attend.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if the competent tax collection official is unable to have the persons prescribed in that paragraph attend, the official must have a neighbor who has reached the age of majority, or a police officer or an employee of a local government (excluding the local government to which the competent tax collection official belongs) of that area, attend.

When conducting an on-site inspection, search or seizure under the provisions of Article 22-7, if urgency is required, the competent tax collection official is not required to comply with the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs.

When conducting a search of the body of a woman, the competent tax collection official must have an adult woman present. However, this does not apply in cases where urgency is required.

When the competent tax collection official has effected retention or seizure, or has had a recording medium submitted by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (limited to one that orders provision by the method listed in Article 22-4, paragraph (1), item (i), (a)), the official must prepare an inventory thereof in writing or as an electronic or magnetic record and provide it to the owner, possessor or custodian (including a person who has been subject to a disposition under Article 22-8) of the retained articles or seized articles, to the person who received that order to provide electronic or magnetic records, or to a person who is to act in their stead.

Where the competent tax collection official has had electronic or magnetic records provided by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (limited to one that orders provision by the method listed in Article 22-4, paragraph (1), item (i), (b)), the official must prepare an inventory thereof in writing or as an electronic or magnetic record and provide it to the person who received that order to provide electronic or magnetic records, or to a person who is to act in that person's stead.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, an inventory prepared as an electronic or magnetic record may not be provided if the person to receive it objects.

The competent tax collection official may, with their consent and obtaining a custody receipt, have the owner or possessor, or another person whom the competent tax collection official considers appropriate, keep retained articles or seized articles that are inconvenient to transport or keep.

Where retained articles or seized articles have decayed or deteriorated, or there is a risk of decay or deterioration, the head of a local government may, as provided by Cabinet Order, put them up for public sale after public notice and deposit the proceeds.

When there is no longer a need to detain retained articles, seized articles or recording media submitted by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (limited to one that orders provision by the method listed in Article 22-4, paragraph (1), item (i), (a); the same applies in paragraph (3)), the competent tax collection official must return them to the person entitled to receive their return.

Where the head of a local government cannot return the retained articles, seized articles or recording media referred to in the preceding paragraph because the address or residence of the person entitled to receive their return is unknown, or for any other reason, the head must give public notice to that effect.

If no request for return is made even after six months have elapsed from the day of the public notice with regard to the retained articles, seized articles or recording media relating to the public notice under the preceding paragraph, those articles revert to the local government to which the competent tax collection official who effected the retention or seizure of them, or had them submitted by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records, belongs.

Where there is no longer a need to detain a recording medium listed in the following items, if the person specified in the relevant item differs from the owner, possessor or custodian of that recording medium, the competent tax collection official must deliver that recording medium to the person specified in the relevant item, or permit that person to copy the electronic or magnetic record:

a recording medium that was seized after an electronic or magnetic record was transferred, or caused to be transferred, pursuant to Article 22-8: the person subject to the seizure;

a recording medium submitted by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (limited to one that orders provision by the method listed in Article 22-4, paragraph (1), item (i), (a) (limited to the method of causing electronic or magnetic records to be transferred to a recording medium); the same applies in this item): the person who received the order to provide electronic or magnetic records.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the delivery or copying pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If no request is made for the delivery or copying under the provisions of paragraph (1) even after six months have elapsed since the day of the public notice under the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph, it is not required that the delivery be made or the copying be permitted.

With respect to electronic or magnetic records transferred by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (limited to one that orders provision by the method listed in Article 22-4, paragraph (1), item (i), (b) (limited to the method of causing electronic or magnetic records to be transferred to a recording medium)), when there is no longer a reason for not having the person who received that order to provide electronic or magnetic records keep them, the competent tax collection official must, at the request of that person or on the official's own authority, permit that person to copy those electronic or magnetic records.

The provisions of Article 22-17, paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the copying under the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

If no request for copying under the provisions of paragraph (1) is made even after six months have elapsed from the day of the public notice under the provisions of Article 22-17, paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis in the preceding paragraph, it is not necessary to permit the copying.

When necessary for investigating a criminal tax case, the competent tax collection official may commission a person with knowledge and experience to conduct an expert examination of retained articles, seized articles, or recording media submitted or electronic or magnetic records provided by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (referred to as "articles" in the following paragraph and paragraph (6)), or commission interpretation or translation.

A person commissioned to conduct an expert examination under the preceding paragraph (referred to as an "expert" in paragraphs (6) and (8)) may, with the permission of a judge of the district court or summary court having jurisdiction over the location of the office of the local government to which the competent tax collection official referred to in the preceding paragraph belongs, destroy the article relating to that examination.

The request for permission under the preceding paragraph must be made by the competent tax collection official.

When a request under the preceding paragraph has been made, if a judge of the district court or summary court finds the request appropriate, the judge must issue a warrant to the competent tax collection official.

In addition to being in writing, a warrant under the preceding paragraph may be in the form of an electronic or magnetic record, as provided by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

A warrant under paragraph (4) must state or record the name of the suspect (for a corporation, its name), the name of the offense, the article to be destroyed, the name of the expert, the official title and name of the requester, the date of issuance, the name of the court, and other matters specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

A warrant under paragraph (4) must be one for which the measures specified in the relevant item have been taken, in accordance with the classification of cases listed in the following items:

where the warrant is in writing: that judge affixes that judge's name and seal;

where the warrant is in the form of an electronic or magnetic record: that judge takes the measure specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court in place of affixing a name and seal (limited to one by which, when the matters recorded in the warrant are displayed on the screen of a computer, on paper or on another medium, the name of that judge is also displayed).

The expert must, toward the person subject to the disposition under paragraph (2), take the measure specified in each of the following items in accordance with the classification of cases listed in those items:

where the warrant under paragraph (4) is in writing: present the warrant under that paragraph;

where the warrant under paragraph (4) is an electronic or magnetic record: display the matters recorded in the warrant under that paragraph and the name of that judge pertaining to the measure under the preceding paragraph (limited to the part pertaining to item (ii)), as specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, on the screen of a computer, on paper or on another medium for presentation.