Supplementary Provisions, Article 31-3-4

①A municipality is to, where a landowner, etc. of land for which the scheduled period (including the period as extended where the scheduled period has been extended pursuant to Article 601, paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis with the terms replaced pursuant to paragraph (3) of the preceding Article; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) has been determined has, during the period from April 1, 2005 until the last day of the scheduled period, made a request to change all or part of the grounds for the deferral of collection under Article 601, paragraph (3) or (4) as applied mutatis mutandis with the terms replaced pursuant to paragraph (3) of the preceding Article relating to that scheduled period, and has received a certification from the mayor of the municipality that it is planned to use or allow the use of the land concerning that request as tax-exempt land, to carry out a special transfer of that land, or to use or allow the use of that land as exempted land, and, within the period until the day on which two years elapse from the date of that certification (or the period specified by Cabinet Order where there is a reason specified by Cabinet Order, such as that the period required for the construction of buildings or structures such as factories and offices or for the development of large-scale building land ordinarily exceeds two years; hereinafter in this Article referred to as the "revised scheduled period"), has received confirmation from the mayor of the municipality that the land has been used or allowed to be used as tax-exempt land, that a special transfer of the land has been carried out, or that the land has been used or allowed to be used as exempted land, exempt the tax liability for the local government levies relating to special land holding tax on that land (limited to those relating to the exemption period, the scheduled period or the revised scheduled period; the same applies in paragraph (4)).

②When a request under the preceding paragraph is made, the mayor of the municipality is to immediately cancel the deferral of collection under Article 601, paragraph (3) or (4) as applied mutatis mutandis with the terms replaced pursuant to paragraph (3) of the preceding Article relating to the land concerning that request, and defer the collection of the local government levies relating to special land holding tax on that land (limited to those relating to the exemption period or the scheduled period, and excluding those already collected) for the period from the date of cancellation of that deferral of collection until the date of the certification under the preceding paragraph (where no application seeking the certification under that paragraph is made by the last day of the second month following the month that includes the date of cancellation of that deferral of collection, the period from the date of cancellation of that deferral of collection until that last day, and where a decision not to give the certification under that paragraph has been made, the period until the date specified by Cabinet Order); provided, however, that this does not apply where it is clear that paragraph (1) does not apply to that land.

③Where the mayor of the municipality finds that, due to a disaster or other unavoidable reason, the land cannot be used or allowed to be used as tax-exempt land, a special transfer of the land cannot be carried out, or the land cannot be used or allowed to be used as exempted land, within the revised scheduled period (including the period as extended where the revised scheduled period has been extended pursuant to this paragraph; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) (excluding the case where the revised scheduled period has already been extended on the ground that it was found under this paragraph that the land cannot be used or allowed to be used as exempted land), the mayor may extend the revised scheduled period for a reasonable period determined by the mayor on the application of the landowner, etc. (or, where the mayor finds that the land cannot be used or allowed to be used as exempted land, a reasonable period determined by the mayor within a range not exceeding five years).

④Where the mayor of the municipality has given the certification under paragraph (1), the mayor is to defer the collection of the local government levies relating to special land holding tax on that land (excluding those already collected) for the period from the date of that certification until the last day of the revised scheduled period. In this case, the mayor must, except where the mayor finds that the requirements specified by Cabinet Order are met and there is no need to take security, take, pursuant to Cabinet Order, security of the kinds listed in the items of Article 16, paragraph (1) equal to the amount relating to that deferral.

⑤Where the mayor of the municipality has extended the revised scheduled period pursuant to paragraph (3) (including the period as extended where the revised scheduled period has been extended under that paragraph), the mayor is to extend the period of deferral of collection of the local government levies relating to special land holding tax on that land (excluding those already collected) for that extended period. In this case, the second sentence of the preceding paragraph applies mutatis mutandis.

⑥Where collection has been deferred pursuant to the preceding two paragraphs and it becomes clear that the confirmation under paragraph (1) cannot be given with respect to the special land holding tax relating to that deferral of collection, or that there has been a change in part of the grounds for the deferral of collection, the mayor of the municipality must cancel the deferral of collection for all or part of the local government levies relating to special land holding tax relating to that deferral of collection. In this case, the person whose deferral of collection has been cancelled must immediately pay the local government levies relating to special land holding tax concerned in the cancellation of that deferral of collection.

⑦The provisions of Article 15-2-2, Article 15-2-3, paragraph (1) and Article 15-3, paragraph (3), and Article 16-2, paragraphs (1) through (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the deferral of collection under paragraphs (4) and (5), and the provisions of Article 11, Article 16, paragraph (3), Article 16-2, paragraph (4), and Article 16-5, paragraphs (1) and (2) apply mutatis mutandis to the security under the second sentence of paragraph (4) (including as applied mutatis mutandis in the second sentence of paragraph (5)), respectively.

⑧Where a municipality has collected local government levies relating to special land holding tax, and paragraph (1) has come to apply to that special land holding tax, the municipality is to refund, on the application of the person liable for that special land holding tax, the local government levies relating to special land holding tax on that land (limited to those relating to the exemption period).

⑨When the mayor of the municipality refunds local government levies relating to the special land holding tax under the preceding paragraph, if there are unpaid local government levies of the person to receive the refund, the mayor must appropriate the amount to be refunded to those levies.

⑩Where local government levies relating to special land holding tax are refunded or appropriated pursuant to the preceding two paragraphs, deeming the day on which 10 days have elapsed counting from the day on which the application for a refund under paragraph (8) was made to be the day listed in the items of Article 17-4, paragraph (1), the provisions of that paragraph apply.

⑪With regard to the application of Article 607, paragraph (2) and Article 608, paragraph (1), item (iv) to the amount of tax for which collection has been deferred pursuant to paragraph (2), (4) or (5), the phrase "Article 601, paragraph (3) or (4) (including as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 602, paragraph (2) and Article 603-2-2, paragraph (2)), Article 603, paragraph (3) or Article 603-2, paragraph (5)" in those provisions is deemed to be replaced with "Article 31-3-4, paragraph (2), (4) or (5) of the Supplementary Provisions".

⑫Procedures for the certification and confirmation under paragraph (1), and other matters necessary for the application of the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (5), are specified by Cabinet Order.