Act on General Rules for National Taxes

The purpose of this Act is to establish basic and common matters concerning national taxes, to put in order the systematic structure of the tax laws, and to clarify the legal relationships concerning national taxes, as well as to ensure the fair operation of tax administration, and thereby to contribute to the proper and smooth performance of the people's tax liability.

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

national tax: a tax that the national government imposes, other than customs duty, tonnage tax, special tonnage tax, forest environment tax, and special corporate enterprise tax;

national withholding tax: income tax subject to withholding and international tourist tax subject to special collection as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1), item (vii) (Definitions) of the International Tourist Tax Act (Act No. 16 of 2018) (excluding accessory tax pertaining to these taxes);

consumption tax, etc.: consumption tax, liquor tax, tobacco tax, gasoline tax, local gasoline tax, petroleum gas tax, and petroleum and coal tax;

accessory tax: from among national taxes, delinquent tax, interest tax, penalty tax for understatement, penalty tax for failure to file, penalty tax for non-payment, and heavy penalty tax;

taxpayer: a person who is obligated to pay a national tax (excluding national withholding tax) under the provisions of the national tax laws (excluding a person secondarily liable for tax payment and a guarantor of a national tax as prescribed in the National Tax Collection Act (Act No. 147 of 1959)) and a person who must collect national withholding tax and pay it to the national government;

tax return: a return in which any of the matters listed below, and other necessary matters concerning the matters, are stated in relation to a national tax using the self-assessment system pursuant to the provisions of the national tax laws, including a return for receiving payment of a national tax refund under the provisions of the national tax laws (hereinafter referred to as a "refund") in which any of these matters is stated:

The tax basis (in the case of a national tax for which the tax basis amount or the tax basis quantity is provided under the national tax laws, such tax basis amount or tax basis quantity; the same applies hereinafter);

The amount to be deducted from the tax basis;

Any of the following amounts (hereinafter referred to as the "amount of net loss, etc."):

The amount of net loss or the amount of casualty loss as prescribed in the Income Tax Act (Act No. 33 of 1965) that arose in or before the year in question, which, pursuant to the provisions of that Act, may be carried forward and deducted in sequence in calculating the amount of income for the following year or subsequent years, or may be used as the basis for calculating the amount of a refund pertaining to income for the previous year;

The amount of loss as prescribed in the Corporation Tax Act (Act No. 34 of 1965) that arose in or before the business year in question (including an amount deemed to be an amount of loss pursuant to the provisions of Article 57, paragraph (2) (Carryforward of Losses) of that Act), which, pursuant to the provisions of that Act, may be carried forward and deducted in sequence in calculating the amount of income for the following business year or subsequent business years, or may be used as the basis for calculating the amount of a refund pertaining to income for the previous business year or any earlier business year;

If there is an amount deducted through application of Article 21-12 (Special Deduction for Gift Tax under the Settlement at the Time of Inheritance Taxation) of the Inheritance Tax Act (Act No. 73 of 1950) pursuant to the provisions of that Article, the balance remaining after deducting the total of those amounts from 25 million yen.

The payable tax amount;

The tax amount equivalent to the amount of a refund;

The amount to be deducted from the calculation of the tax amount set forth in (d) or the tax amount to be used as the basis for the calculation of the amount of a refund;

statutory tax return due date:the due date for filing a tax return under the provisions of the national tax laws; or

statutory payment due date: the due date for payment of a national tax under the provisions of the national tax laws (in the case of the national taxes listed below, the due date or the day specified respectively therein); in this case, the due date advanced as prescribed in Article 38, paragraph (2) (Advance Demand) and the due date extended by postponement of tax payment under the provisions of the Income Tax Act or the Inheritance Tax Act (hereinafter referred to as "postponement of tax payment"), extended under a tax payment grace period as prescribed in Article 47, paragraph (1) (Notice of Tax Payment Grace Period) or extended by a collection grace period or a delinquent tax collection procedure execution grace period are not to be regarded as the due date for payment of the national tax:

A national tax payable under the provisions of Article 35, paragraph (2) (Payment of National Tax using the Self-Assessment System): the due date for payment of the national tax where the provisions of the national tax laws are applied after deeming the amount of national tax to be the payable tax amount that was stated in the return filed by the due date in connection with the national tax;

A national tax (excluding a national tax which falls under the categories listed in (c) or (d)) for which notice of tax payment is given after a day designated as the due date for payment of the national tax pursuant to the provisions of the national tax laws:the due date;

A national tax subject to the official assessment system that is to be collected immediately upon the occurrence of a certain event pursuant to the provisions of national tax laws:the day on which the event occurs;

Accessory tax: the due date for payment of the national tax which is the cause of the payment or collection of such accessory tax (if the national tax falls under any of the national tax categories listed in (a) through (c), the due date or day listed respectively in (a) through (c) which pertains to the national tax (in the case of penalty taxes for understatement and for failure to file as well as the heavy penalty tax prescribed in Article 35, paragraph (3), which pertains to land value tax, the earlier due date)).

taxable period: the period that serves as the basis for calculating the tax basis of a national tax under the provisions of the national tax laws (for consumption tax imposed on the taxable transfer, etc. of assets (meaning the taxable transfer, etc. of assets as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (1), item (ix) (Definitions) of the Consumption Tax Act (Act No. 108 of 1988), excluding that which falls under the category of the transfer, etc. of specified assets as prescribed in item (viii)-2 of that paragraph; the same applies in Article 15, paragraph (2), item (vii) (Establishment of Tax Liability and Determination of the Payable Tax Amount)) and on specified taxable purchases (meaning specified taxable purchases as prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (1) (Taxpayers) of that Act; the same applies in that item) (hereinafter referred to as "consumption tax on the transfer, etc. of a taxable asset"), the taxable period prescribed in Article 19 (Taxable Period) of that Act);

compulsory liquidation procedure: a delinquent tax collection procedure (including a disposition conducted in accordance with the rules for that procedure), compulsory execution, an auction for the exercise of a security interest, proceedings for the exercise of an enterprise mortgage, proceedings for the exercise of an enterprise value charge, and bankruptcy proceedings;

An association or foundation that is not a corporation and for which a representative or administrator has been designated (hereinafter referred to as an "association or foundation without legal personality") is deemed to be a corporation, and the provisions of this Act apply to it.

Where other national tax laws contain special provisions on a matter prescribed in this Act, those provisions govern.

If an inheritance (including a testamentary gift by universal title; the same applies hereinafter) occurs, the heir (including a universal legatee; the same applies hereinafter) or the corporation referred to in Article 951 (Formation of a Corporation of Inherited Property) of the Civil Code (Act No. 89 of 1896) succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax (including the expenses for the delinquent tax collection procedure therefor; the same applies hereinafter, except in the following Chapter, Chapter III, Section 1 (Payment of National Tax), Chapter VI (Accessory Tax), Chapter VII, Section 1 (Time Limit for Reassessment and Determination, etc. of National Tax), Chapter VII-2 (Examination of National Tax), and Chapter XI (Investigation and Disposition of Criminal Tax Cases)) that should be imposed on the decedent (including a person who made a testamentary gift by universal title; the same applies hereinafter), or that the decedent should pay or that should be collected from the decedent. In this case, if the heir has made a qualified acceptance, that heir is liable to pay the national tax only to the extent of the property acquired through the inheritance.

In the case referred to in the first sentence of the preceding paragraph, if there are two or more heirs, the amount of national tax to which each heir succeeds pursuant to the provisions of the first sentence of that paragraph is the amount calculated by apportioning the amount of national tax referred to in that paragraph according to that heir's share in inheritance under the provisions of Articles 900 through 902 (Statutory Shares in Inheritance; Shares in Inheritance of Heirs by Representation; Designation of Shares in Inheritance by Will) of the Civil Code.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if any of the heirs has acquired through the inheritance property whose value exceeds the amount of national tax calculated pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph, that heir is liable to pay the national tax to which the other heirs succeed pursuant to the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, up to the amount of that excess value.

If corporations merge, the corporation surviving the merger or the corporation incorporated through the merger succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax that should be imposed on the corporation that ceased to exist due to the merger (hereinafter referred to as the "merged corporation"), or that the merged corporation should pay or that should be collected from the merged corporation.

If a corporation comprehensively succeeds to the rights and obligations belonging to the property of an association or foundation without legal personality, that corporation succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax that should be imposed on the association or foundation without legal personality, or that the association or foundation without legal personality should pay or that should be collected from it (if the succession covers only part of those rights and obligations, national tax in the amount calculated by multiplying the amount of that national tax by the proportion of the property of the association or foundation without legal personality at the time of the succession that the property succeeded to by the corporation represents).

If the duties of a trustee have ended due to any of the grounds set forth in the items of Article 56, paragraph (1) (Grounds for Termination of the Trustee's Duties) of the Trust Act (Act No. 108 of 2006) and a new trustee (hereinafter referred to as the "new trustee" in this paragraph and paragraph (6)) has assumed office, the new trustee succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax that should be imposed on that trustee, or that the trustee should pay or that should be collected from the trustee (limited to national tax for which the obligation to pay constitutes an obligation covered by the trust property (meaning an obligation covered by the trust property as prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (9) (Definitions) of that Act; the same applies in Article 38, paragraph (1) (Advance Demand) and Article 57, paragraph (1) (Appropriation)); hereinafter the same applies in this Article).

In a trust with two or more trustees, if the duties of one of them have ended due to any of the grounds set forth in the items of Article 56, paragraph (1) of the Trust Act, then, notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the trustee among the other trustees who has taken over the administration of trust affairs from the trustee whose duties have ended (hereinafter referred to as the "trustee whose duties have ended" in this paragraph and paragraph (5)) succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax that should be imposed on the trustee whose duties have ended, or that the trustee whose duties have ended should pay or that should be collected from that trustee.

If the duties of a trustee have ended due to the ground set forth in Article 56, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Trust Act, the corporation prescribed in Article 74, paragraph (1) (Vesting of Trust Property Where the Trustee's Duties Have Ended Due to the Trustee's Death) of that Act succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax that should be imposed on that trustee, or that the trustee should pay or that should be collected from the trustee.

If a corporation that is a trustee has effected a company split, the corporation that has succeeded to the rights and obligations as trustee through the split succeeds to the obligation to pay the national tax that should be imposed on the corporation that is the trustee that effected the split, or that that corporation should pay or that should be collected from it.

Even if the obligation to pay national tax has been succeeded to pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) or (2), the trustee referred to in paragraph (1) or the trustee whose duties have ended is liable to perform the obligation to pay the national tax so succeeded to with its own property; provided, however, that this does not apply if, pursuant to Article 21, paragraph (2) (Scope of Obligations Covered by the Trust Property) of the Trust Act, it is liable to perform the obligation to pay that national tax only with property that belongs to the trust property.

If the new trustee has succeeded to the obligation to pay national tax pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), it is liable to perform the obligation to pay the national tax so succeeded to only with property that belongs to the trust property.