Act on General Rules for National Taxes

When it is necessary in order to investigate a criminal case concerning national taxes (hereinafter referred to as a "criminal tax case" in this Section, except in Article 135 (On-Site Inspection, Search, or Seizure in Flagrant Offense Cases) and Article 153, paragraph (2) (Jurisdiction over and Transfer of Investigations)), the relevant officials of the National Tax Agency, etc. (hereinafter referred to as the "relevant officials" up to Article 152 (Preparation of Written Records), in Article 155 (Accusation of Criminal Tax Cases, etc. concerning National Taxes Other than Indirect National Taxes) and in Article 159, paragraph (2) (Transfer to a Public Prosecutor)) may request a suspect or witness (hereinafter referred to as a "suspect, etc." in this paragraph and paragraph (1) of the following Article) to appear, question a suspect, etc., inspect articles possessed or left behind by a suspect, etc., or retain articles voluntarily submitted or left behind by a suspect, etc.

The relevant officials may, with regard to the investigation of a criminal tax case, make inquiries to public agencies or public or private organizations and request reports on necessary matters.

When it is necessary in order to investigate a criminal tax case, the relevant officials may, by a warrant issued in advance by a judge of the district court or summary court having jurisdiction over the location of the government office to which they belong, carry out an on-site inspection, a search of the body, articles, dwelling, or other place of a suspect, etc., a seizure of anything considered to be articles of evidence or an article to be confiscated, or an order to provide electronic or magnetic records (meaning an order requiring a person set forth in one of the following items to provide necessary electronic or magnetic records by the method specified in that item (limited to an order that specifies the electronic or magnetic records to be provided and the method of provision); the same applies hereinafter); provided, however, that a search of the body, articles, dwelling, or other place of a witness may be carried out only if there are circumstances sufficient to find that articles to be seized exist there.

a person who stores electronic or magnetic records: the method listed in (a) or (b) below;

the method of having the person record or transfer electronic or magnetic records onto recording media and submit those recording media;

the method of having the person record or transfer electronic or magnetic records, through a telecommunications line, onto recording media under the control of the person issuing the order;

a person who has authority to use electronic or magnetic records (excluding a person listed in the preceding item): the method listed in (a) or (b) of that item (limited to a method of having the person record electronic or magnetic records onto recording media).

If the article to be seized is a computer, that computer or another recording medium may be seized after electronic or magnetic records created or modified using that computer, or electronic or magnetic records that may be modified or erased using that computer, have been copied onto that computer or that other recording medium from a recording medium that is connected to that computer through a telecommunications line and that is found in circumstances sufficient to show that it is used to store those electronic or magnetic records.

When issuing an order to provide electronic or magnetic records, if it is necessary, the relevant officials may, with the permission of a judge of the district court or summary court having jurisdiction over the location of the government office to which they belong, order the person who is to receive that order to provide electronic or magnetic records, setting a period not exceeding one year, not to divulge without due cause that the person has received that order to provide electronic or magnetic records and that the person has provided or has not provided the electronic or magnetic records that the person was ordered to provide by that order to provide electronic or magnetic records.

In the cases referred to in the preceding three paragraphs, if the matter is urgent, the relevant officials may carry out the dispositions referred to in the preceding three paragraphs by a warrant issued in advance by a judge of the district court or summary court having jurisdiction over the location of the articles or place to be inspected, the body, articles, or place to be searched, the articles to be seized, or the person to be made to provide electronic or magnetic records.

When requesting the warrant referred to in paragraph (1) or the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as a "warrant", except in Article 147 (Commissioning of Expert Opinions, etc.)), the relevant officials must provide materials by which a criminal tax case is found to exist.

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

When the relevant officials have issued an order under paragraph (3), if the order has become unnecessary, they must revoke it on their own initiative or at the request of the person who received that order.

When a request under paragraph (5) has been made, if a judge of a district court or summary court issues a warrant, the judge must issue to the relevant official a warrant stating or recording the name of the suspect (or, for a corporation, its name), the name of the offense, and the articles or places to be inspected, the body, articles or places to be searched, the articles to be seized or the electronic or magnetic records to be provided, the person to be made to provide them and the method of provision, as well as the official title and name of the requester, the matters specified in the following items according to the category of case set forth in each item, the date of issuance and the name of the court, and other matters specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court:

if the warrant is in writing: the period of validity, and a statement that after the expiration of that period, execution may not be commenced nor an order to provide electronic or magnetic records be issued, and the warrant must be returned;

if the warrant is in the form of an electronic or magnetic record: the period of validity, and a statement that after the expiration of that period, execution may not be commenced nor an order to provide electronic or magnetic records be issued, and the warrant must be deleted from the computer used by the relevant official or other measures specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court must be taken, and an electronic or magnetic record recording that those measures have been taken must be submitted to the judge.

In the case referred to in paragraph (2), in addition to the matters prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the scope of the recording media which are connected through a telecommunications line to the computer to be seized and from which the electronic or magnetic records are to be copied must be stated or recorded in the warrant.

A warrant must be one for which the measures specified in the following items have been taken, according to the category of case set forth in each item:

if the warrant is in writing: the judge affixes their name and seal;

if the warrant is in the form of an electronic or magnetic record: the judge takes a measure in lieu of affixing their name and seal specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court (limited to a measure by which the name of the judge is also displayed when the matters recorded in the warrant are displayed on the screen of a computer, in a document, or in any other manner).

When granting the permission referred to in paragraph (3), a judge of a district court or summary court must state or record in the warrant that fact and the period for which it is ordered, pursuant to that paragraph, that the matters not be divulged.

The relevant official may provide a warrant to another relevant official to have that official conduct an inspection, search or seizure or issue an order to provide electronic or magnetic records.

When it is necessary in order to investigate a criminal tax case, the relevant officials may, upon being issued a warrant, seize postal items, items of correspondence delivery, or documents concerning telegrams that were sent by or addressed to a suspect and that are kept or possessed by a person handling communications affairs pursuant to the provisions of laws and regulations.

With regard to postal items, items of correspondence delivery, or documents concerning telegrams that do not fall under the preceding paragraph and that are kept or possessed by a person handling communications affairs pursuant to the provisions of laws and regulations, the relevant officials may seize them upon being issued a warrant, limited to those for which there are circumstances sufficient to find that they are related to the criminal tax case.

When the relevant officials have carried out a disposition under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, they must notify the sender or the recipient to that effect; provided, however, that this does not apply if the notification is likely to obstruct the investigation of the criminal tax case.

When it is necessary in order to carry out a seizure or to have electronic or magnetic records provided by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records, the relevant officials may, specifying those that are necessary from among the electronic or magnetic records of the transmission source, destination, date and time of communication, and other communication history of telecommunications recorded in the course of business and setting a period not exceeding 30 days, request in writing or by means of an electronic or magnetic record a person engaged in the business of providing telecommunications facilities for the communications of others, or a person who has installed telecommunications facilities capable of intermediating the communications of an unspecified or large number of persons for that person's own business, not to erase them. In this case, if the relevant officials come to find that there is no need to seize the electronic or magnetic records to which that request pertains or to have them provided by an order to provide electronic or magnetic records, they must withdraw that request.

The period for which non-erasure is requested pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph may, if particularly necessary, be extended within a period not exceeding 30 days; provided, however, that the period for which non-erasure is requested may not exceed 60 days in total.

In making a request under the provisions of paragraph (1), if it is necessary, the person may be requested not to divulge matters concerning that request without good reason.