Article 157Notification Dispositions, etc. for Criminal Tax Cases Concerning Indirect National Tax

①When a regional commissioner or district director, through the investigation of a criminal tax case concerning indirect national tax, becomes convinced that an offense has been committed, the regional commissioner or district director must, clearly indicating the reasons, notify in writing that the amount equivalent to the fine, the articles subject to confiscation, the amount equivalent to the collection of equivalent value, and the costs incurred for the service of documents and for the transportation and custody of seized articles or articles seized with a recording order are to be paid at the designated place. In this case, with regard to the articles subject to confiscation, the regional commissioner or district director may give notification that only an offer to pay them is to be made.

②In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, when the regional commissioner or district director finds that any of the following items applies, the regional commissioner or district director must, notwithstanding the provisions of that paragraph, immediately file an accusation with a public prosecutor:

③When a notification under the provisions of paragraph (1) contains a miscalculation, clerical error or any other similar obvious error, the regional commissioner or district director may correct that notification ex officio until the offender complies with that notification or until an accusation is filed pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph or the following Article.

④When a notification has been given pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the statute of limitations for prosecution stops running, and resumes running from the time when 20 days have elapsed counting from the day following the day on which the offender received that notification.

⑤If the offender has complied with the notification referred to in paragraph (1) (if a correction has been made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3), the notification as corrected; the same applies in the following paragraph and paragraph (1) of the following Article), no prosecution is to be instituted against the offender for the same case.

⑥In the case where the offender has complied with the notification referred to in the second sentence of paragraph (1), if the offender possesses the articles subject to confiscation, the offender has the obligation to keep them in custody until a public auction or any other necessary disposition is made; provided, however, that the offender may not claim the costs required for that custody.