2nd Report of the Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 14, 1995)

7-(1) Extension of work hours for Customs offices and other bodies relating to import processing procedures

1. Complainant: Keidanren

2. Ministry concerned: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Health and Welfare

3. Complaint:

Customs and inspection procedures based on other laws (food inspection, animal quarantine, plant quarantine) for imported goods are based the Customs Law, in the case of Customs procedures, on the Food Sanitation Law, in the case of food inspection, and on the Domestic Animal Infections Disease Control Law and the Plant Protection Law respectively, in the case of animal and plant quarantine.

Hours of operation for Customs, quarantine stations, animal quarantine stations and plant quarantine stations are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. Where Customs is concerned, the Customs Law makes provisions for overtime customs service: i.e. extended hours of operation upon application, and under this system, Customs terminal are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Narita Airport, Kansai Airport and the Tokyo Air Cargo Terminal. In quarantine inspections, hours of operation may be extended upon application. Regarding import-related procedures based on other laws, only at Kansai Airport service is available 24 hours a day. At other airports and ports, hours are extended as necessary, in accordance with import volume, etc. For example, inspection services are available at Narita until 9 p.m. seven days a week.

The following complaint has been received concerning these operations.

Regarding Customs, when goods are handled outside of regular working hours, a prior application must be made to this effect and the specified overtime customs service fees paid. To promote imports, the system should be changed so that Customs inspection is available 24 hours a day without having to apply for extension of regular working hours. Further, overtime customs service fees for extended working hours should be lowered as much as possible.

Regarding inspection procedures under other laws, there is no system for extending working hours upon application, and it is impossible for goods to be inspected at night. Accordingly, hours during which food inspection and animal and plant quarantine services are available should be extended at major airports and ports, to permit imports 24 hours a day. At the very least, a system similar to that for Customs of extending working hours upon application should be introduced.

4. Results of deliberation:

Regarding the hours during which import procedures, the link between international and domestic distribution, are performed, an appropriate response to airport and port operations and user demand is necessary. With regard to goods arriving by air in particular, it is important to improve the system so that import procedures can be completed soon after the goods have arrived at the airport.

However, the present situation at major airports is that the bodies handling import procedures are not processing goods arriving on the last flight of the day, so that in some cases importers must wait until the next day to complete import procedures, or schedule the arrival of goods to take place the following day. Therefore, in order to smooth importation of such goods, the systems in use in all bodies handling import-related procedures should be improved with demand in mind.

Where Customs is concerned, the concerned ministry is studying extending the working hours of Customs staff at Nagoya and Fukuoka airports, based on demand for after hours processing and staff availability. This will increase convenience for users, including making it possible to present applications for after hours processing outside of regular working hours and the necessary measures should be taken soon.

As for overtime customs service fees, the ministry concerned reviewed these, including the number of standard applications, in January 1994. Further revisions should be undertaken as necessary, taking the clerical processing situation into consideration.

Regarding inspection procedures based on other laws, services are available on a round-the-clock basis only at Kansai Airport. At other airports, there is no system in place to process goods arriving on the last international cargo flight of the day. Accordingly, the issue of increasing staff and extending working hours at Narita, Nagoya, Fukuoka and other major airports to make possible inspection of goods aboard the last international cargo flight of the day should be considered, taking administrative efficiency into mind.

Government decision (March 28, 1995)

7-(1) Extension of work hours for Customs offices and other bodies relating to import processing procedures and others

(1) Hours when custom officers are on-duty at Nagoya and Fukuoka airports will be extended during 1995 based on the demand for the work outside of regular hours and staff availability.

Fees for overtime customs service will be reviewed appropriately, with due consideration for clerical processing conditions.

(2) Considering administrative efficiency the issue of increasing personnel and extending operating hours for testing at quarantine offices, animal quarantine offices and plant quarantine offices at major airports such as Narita, Nagoya and Fukuoka to enable the last international flight cargo of the day to be examined will be studied.

Follow-up (May 27,1996)

7-(1) Extension of work hours for Customs offices and other bodies relating to import processing procedures

(1) In the matter of allocating Customs staff for overtime works at Nagoya and Fukuoka airports, for users' convenience it is now allowed for applicant to ask opening offices in irregular working hours, and since April 1995, Customs staff are on duty to handle the processing of the last international cargo flight of the day, even after regular working hours.

(2) Overtime customs service fees were reviewed in January 1994 to reduce the cost for importers, because of quicker Customs processing of small express parcels due to expansion of the number of applications for approval which could be handled after regular business hours. Fees will be revised further as necessary, regarding changes in the circumstance for Customs processing.

(3) Regarding inspection procedures based on other laws, duty hours at quarantine stations were extended for three hours until 8 p.m. at Nagoya Airport in April 1995 and at Fukuoka Airport in June of the same year. If specific requests for extending hours are received, the issue of extending working hours for inspecting imported foods at major airports will be studied, based on actual imports of foods, and measures will be implemented based on results of the study.

Duty hours for plant quarantine stations will be extended in FY1996 at Narita, Nagoya and Fukuoka airports in order to inspect the last international cargo flight of the day, to smooth import procedures.

Duty hours for the animal quarantine station at Nagoya airport were extended in April 1996 for inspection in the last international cargo flight of the day, in order to smooth import procedures. (This measure had already been done at Narita Airport.) The issue of increasing staff and extending working hours at other major airports, because of making possible inspection of the last international cargo flight of the day will be considered with administration efficiency in mind.

Further Follow-up (May 12, 1997)

7-(1) Extension of work hours for Customs offices and other bodies relating to import processing procedures

(3) Regarding inspection procedures prescribed by other laws, extension of work hours of the quarantine station was studied in the light of the actual volume of food imports. As a result, weekday work hours at Nagoya and Fukuoka airports were extended by three hours in FY1995, and since February 1997, the quarantine station at Nagoya Airport has been operating an additional three hours, until 8 p.m., on weekends and holidays. Additional 54 staff (see Note) was assigned to duty in FY1996.
Plant quarantine station hours were extended as from October 1996 at Narita, Nagoya and Fukuoka airports to handle the last international cargo flight of the day, in order to facilitate import procedures. Four plant quarantine stationers (see Note) were added in FY1996 for flexible staff assignment to handle the increased workload.
Animal quarantine station hours have already been extended, and one additional staff member was assigned to duty at main airports in FY1996.

Note: No. of officials shows those assigned in import section in food sanitation and plant quarantine duties respectively.


Business Hours of Import-related Offices

Regular hours, ordinary airports and ports
Customs
Mon-Fri 8:30-17:00. Open at other times under extended hours.
Quarantine
Mon-Fri 8:30-17:00
Plant Quarantine
Mon-Fri 8:30-17:00. Open on holidays or at other hours upon prior request.
Animal Quarantine
Mon-Fri 8:30-17:00. Open on holidays or at other hours upon prior request.

Narita Airport
Customs
24 hours a day, year-round (duty officer available).
Quarantine (Imported Food Inspection)
Year-round, 8:30-21:00
Plant Quarantine
24 hours a day, year-round (duty officer available).
Animal Quarantine
24 hours a day, year-round (duty officer available).

Kansai International Airport
Customs
24 hours a day, year-round (duty officer available).
Quarantine (Imported Food Inspection)
Year-round
Import declarations: 8:30-23:00.
Fresh food inspections handled 24 hours a day upon prior request.
Plant Quarantine
24 hours a day, year-round (duty officer available).
Animal Quarantine
24 hours a day, year-round (duty officer available).

Nagoya Airport
Customs
Year-round 8:30-21:30. Duty officer available.
Quarantine (Imported Food Inspection)
Year-round 8:30-20:00. 13:30-20:00 on Saturdays and holidays.
Plant Quarantine
Year-round 7:30-22:00 (duty officer available).
Animal Quarantine
Year-round 7:30-22:30 (duty officer available).

Chitose Airport
Customs
Regular hours
Quarantine (Imported Food Inspection)
8:30-19:00, Tuesdays, Thursdays in winter. Regular hours otherwise.
Plant Quarantine
Regular hours. Open on holidays or at other hours upon prior request.
Animal Quarantine
Year-round (duty officer available). 8:30-20:00. 10:00-20:00 on Saturdays and holidays.

Fukuoka Airport
Customs
Year-round 8:00-21:30 (duty officer available).
Quarantine (Imported Food Inspection)
Year-round 8:30-20:00. 8:30-17:00 on Saturdays and holidays.
Plant Quarantine
Year-round 7:45-21:30 (duty officer available).
Animal Quarantine (Imported Food Inspection)
Year-round 7:30-22:00 (duty officer available).