4th Report of the Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 17, 1997)

7-(5) Permission for Customs clearance and unloading of sea cargo on holidays

1. Complainant: Tokyo Chamber of Commerce

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

3. Background:

(1) The way that cargo is moved in ports differs depending on the type of cargo and the physical environment of each port, but ships generally moor at a wharf or at a buoy offshore, as specified by the port supervisor. Later, the cargo is unloaded by port transportation operators and taken to sheds, etc. If import procedures have not been completed, the cargo is taken to bonded sheds. After being sorted in sheds, the cargo is transported to warehouses and stored there, or is transported to its destination by land transport operators.

(2) Under the Overtime service system (Article 98 of the Customs Duties Law), Customs has been providing the necessary officials on an auxiliary basis, even outside of normal working hours, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, if a request is made for import or export procedures.

In the major airports (Narita Airport and the Tokyo Air Cargo Office, Kansai International Airport, Nagoya Airport, Fukuoka Airport) and ports (Shimonoseki) where there are frequent requests for procedures on an auxiliary basis outside of normal working hours, Customs officials are on service outside of normal working hours.

(3) Plant pests can spread rapidly, harming agricultural products and having a highly negative impact on agricultural production and they are also extremely difficult to eradicate. To prevent the entry of plant pests into Japan and to protect domestic agricultural products from such pests, plants imported through major airports or ports throughout the country must undergo quarantine, in accordance with the provisions of the Plant Protection Law.

Plant importers must report this to the Plant Protection Stations and plants must undergo inspection by plant quarantine officers. (Article 8 of the Plant Protection Law)

(4) To prevent the occurrence of health hazards arising human consumption of food or drink, Articles 16 and 17 of the Food Sanitation Law require that imports of additives, food additive, apparatus, or container/package for sale be reported to the Quarantine Office and undergo testing if necessary.

Since it is necessary to determine whether imported foods conform to the Food Sanitation Law, food sanitation officials with specialized knowledge of food sanitation are assigned to Quarantine Offices.

The working hours at Quarantine Offices (at ports) are from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., weekdays only.

4. Complaint:

Yards and Customs offices at ports are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, and accordingly no import declarations for sea cargo can be made on Saturdays and Sundays. Accordingly, when ship cargoes arrive toward the middle or the end of a week, verification of unloading of the cargo must be done on weekends and import declarations made the following week, which makes it impossible to handle emergency shipments. Import declarations for ship cargoes should be accepted on Saturdays and Sundays, and it should be possible to transport cargoes from the yards on those days as well.

No clear provisions for plant quarantine, food declaration, etc. duty outside of normal working hours are noted in the Customs Duties Law (Article 98), for all the procedures from arrival to transportation from the port when fresh food imports are involved and in actual practice, no service is available on holidays (see note). Transportation out of container yards is also not in operation on holidays, and although the auxiliary office opening system exists, it is actually impossible to carry out import procedures on holidays. When the cargo involved is fresh food, it is important to transport it from the point of origin to shops in as short a time as possible. To handle the increase in imported products, Customs officers should be made available on holidays at major ports, as they already are at the airports in Narita, Kansai, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

(Note from secretariat)
The Customs Duties Law mandates customs procedures. Plant quarantine, food declarations, etc. are required under the provisions of other laws.

5. Results of deliberation:

Although the issue of transporting cargoes out of container yards on holidays is a problem related to the working hours of private businesses, including cargo consignees, ports are an important link between domestic and international distribution and because the high costs involved in using those ports are a problem, the government sector should take the initiative in responding.

The ministry concerned should use the auxiliary office opening hours system to handle Customs procedures on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, outside of normal working hours. At the port of Shimonoseki, the ministry is taking measures to assign officials on duty outside of normal working hours to conduct inspections. At all other Plant Protection Stations, actions are being taken to make plant quarantine officers available, even on holidays and outside of normal working hours, if a request to this effect is received. These are positive steps, but to expedite import procedures on holidays when a number of ministries or agencies are involved, the ministries concerned should take the following further actions, and should work in close coordination when doing so:

(1) At ports other than Shimonoseki where there is sufficient demand, if any efforts should be made to make Customs officers available outside of normal working hours, taking administrative efficiency into consideration.

(2) Quarantine offices operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare have extended working hours at the main airports. The same measures should be instituted at major ports, to meet users' needs and in accordance with actual conditions where food imports are concerned.

Government decision (March 25,1997)

6-(5) Permission for Customs clearance and unloading of sea cargo on holidays

To speed up unloading of sea cargo on holidays, active measures will be taken regarding government import procedures. The concerned ministries shall work closely together, particularly on the following:

(1) Customs personnel shall be assigned outside of regular duty hours at sea ports other than Shimonoseki where there is sufficient administrative demand, and taking into account administrative efficiency.

(2) MHW quarantine stations at sea ports shall be staffed adequately to meet users' needs and in accordance with food imports there, on a level similar to that of major airports.