| TOP |
| 5th Report of Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 17, 1998) |
1. Complainant:Japan Foreign Trade Council, Tokyo Chamber of Commerce
2. Ministry concerned: Ministry of Finance
3. Complaint:
(1) For final quality analysis at the landing site, BP (transactions before import permission) clearance was attempted, but because the contract was not countersigned, it was not possible. In consideration of the inevitability of the fact that for imports from neighboring countries, contracts might not be sent in time for the cargo's arrival, improvements should be made so that processing can be done via after-the-fact submission.
(2) Concerning import clearance of coal for electric power, because of the low price of freight, bunker liquidation occurs nearly every time. Because some local ports and customhouses will not accept BP clearance, when bunker liquidation occurs, a revised declaration is made and back taxes paid. Handling when the freight price has not been settled (approving BP clearance) should be unified for all customs offices.
(3) With BP clearance, once volume has been measured and the tax standard settled, the "Tariff Payment Notice for Freight Approved for Transactions Before Import Permission" is received from customs and tariffs paid, but because payment is limited to cash or checks, time and effort are involved. In keeping, for payment of taxes at IBP, it should be possible for the importer to transfer payment directly to the designated financial agency of each customs office.
4. Corresponding Policy of the Ministries concerned:
(1) Any person who is to import any goods shall declare to the Director -General of Customs necessary matters with respect to the goods and obtain on import permit, after necessary examination of the goods concerned (Article 67 of the Customs Law). In case of depositing security equivalent to an amount of customs duty payable and obtaining the approval of the Director-General of Customs, any person can be receive them after import declaration but prior to import permit (Article 73 of the Customs Law).
The "Before Permit (BP)" was established to facilitate smooth customs administration and for the importers' convenience. For example, if import permission will be delayed owing to circumstances on the declaring party's side, such as when time is required for settling the taxation standard or the like, transactions before import permission has been obtained can be approved under the stipulations of the Customs Law.
For having such transactions approved before import permission has been granted, it is necessary to confirm in the contracts or the like that the taxation standard, etc., has not been fixed. However, because the purpose is simply to confirm the contents of the contract, approval can be granted using a copy of the contract (including one sent by facsimile), and not the original.
(2) This applies when time will be required to settle a taxation standard that has not been settled at the time of import declaration for bunker liquidation, and it is possible to obtain approval for transactions before import permission has been granted. Even for tariffs that have been confirmed as designated, in such cases, the attempt is made to approve transactions before import permission has been granted, and handling does not differ depending on the tariff.
(3) Not limited to cargo for which transactions before import permission (BP) have been approved, payments of tariffs, etc. are remitted to Bank of Japan, revenue agents, or customs staff engaged in the receipt of tariffs, etc., in cash or check form.
Although the complainant's grievance is not completely clear, nearly all financial agencies serve as revenue agents, and direct payment of cash or check form through the nearest revenue agency is possible. Having customs offices specify financial agencies for paying tariffs and the like would inconvenience those remitting payments.
5. Remarks
The complainant's opinion is as follows.
For "(1)": "I am satisfied with the corresponding policy."
For "(2)" and "(3)": "I understand that this is the policy as it now stands."