| TOP |
| 6th Report of Market Access Ombudsman Council (March 16, 2000) |
1. Complainant: Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry
2. Ministry concerned: Ministry of Finance
3. Complaint:
When application is made to customs for prior instruction, it takes approximately one month to receive a reply from the customs office to which application was made, since all applications require confirmation by the Tokyo head customs office as the final decision.
Prior instruction should be speeded up so that replies can be received within about two weeks.
4. Corresponding Policy of the Ministries concerned:
A standard processing period (10 days) is set for prior instruction, and the ministry endeavors to complete processing within that period; some replies are even issued before the period is up. However, in cases where classification is difficult, replies are sometimes issued after consultation with the Tokyo Customs Office classification center. In cases where more than 10 days are required, importers are notified that additional time is needed.
5. Remarks
The complainant accepted this policy.