News Tax-free shopping rules for foreign tourists in Japan to be revised

[thomas]

Japan is considering overhauling its tax-free shopping scheme for foreign visitors in response to many cases of tax-free items being resold overseas for profit at tax-inclusive prices. Currently, visitors who stay in Japan for less than six months can purchase merchandise with the consumption tax already deducted. The government is now considering shifting to a scheme where they pay tax-inclusive prices and apply for refunds afterwards.

This is the way it's handled in the EU.

In Japan, travelers are exempted from paying the consumption tax when purchasing goods totaling 5,000 yen ($36) or more as long as they intend to use the items in their home countries. But there have been cases where travelers purchased massive amounts of tax-free items for resale purposes, the sources said. Last year, Apple Inc.'s Japan branch was slapped with 14 billion yen in additional taxes after authorities found it sold iPhones and other items in bulk without charging the consumption tax to foreign visitors suspected of purchasing the products for resale purposes. Purchasing records at tax-free stores are shared with customs, and the consumption tax is collected from travelers who do not carry tax-free items they bought with them at the time of departure.

Japan eyes revamping tax-free shopping rule for foreign tourists to stem illicit resales - The Mainichi

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan is considering overhauling its tax-free shopping scheme for foreign visitors in response to a growing number of cases of tax-fr

mainichi.jp

 

[Petaris]

I haven't often used the tax-free system but I would still hate to see it change as it just sounds like it will become a pain to deal with. I also have never been asked to show that the items are with me when leaving. I would guess I have made maybe five or six tax-free purchases over the years and I always had the items with me when I left Japan so its not like I was cheating. Still, this seems like a big hassle that punishes the 96% (pulled that out of thin air) of people who use the system as intended while likely only slightly inconveniencing the remaining 4% who will certainly find another way to game the system for profit.