Customs clearance and declaration

Currently, Japan limits which customs procedures can be carried out in a region where a company is not physically present or if a customs related licence is not issued for that region. The current set-up makes it difficult for foreign logistics companies, and also small and medium-sized Japanese companies, to expand the reach and coverage of their customs clearance businesses. Deregulation of customs jurisdictions, allowing remote filing of clearances at locations independent of the territory of the responsible customs office, would increase flexibility and improve capacity planning for customs brokerage operators. The EBC therefore welcomes the proposals from the MoF to liberalise customs and introduce further improvements.