Customs Procedures when repairs on goods returned to the United States from Japan

If your company previously exported a product to Japan that is now being returned to your facility in the United States for repair, insure that the Japanese buyer follows the procedures below to avoid paying (or lower the assessed) customs duties and taxes upon return of the product to Japan after the repair is complete.

Procedure to Follow Upon Exportation

To receive the tax reduction at the time of re-import after repair, you are required, in addition to regular export procedures, to provide additional information (such as, the scheduled location and date of import and specify that the good is being exported for repair purposes) in the Export Declaration. An applicant needs two copies of the Declaration of Confirmation of Exporting Goods for Process or Repair, which is Customs Form T-1050 (one of them shall be returned to the applicant after being confirmed by customs) and the Repair Agreement. The Repair Agreement may be replaced by a document exchanged with the foreign exporter or manufacturer concerning repair, which shall be returned to the applicant after being confirmed by customs.

When using international mail, a good is subject to preliminary examination at the nearest Overseas Mail Customs Sub-branch or customs office before it is handed to the post office. In such cases, both the Declaration of Confirmation of Exporting Goods for Process or Repair and Repair Agreement are required.

In addition to filling out the appropriate paperwork, item returned for repair must be returned to Japan within one year after the date of exportation/return from Japan. Additionally, the level of duty and tax reduction on re-imported goods will be determined at the time of re-import and is dependent on the nature and form of the goods at the time of export.

Procedures to Follow Upon re-entry/re-importation into Japan

When re-importing a good after repair, the tax reduction procedure requires submission of an import permit or its substitute and a copy of the Certificate of Tax Reduction on Processed/Repaired/Assembled Goods (Customs Form T-1060), as well as the Declaration of Confirmation of Exporting Goods for Process or Repair and the Repair Agreement, which have been confirmed at the time of export.

Identification of the exported goods as the re-imported goods is carried out by the listed items in the related documents, such as the identification symbols of the goods, invoice, and packing list, etc. Presentation of other documents such as photos, catalogues, etc. may be requested.