Japan: New Tourist Tax Refund System Takes Effect November 1, Requiring Visitors to Pay Consumption Tax First and Claim It Back After Customs Checks
Japan changed its tax refund system on November 1, 2026, requiring eligible visitors to pay consumption tax when buying qualifying goods and to claim the tax back after customs confirms the purchases are leaving Japan, replacing the previous point-of-sale exemption under which eligible customers bought without paying the tax.
Under the new system, qualifying purchases must total 5,000 yen before tax at the same shop on the same day, a threshold that remains unchanged, while the ceiling on consumables and the special packaging requirements have ended. Customs confirmation is required within 90 days of purchase, counted from the following day, and must take place before baggage check-in. Visitors can use Visit Japan Web for the departure procedure at seven airports: Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu Centrair, New Chitose, Fukuoka and Naha. There is no single national refund system; each store, or the refund company it uses, determines how and when the money is returned.
The policy formed part of Japan's fiscal 2025 tax reform, with an official leaflet published in April 2025 setting out the transition; purchases through October 31, 2026 followed the previous arrangement. Japan's official preliminary spending report, published on October 21, estimates international visitor expenditure at 2.2076 trillion yen in July-September 2026, of which shopping represented 27.7 percent; the figures predate the new refund rules.
Source: 日本海关
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：日本东京银座街景（资料图），Basile Morin 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权 / Photo: A Ginza street corner in Tokyo, Japan (file photo), by Basile Morin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
