News
The Customs and Tariff Bureau （CTB） of Japan’s Ministry of Finance （MOF） recently has unveiled a proposal for introducing a system under which detailed information on seaborne import containers can be obtained as early as possible in a computerized format.
The proposal was made when the tariff sub-council?an organization under the ministry’s Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transaction?convened a meeting on November 9.
The sub-council is scheduled to meet again on November 25, intending to more deeply discuss the proposal, which was made in preparation for having a Japanese version of the so-called 24-Hour Rule, clarifying important points.
The MOF plans to come up with a final draft in December for revising the Customs Act after the sub-council’s proposal is submitted to and examined by the council.
The CTB began accepting comments from the general public on November 9 and will continue to do so until November 30.
The proposal was made by the tariff sub-council to alter the ongoing system for filing cargo information in advance.
The outline is to require the operators of foreign-trade vessels destined to Japan （shipping companies） and cargo transporters （non-vessel-operating common carriers, or NVOCCs） to file information on containerized shipments at lease 24 hours in advance to when mainline vessels are loaded with them at foreign ports.
Information on shipments should be submitted in a computerized format?or through the NACCS?to customs offices at ports to which they are imported, according to the outline.
The MOF hopes to launch the new system, hopefully in two years from when a revision on the Customs Act is implemented, or around March 2014.
