G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
11 July  2017 
(17-3712) Page: 1/8 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
  
NOTIFICATION OF PREF ERENTIAL RULES OF OR IGIN FOR  
LEAST DEVELOPED COUN TRIES  
JAPAN 
The following communication, dated 4 July 2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the Japan . 
 
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Paragraph 4.3 of the 2015 Ministerial De cision on preferential rules of origin for least developed 
countries (WT/L/917/Add.1) requires preference -granting Members  to notify preferential rules o f 
origin as per the established procedures1. In addition, as mandated by the Ministerial Decision, the 
Committee on Rules of Origin agreed, at its meeting of 2 March 2017, to a template  for such 
notifications (G/RO/84 ). 
 
Following such requirements, the following notification has been received from: Japan . 
 
A. BASIC INFORMATION  
 
1)  Notifying member  Japan  
2)  Date of entering into force of Rules 
of origin and any substantive  
modification thereof  The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP),  which aims at 
contributing to the economic development of developing 
countries (including the Least Developed Countries) and its rules 
to determine the origin of products eligible for preferential tariff 
treatment, were introduced in August 1971. The most recent 
modification of Rules of Origin was made in April 2015.  
3)  Date of expiration of Rules of 
origin if applicable  Japan 's current  GSP scheme is effective until 31  March  2021.  
4)  Title of the preferential scheme for 
which legislation on Rules of origin 
is applicable  Generalized System of Preferences . 
5)  Authority(ies) granting the 
preferential treatment  Customs and Tariff Burea u, Ministry of Finance : 
http://www.customs.go.jp/english/index.htm  
 
6)  National authorities in charge of 
Rules of origin administration  Customs and Tariff Bureau, Ministry of Finance  
gensanchi@mof.go.jp  
+81-(0)3-3581-8235 
http://www.customs.go.jp/roo/english/index.htm  
 
                                                
1 The relevant notification requiremen ts are contained in Paragraph 2(d) of Annex 1 of the Transparency 
Mechanism for Preferential Trade Arrangements (WT/L/806) and in Paragraph 4 of Annex II of the Agreement 
on Rules of Origin.  G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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  B. INFORMATION ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
I.  BENEFICIARIES  
1)  List of Beneficiar ies The list of beneficiary countries is available on the Internet  at 
the following link:  
http://www.customs.go.jp/english/c -
answer_e/imtsukan/1504_e.htm  
It is derived from the  Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law  (Table 1 and paragraph 3 of 
Article 25 ). A copy of this document (in Japanese only) is 
available with the Secretariat.  
2)  Eligibility  The provision related to eligibility criteria for pre ferential 
treatment for the Least Developed Countries is found in 
paragraph 3 of Article 8 -2 of the Temporary Tariff Measures 
Law. 
(Extract of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 8 -2, paragraph 3: The rate of customs duty t o be levied 
on goods, other than those set forth in Annexed Table 5, 
originating in the beneficiaries of preference, etc. designated as 
the least developed countries by the Resolution of the General 
Assembly of the United Nations and prescribed by Cabinet Order 
as the countries to which the special benefit concerning 
preferential tariff (i.e., the customs duty to be levied pursuant 
to the provision of paragraph 1) may appropriately be extended 
(such beneficiaries are referred to as the "special beneficiarie s 
of preference" in the next Article) (excluding the goods for 
which the rates of duty are prescribed as free in the Appended 
Tariff Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act (or, in the case of the 
goods set forth in Annexed Table 1, in the said  Table) and in 
subparagraph (1) of the said paragraph and the goods set forth 
in subparagraph  (3) of the said paragraph) shall, 
notwithstanding the provision of Article 2 or subparagraph (1) 
or (2) of the said paragraph, be free from customs duty, if they 
are imported on o r before the date specified in the said 
paragraph.  
 
II.  CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING SUBSTANTIAL TRANSFORMATION  
1)  General criteria, if applicable for all products  
 (a) Definition of wholly obtained 
products  The provision related to the definition of wholl y obtained 
products are enumerated in Article 8, Ordinance of Ministry of 
Finance for Enforcement of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law 
as follows:  
(1)  mineral products extracted in a country or territory  
(2)  vegetable products harvested in a country or t erritory  
(3)  live animals born and raised in a country or territory  
(4)  products obtained from live animals in a country or 
territory  
(5)  products obtained by hunting, fishing in a country or 
territory  
(6)  marine products taken from the high seas and e conomic 
exclusive zones of Japan or foreign countries by vessels of 
that country or territory  
(7)  products produced solely from the products referred to  (6) 
a board a vessel of that country or territory  
(8)  products collected in a country or territory wh ich are fit 
only for the recovery of parts or raw materials  
(9)  scrap and waste derived from manufacturing or processing 
operations carried out in a country or territory  
(10)  products obtained or produced in a country or territory 
exclusively from produc ts referred to in sub -paragraphs 
(1) through (9)  G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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   (b)  Describe the criteria for not -
wholly produced products  The provision related to criteria for not -wholly produced 
products is found in Article 9, Ordinance of Ministry of Finance 
for Enforcement of the  Temporary Tariff Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Ordinance of Ministry of Finance for Enforcement 
of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 9: 1. The manufacturing or processing as provided for 
subparagraph (2) of paragraph 1 o f Article 26 of the 
Cabinet Order shall be manufacturing or processing, as a 
result of which the heading of the Tariff Schedule of the 
goods changes from any heading of raw materials 
originating from other countries used in the production of 
the goods. In the case of a good in each middle column of 
the Annexed Table, the manufacturing or processing shall 
be the manufacturing or processing in each lower column 
of the Annexed Table.  
2.  When a good classified in HS Chapter 50 -63 is produced in 
a beneficiary c ountry using non -originating material not 
satisfying PSR (Product Specific Rules), the goods shall not 
be considered to have undergone the substantial 
transformation in principal. However, if the total weight of 
the non -originating materials not satisfying  PSR is less 
than 10% of the weight of the good, such non -originating 
material shall be disregarded in determining whether the 
goods have undergone substantial transformation.  
3.  When the classification of goods consisting of different 
materials, goods ma de in different components and sets 
for retail sale, are determined pursuant to Rule 3 of the 
General Rules for the interpretation of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the Customs Tariff Law Appendix, the 
origin of the goods is determined in accordance wit h 
manufacturing or processing prescribed for heading in 
which the goods are classified.  
 (c)  Insert the formula for 
calculating ad valorem  
percentage  Ad valorem  percentage = (VNM/FOB)×100  
・ VNM is the value of non -originating materials used in the 
production of a good which include freight, insurance 
where appropriate, packing and all the other costs 
incurred in transporting the material to the importation 
port in the country where the prod ucer of the good is 
located.  
・ FOB is the free -on-board value of a good payable by the 
buyer of the good to the seller of the good, not including 
any internal taxes reduced, exempted, or repaid when the 
good is exported.  
2) Product specific rules of origi n where applicable:  
 (a)  Insert  the link where the 
complete list of product 
specific rules of origin can be 
found.  Japan 's notification to the Committee on Trade and 
Development in November 2015 regarding the product specific 
rules of origin, titled WT/C OMTD/N/2/Add.16.  
 (b)  Insert the formula for 
calculating ad valorem  
percentage, when applied for 
product specific rule  Same formula as shown in above.  
3) Definition of non -originating 
material and originating material, 
if any  N/A. 
4) List of insufficie nt working 
process, if any  The insufficient working processes are enumerated in paragraph 
1 of Article 9, Ordinance of Ministry of Finance for Enforcement 
of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law as below:  
(1)  Operations to ensure the preservation of products  in good 
condition during transport and storage (drying, freezing, 
placing in salt water and other similar operations) ; 
(2)  Simple cutting or screening ; 
(3)  Placing in bottles, boxes and other similar packing 
materials ; 
(4)  Repacking, sorting or classif ying; G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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  (5)  Marking or affixing of marks, labels or other distinguishing 
signs on products or their packaging ; 
(6)  Simple mixing of non -originating products ; 
(7)  Simple assembly of parts of non -originating products ; 
(8)  Simple making -up of sets of articl es of non -originating 
products ; and 
(9)  A combination of two or more operations specified above . 
5) Rules for application of cumulation 
and related procedures if any  The Rules for application of cumulation and related procedures 
are stipulated in paragra ph 2 of Article 26, Cabinet Order for 
Enforcement of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Cabinet Order for Enforcement  
of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 26, paragraph 2: In cases where any products (exc luding 
those products enumerated in the Schedule No. 2) have been 
produced in one country or territory by using the products 
imported from Japan as all or part of the raw materials or 
components for production of such product, the provisions of 
the precedi ng paragraph shall be applied in the manner 
prescribed below.  
(1)  In cases where such products have been produced by 
using, as raw materials or components, only those 
products imported from Japan or such products together 
with products enumerated in subpa ragraph (1) of the 
preceding paragraph, such product shall be regarded as 
wholly produced in such a country or territory.  
(2)  For the purposes of applying subparagraph (2) of the 
preceding paragraph to any cases other than the cases 
provided for in the pr eceding subparagraph, any products 
imported from Japan shall be regarded as such products 
as enumerated in subparagraph (1) of the preceding 
paragraph.  
6) Any other information that 
member deems necessary  N/A. 
 
III.   DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS  
1)  Certifi cate of origin and other proofs of origin  
 (a)  Requirement for certificate of 
origin and/or any other proof 
of origin, if any  The provision related to requirement for certificate of origin is 
found in Article 27, Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temp orary Tariff Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 27: Any person who intends to have paragraph 1 or 3 
of Article 8 -2 of the Temporary Tariff Measures Law applied  to 
any products originating in beneficiaries of preferences as 
provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 8 -2 of the Temporary 
Tariff Measures Law shall submit the Director General of 
Customs, a certificate of origin. However, this shall not apply 
to the foll owing products.  
(1)  Products for which the origin is regarded by the Director 
General of Customs as being clearly ascertainable from 
their nature and form.  
(2)  Products for which the total amount of the customs value 
is not more than 200,000 yen (excludi ng those 
mentioned in the preceding subparagraph).  
(3)  Products which are designated ones relating to a special 
declaration (excluding those on which the Director 
General of Customs regards submission of a certificate of 
origin as necessary in order to co nfirm that the products 
originate in a beneficiary of preferences and those 
mentioned in the preceding 2 subparagraphs).  G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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   (b)  Authority to be designated 
for issuance of certificate of 
origin  The provision related to authority to be designated for 
issuanc e of certificate of origin is found in paragraph 4 of 
Article 27, Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the Temporary 
Tariff Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 27, paragraph 4: Any certificate of origin shall be 
issued, at the time when the products to be covered by such a 
certificate are exported (or if the Director General of Customs 
finds that there is any unavoidable and special reason for it, 
within such a perio d of time after their exportation as may be 
regarded as being reasonable in the light of such reason), by 
Customs located in the place of origin (or, if the Customs is 
not authorized to issue a certificate of origin, any other 
government entities, Chamber of Commerce or similar 
organization which have the authority to issue the certificate 
of origin and which is regarded as being appropriate by the 
Director General of Customs) on the basis of the declaration 
made by the exporter of such products.  
 (c)  Prescribed form of Certificate 
of origin and/or any other 
proof of origin  The certificate of origin can be found in Form No.1,  Ordinance 
of Ministry of Finance for Enforcement of the Temporary Tariff 
Measures Law  (a copy of this form (in Japanese only) has 
been provided to the Secretariat)   
 (d)  Any other procedures applied 
for certificate of origin 
and/or any other proof of 
origin, if any  The provision related to any other procedures applied for 
certificate of origin is found in paragraph 1 of Article 30, 
Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the Temporary Tariff 
Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 30, paragraph 1: Any person who intends to have 
paragraph 1 or 3 of Art icle 8 -2 of the Temporary Tariff 
Measures Law applied to those products which are regarded as 
being products originating in a beneficiary of preferences by 
application of the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 26, shall, 
at the time of submission of a ce rtificate of origin for such 
products, attach to such a certificate of origin, a document, 
issued and certified by the person who issued such a 
certificate of origin, stating the descriptions and quantifies of 
the products which were exported from Japan an d used as raw 
materials or components for production of such products  (a 
copy of this form (in Japanese only) has been provided to the 
Secretariat)  
2)  Direct Shipment  
 (a)  Rules applicable for direct 
shipment, if any  The provision related to rules appl icable for direct shipment is 
found in subparagraph (1) of paragraph 1 of Article 31, 
Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the Temporary Tariff 
Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional trans lation)  
Article 31, paragraph1: Products transported directly to Japan 
from a beneficiary of preferences as their origin, without 
passing through any territory other than such a beneficiary.  
 (b)  Documentary requirement for 
proof of direct shipment 
inclu ding when the transport 
of consignment involves 
transit through one or more 
intermediate countries, if any  The provision related to documentary requirement for proof of 
direct shipment is found in paragraph 3 and 5 of Article 31, 
Cabinet Order for Enforcem ent of the Temporary Tariff 
Measures Law.  
(Extract of the Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 31, paragraph 3: Any person who intends to have 
paragraph 1 or 3 of Article 8 -2 of the Temporary  Tariff 
Measures Law applied to those products enumerated in  G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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    subparagraph (2) or (3) of paragraph 1 shall, at the time of 
import declaration of such products, submit one of the 
following documents, as a document proving that such 
products fall under eit her of such subparagraphs. However, 
this shall not apply to those products for which the total 
amount of customs value is not more than 200,000 yen.  
(1)  A copy of a through bill of lading for transportation of 
such products from a beneficiary of reference s as their 
origin, to the port of importation in Japan.  
(2)  A certificate issued by Customs or any other competent 
government authorities in a country of non -origin where 
the products were transshipped, temporarily stored or 
displayed at exhibitions, etc.  as provided for in 
subparagraph (2) or (3) of paragraph 1.  
(3)  Any documents which are considered by the Director 
General of Customs to be appropriate, excluding those 
enumerated in the preceding two subparagraphs.  
Article 31, paragraph 5: The following items shall be described 
in the certificate provided for in subparagraph (2) of 
paragraph 3.  
(1)  Marks, numbers, descriptions and quantities of the 
products under consideration.  
(2)  Dates on which such products were loaded on board, 
and/or unloaded from,  a vessel, aircraft or vehicle in the 
country of non -origin and names, registered marks or 
kinds of such vessels, aircraft or vehicles.  
(3)  Details of the handling of such products in the country of 
non-origin where the loading or unloading as provided 
for in the preceding subparagraph took place.  
 
IV.  VERIFICATION AND PENALTIES  
1)  Procedure for verification of proofs 
of origin  The Provision related to the verification is found in 
subparagraph (6) of paragraph 1 of Article 105, Customs Law.  
(Extract of the Customs Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 105, paragraph 1:   To inquire about the imported 
goods to the importers, Customs brokers who handle the 
custom -house businesses, consigners of the importation, 
those who sell the dumping (dumping stipulate d in 
paragraph  1 of Article  8 of Customs Tariff Law) goods in the 
nation and other relevant people (importers and so on in next 
paragraph), to investigate the cargo and the account 
documents and other things of the cargo, and to require 
induction and submi ssions the things (including the copies).  
2)  Penalties for fraud and false 
declarations  The provision for fraud and false declaration is found in 
Article  110, Customs Law.  
(Extract of the Customs Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 110: A person who f alls under any of the following 
subparagraphs shall be punished by imprisonment with work 
for not more than 10 years or a fine not exceeding 
10 million  yen, or both:  
(1)  A person who, by deception or other wrongful act, 
evades payment of customs duty or r eceives refund of 
customs duty.  
(2)  A person who imports goods for which customs duty is to 
be paid without paying customs duty by deception or 
other wrongful act.  
2.  In the case where, through deception or other wrongful act 
of a customs broker, customs  duty is evaded or refunded, or 
goods for which customs duty is to be paid are imported 
without paying customs duty, the preceding paragraph shall 
also apply to the customs broker who has committed such act.  
3.  The preceding 2 paragraphs shall also apply to a person G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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  who commences any of the crimes referred to in the said 2 
paragraphs without completing it.  
4.  In the case where an amount calculated by multiplying the 
amount of customs duty or the amount of refund of customs 
duty, pertaining to the crime re ferred to in the preceding 3 
paragraphs by a factor of 10 exceeds 10 million yen, the fine 
referred to in the preceding three paragraphs may, where 
circumstances so warrant, be more than 10 million yen, but 
not more than the amount equivalent to 10 times t he amount 
of the customs duty or the amount of refund of customs duty.  
5.  A person who prepares with the intention of committing a 
crime referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 shall be punished by 
imprisonment with work for not more than 5 years or a fine 
not ex ceeding 5 million yen, or both.  
6. In the case where an amount calculated by multiplying the 
amount of customs duty or the amount of refund of customs 
duty, pertaining to the crime referred to in the preceding 
paragraph may, where circumstances so warrant,  be more 
than 5 million yen, but not more than the amount equivalent 
to 10 times the amount of the customs duty or the amount of 
refund of customs duty.  
3)  Authorities and procedures for 
appeal in the case of dispute on 
verification  The procedures for ap peal in the case of dispute on verification 
are found in Article 89, Customs Law and Article 2 and 5, 
Administrative Appeal Act.  
(Extract of the Customs Law)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 89: 1.  Any person may file an objection if he is 
dissatisfied w ith the disposition of the Director General of 
Customs as prescribed in the provisions of this Law or other 
Laws relating to customs duty.  
2.  Any disposition of customs officials as prescribed in the 
provision of this Law or other Laws relating to customs  duty, 
regarding the application of the previous paragraph and 
Article  91, shall be deemed to be a disposition made by the 
Director General of Customs having jurisdiction over the 
customs office to which the customs officials belong.  
(Extract of the Admini strative Appeal Act)  
(provisional translation)  
Article 2:  A person who is dissatisfied with a disposition 
reached by an administrative agency may file a request for 
review pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 and paragraph 2, 
Article 5.  
Article 5: 1.  In the case where examinations can be applied 
about punishment by administrative agencies to administrative 
agencies other than punish agencies, when there are 
stipulations which enables to request reinvestigations in the 
Laws, those who have objections to  the punishments can 
request reinvestigations to the punish administrative agencies. 
Provided, however, that the reinvestigation requests about the 
punishment are done by the stipulation of Article 2.  
2.  In the case that reinvestigation requests are done by the 
stipulation of the main body of the previous section, the 
reinvestigation requests cannot be done, only after the 
decisions of the reinvestigation requests are passed through. 
Provided, however, that fits any of the following 
subparagraphs:  
(1)  The case that the punish agencies do not decide about 
the reinvestigation request, even if 3 months passes 
from the next day following the date of the 
reinvestigation request of the punishment (the day when 
the deficiencies are corrected in the case that the 
corrections of the deficiencies are ordered by the 
stipulation of Article 23, which is applied by reading 
mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 61).  
(2)  The case that there are valid reasons that not to pass 
through the decisions of other reinvestigation r equests.  G/RO/LDC/N/JPN/1  
 
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  4) Requirement for preserving the 
documents related to issuance of 
certificate of origin  N/A. 
5) Any other relevant information  N/A. 
 
V.  REFERENCE TEXTS  
(a) The legislative texts in one of the 
official WTO languages containing 
the preferential  rules of origin 
applicable under a PTA granted 
under the Decision on Measures in 
Favour of Least -Developed 
Countries (Annex F of the Hong 
Kong Ministerial Declaration)  - Cabinet Order for Enforcement of the Temporary Tariff 
Measures Law: http://law.e -
gov.go.jp/htmldata/S35/S35SE069.html  
- Ordinance of Ministry of Finance for Enforcement of the 
Temporary Tariff Measures Law: http://law.e -
gov.go.jp/htmldata/S44/S44F03401000039.html  
- Administrative Appeal Act: http://law.e -
gov.go.jp/htmldata/H26/H26HO068.html  
- Customs Law: http://law.e -
gov.go.jp/htmldata/S29/S29HO061.html  (b) The full text of the administrative 
regulations concerning modalities 
for issuance, acceptance, 
retrospective issuance and 
replacement of certificates of 
origin or a ny equivalent 
declarations to be made, including 
any requirements related to 
stamps to be used along with 
notification of stamps  
(c) The full text and related 
administrative regulations of the 
modalities for the proof of 
movement of the consignment of 
the goods from the beneficiary 
countries to preference -giving 
countries including transit through 
third countries  
(d) The full texts of the modalities of 
the verification procedures and 
related penalties  
 
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