AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPANAND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATESREGARDING MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATIONIN CUSTOMS MATTERS

The Government of Japan and the Government of theUnited Mexican States, hereinafter referred to as “theContracting Parties”,
CONSIDERING that offenses against Customs legislation
are prejudicial to the economic, fiscal, social, publichealth, cultural and commercial interests and the public
security of their respective countries;
CONSIDERING the importance of the accurate assessmentof Customs duties and other taxes collected at importation
or exportation and of ensuring proper enforcement of
measures of prohibition, restriction and control;
RECOGNIZING the need to strengthen international
cooperation in matters related to the application andenforcement of the Customs legislation;
CONVINCED that actions against Customs offenses can bemade more effective by cooperation between their Customs
Authorities;
HAVING REGARD to the Recommendation of the Customs
Cooperation Council on Mutual Administrative Assistance of
5 December 1953;
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Agreement:(a)“Area” shall mean(i)with respect to Japan, the territory ofJapan in which Customs legislation of Japanis in force; and(ii)with respect to the United Mexican States,
the territory of the United Mexican States
as it is defined on its Political
Constitution, including any area beyond its
territorial sea on which the United Mexican
States may exercise sovereign rights ofexploration and exploitation of the natural
resources of the seabed, its subsoil and thesuperjacent waters, and the air space above
those areas, according to the international
law;

(b)

“Customs Authority” shall mean in Japan, theMinistry of Finance, and in the United MexicanStates, the Ministry of Finance and Public
Credit;(c)“Customs duties” shall mean all duties, taxes andfees which are levied and collected in the Areaof the country of each Contracting Party atimportation and exportation by their respective
Customs Authorities;(d)“Customs legislation” shall mean any laws andregulations enforced by the Customs Authorities
governing the import, export and transit ofgoods, and also any customs procedures orregimes, whether relating to Customs duties or tomeasures of prohibition, restriction or control
falling under the competence of the CustomsAuthorities;(e)“Customs offense” shall mean any violation orattempted violation of Customs legislation;(f)“information” shall mean any data, documents,
reports, authenticated copies thereof or othercommunications in any format, including
electronic data, in possession of the Customs
Authorities;(g)“International trade supply chain” shall mean allprocesses involved in the cross-border movementsof goods from the place of origin to the place ofthe final destination;(h)“official” shall mean any officer of the Customs
Authority;

(i)“person” shall mean any natural or legal person;(j)“personal data” shall mean any information
regarding an identified or identifiable naturalperson;(k)“Requested Authority” shall mean the Customs
Authority which receives a request forassistance; and(l)“Requesting Authority” shall mean the Customs
Authority which requests assistance.
ARTICLE 2SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT

1.
The Contracting Parties shall, through their Customs
Authorities, provide each other with mutual assistance inaccordance with the terms set out in this Agreement, forthe proper application of Customs legislation, for theprevention, investigation and repression of Customs
offenses and for the protection of the security of theInternational trade supply chain.
2.
The Contracting Parties shall, through their Customs
Authorities, undertake to make cooperative efforts in order
to simplify and harmonize customs procedures.
3.
This Agreement shall be implemented by the Contracting
Parties in accordance with the laws and regulations inforce in the country of each Contracting Party and within
the competence and available resources of their respective
Customs Authorities.
4.
The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect therights and obligations of the Contracting Parties underother international agreements.
ARTICLE 3
COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION
1.
The Customs Authorities shall provide each other,either upon request or on their own initiative, withinformation necessary to ensure proper application ofCustoms legislation and to prevent, investigate and repress
any Customs offense, which may include alert information
already processed in their respective risk analysissystems.

2.
Either Customs Authority shall, either upon request oron its own initiative, provide the other Customs Authority
with information regarding the activities that may resultin Customs offenses within the Area of the country of thelatter Customs Authority.
3.
When either Customs Authority considers that
information is relevant to serious Customs offenses that
could involve substantial damage to the economy, publichealth, public security or any other vital interest of thecountry of the other Customs Authority, the former Customs
Authority shall, if deemed necessary, provide the latterCustoms Authority with such information without delay.
ARTICLE 4
ASSISTANCE ON REQUEST
1.
Upon request, the Requested Authority shall provide
the Requesting Authority with the following information:(a)whether goods imported into the Area of thecountry of the Requesting Authority have been
lawfully exported from the Area of the country of
the Requested Authority;(b)whether goods exported from the Area of thecountry of the Requesting Authority have been
lawfully imported into the Area of the country of
the Requested Authority; and(c)whether goods which have been transited throughthe Area of the country of one Customs Authority
and are destined to the Area of the country of
the other Customs Authority have been lawfullytransited.

2.
All relevant information for the interpretation orutilization of the information provided pursuant toparagraph 1 of this Article shall be provided at the sametime.
ARTICLE 5
SPECIAL SURVEILLANCEThe Requested Authority shall, upon request and within
the limits of its competence and available resources,
exercise special surveillance of and provide information
on:

(a)

persons in respect of whom there are reasonablegrounds for believing that they are or have been
involved in a Customs offense in the Area of thecountry of the Requesting Authority;(b)goods that are or may be transported in such away that there are reasonable grounds forbelieving that they are the subject of an illicit
traffic or that they are intended to be used in a
Customs offense in the Area of the country of theRequesting Authority;(c)means of transport that are or may be used insuch a way that there are reasonable grounds forbelieving that they are intended to be used in a
Customs offense in the Area of the country of theRequesting Authority; and(d)places where stocks of goods have been or may be
stored or assembled in such a way that there arereasonable grounds for believing that these goods
are intended to be used in a Customs offense inthe Area of the country of the Requesting
Authority.

ARTICLE 6
FORM AND CONTENT OF THE REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
1.
Requests pursuant to this Agreement shall be made inwriting in English. Information deemed useful for theexecution of such requests shall accompany the requests.
When the urgency of the situation so requires, oral
requests may also be made and accepted, but shall bepromptly confirmed in writing.
2.
Requests made pursuant to paragraph 1 shall include
the following information:(a)the Requesting Authority;(b)

the action requested;(c)the object and the reason for the request;(d)

indications as exact and comprehensive as
possible on the persons who are the target of theinvestigations;(e)a summary of the relevant facts and of theenquiries already carried out; and(f)legal elements involved.

3.
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, theinformation provided pursuant to this Agreement shall bedirectly communicated between officials designated by therespective Customs Authorities.
ARTICLE 7
EXECUTION OF REQUESTS
1.
The Requested Authority shall take all reasonablemeasures to execute the request for assistance made under
this Agreement. Requests for assistance and enquiries
shall be executed in accordance with the applicable laws
and regulations of the country of the Requested Authority.
2.
In case the Requested Authority is not the appropriate
agency to comply with the request, it may transmit therequest to the appropriate agency which shall be under noobligation to reply such request.
3.
The Requested Authority shall, upon request by theRequesting Authority and when it deems appropriate, advise
the Requesting Authority of the time and place of theaction it will take in response to the request forassistance so that such action may be coordinated.
4.
In the event that a request cannot be executed, theRequesting Authority shall be promptly notified of that
fact, and provided with a statement of the reasons forrefusal or postponement of the request. The statement may
be accompanied by the relevant information which may be
useful for the Requesting Authority for its further pursuitof the request.
ARTICLE 8PRESENCE AT THE ENQUIRIES OF OFFICIALS
OF THE REQUESTING AUTHORITY
1.
Duly authorized officials of the Requesting Authority
may, in particular cases where the consent of the Requested
Authority is given, within the conditions laid down by thelatter, be present at enquiries carried out by theRequested Authority in the Area of the country of theRequested Authority.

2.
When, in the circumstances provided for under thisAgreement, officials of the Requesting Authority arepresent at enquiries carried out by the Requested Authority
in the Area of the country of the Requested Authority, theymust at all times be able to furnish proof of theirofficial capacity and identity. They must not wear uniform
nor carry weapons and shall be responsible for any offenses
against the laws and regulations of the country of theRequested Authority.
ARTICLE 9
USE OF INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY
1.
Information received pursuant to this Agreement shall
only be used for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 ofArticle 2 of this Agreement. It shall not be communicatedto other authorities unless the Customs Authority providing
the information has expressly approved in writing its useby those other authorities.
2.
Notwithstanding the second sentence of paragraph 1 ofthis Article, unless otherwise notified by the Customs
Authority providing the information, the Customs Authority
receiving the information may provide the information
received pursuant to this Agreement to the relevant law
enforcement authorities of its country, which may use suchinformation under the conditions of this Agreement.
3.
Each Contracting Party shall maintain theconfidentiality of any information received pursuant tothis Agreement, and shall grant at least the same level ofprotection under the laws and regulations of the country of
the Customs Authority providing the information unless theCustoms Authority providing the information gives a priorwritten consent to the disclosure of such information.
4.
Personal data shall not be transmitted whenever there
are reasonable grounds to believe that the transfer or theuse of such data transmitted would be contrary to the laws
and regulations of the country of the Customs Authority
providing such data.
5.
The provisions of paragraphs 1 through 4 of thisArticle shall not preclude the use or disclosure ofinformation to the extent that there is an obligation to doso under the laws and regulations of the country of theCustoms Authority receiving the information. Such Customs
Authority shall, wherever possible, give advance notice of
any use or such disclosure to the Customs Authority
providing the information.

6.
Information provided from the Customs Authority of aContracting Party to the Customs Authority of the other
Contracting Party pursuant to this Agreement shall not be
used by the latter Contracting Party in criminal
proceedings carried out by a court or a judge.
7.
Notwithstanding paragraph 6 of this Article, where oneof the Contracting Parties needs to use such information incriminal proceedings carried out by a court or a judge, theCustoms Authority of that Contracting Party shall obtain
the prior written consent of the Customs Authority of theother Contracting Party which provided the information.
The Requested Authority will make its best efforts to
respond promptly and favorably to meet any reasonable
deadlines indicated by the Requesting Authority.
8.
The Customs Authority wishing to obtain the priorwritten consent of the Customs Authority of the other
Contracting Party pursuant to paragraph 7 of this Article
may, on its own initiative or upon request, provide theCustoms Authority providing the information with relevant
information deemed useful for obtaining such writtenconsent.
9.
Nothing in this Article shall prevent a Contracting
Party from submitting a request for information to theother Contracting Party through diplomatic channels, orother channels established in accordance with the laws
applicable to such other Contracting Party.
10. Each Contracting Party may limit the information it
provides to the other Contracting Party when that other
Contracting Party is unable to give the assurance requestedby the former Contracting Party with respect toconfidentiality or the limitations of purposes for which
the information will be used.
11. Each Contracting Party shall, either upon request oron their own initiative, inform the other Contracting Partyof any significant change in its information protection
laws and regulations that may affect the implementation ofthis Agreement, occurring after the entry into force of
this Agreement.

ARTICLE 10EXEMPTION FROM ASSISTANCE
1.
In cases where the Contracting Party of the Requested
Authority is of the opinion that assistance under thisAgreement would infringe upon sovereignty, security, publicpolicy or other substantial interests of the country of theRequested Authority, or violate a legitimate industrial,commercial or professional interest, that assistance may berefused or withheld by the Contracting Party, or may bemade subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions orrequirements.
2.
If the Requesting Authority would be unable to executea similar request in case such a request were made by theRequested Authority, it shall draw attention to that fact
in its request. Execution of such a request shall be at
the discretion of the Requested Authority.
3.
Assistance may be withheld by the Requested Authority
on the ground that it will interfere with an ongoinginvestigation, including investigation by the relevant law
enforcement authorities, prosecution or judicialproceeding. In such a case, the Requested Authority shallconsult with the Requesting Authority to determine if
assistance can be given subject to any terms or conditionsas the Requested Authority may require.
ARTICLE 11
ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN
The Requesting Authority shall take into account theassociated resource and cost implications for the RequestedAuthority in responding to requests for assistance. TheRequesting Authority shall consider the proportionality
between its fiscal interest in pursuing its request and theefforts to be made by the Requested Authority in responding
to requests for assistance.
ARTICLE 12
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCEThe Customs Authorities may cooperate, when necessaryand appropriate, in the areas of research, development andtest of new customs procedures, enforcement aids andtechniques, training activities of their officials andexchange of personnel between them.

ARTICLE 13
COSTS
1.
The costs incurred for the implementation of thisAgreement shall be borne by the respective Contracting
Parties.
2.
If the execution of a request requires expenses of a
substantial or extraordinary nature, the Customs
Authorities shall consult among them to determine the terms
and conditions under which the request will be executed aswell as the manner in which the costs shall be borne.
ARTICLE 14
DETAILED ARRANGEMENTS
Detailed arrangements to implement this Agreement may
be concluded, as necessary, between the Customs Authoritiesof the Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 15
HEADINGS
The headings of the Articles of this Agreement areinserted for convenience of reference only and shall notaffect the interpretation of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 16
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Any matter related to the interpretation or
implementation of this Agreement shall be settled by mutual
consultation between the Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 17
ENTRY INTO FORCE, AMENDMENTS AND TERMINATION
1.
This Agreement shall enter into force thirty (30) daysfollowing the date on which the Contracting Parties havenotified each other of the completion of the procedures
necessary for this purpose through the exchange ofdiplomatic notes.
2.
The Contracting Parties may, by mutual consent, amend
this Agreement with the purpose of increasing the level ofcooperation. Amendments shall enter into force under theprocedure mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article.

3.
This Agreement is of unlimited duration but any
Contracting Party may terminate it at any time by notifying
it in writing to the other Contracting Party throughdiplomatic channels twelve (12) months in advance.
4.
The termination of this Agreement shall not affect theongoing cooperation activities undertaken prior to the dateof termination.
In witness thereof, we, the undersigned
representatives duly authorized by the respective
Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done at Mexico City on the tenth day of August in theyear 2017 in two originals, in the Japanese, Spanish, andEnglish languages, all texts being equally authentic. In
case of divergence of interpretation of this Agreement, theEnglish text shall prevail.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT
OF JAPAN:

FOR THE GOVERNMENTOF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES: