AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLICON MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATIONIN CUSTOMS MATTERS

The Government of Japan and the Government of the
Italian Republic, hereinafter referred to as theContracting Parties,
CONSIDERING that customs offences are prejudicial tothe economic, commercial, fiscal, social, industrial andagricultural interests of their respective Countries aswell as to legitimate trade;
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, thelatter also including those on enforcement of legal
provisions and regulations on goods infringing intellectual
property rights;
RECOGNIZING the need for international cooperation inmatters related to the application and enforcement of thecustoms law;
CONVINCED that action against customs offences can bemade more effective by close cooperation between their
Customs Administrations, in particular, through theexchange of information;
HAVING REGARD to the Recommendation of the Customs
Cooperation Council on Mutual Administrative Assistance of
5 December 1953;
HAVING REGARD to the Agreement between the Governmentof Japan and the European Community on co-operation andmutual administrative assistance in customs matters of 30
January 2008;
HAVING REGARD to the international conventions
containing prohibitions, restrictions, and special measuresof control in respect of specific goods;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the United Nations Convention
against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances of 20 December 1988;

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TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the UNESCO Convention on the Meansof Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export
and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (Paris,
14 November 1970), insofar as this property was the subjectof customs offences;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora(Washington, 3 March 1973) whose purpose is to protectthese species by seeking to control international trade;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Basel Convention on theControl of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes andTheir Disposal –with Annex- (Basel, 22 March 1989)
governing the transboundary movements, the recycling andthe disposal of hazardous wastes;
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Agreement:
1.
“Customs Administration” shall mean in Japan, theMinistry of Finance, and, in the Italian Republic, theCustoms Agency, which may use technical support of Guardia
di Finanza for some fulfilment;2.
“customs law” shall mean any laws and regulations
applicable or enforceable by the Customs Administration ofa Contracting Party, governing the import, export andtransit of goods and placing of goods under any othercustoms procedures, including measures of prohibitions,
restrictions and controls falling under the competence of
the Customs Administration;
3.
“customs territory” shall mean the territory of theCountry of each Contracting Party where the respective
customs law is applied;4.
“customs offence” shall mean any violation or
attempted violation of customs law;5.
“information” shall mean any data, documents, reports,
authenticated copies thereof or other communications in any
format, including electronic format;2

6.
“official” shall mean any officer of the Customs
Administration;
7.
“person” shall mean either a natural or a legal
person;8.
“personal data” shall mean any data concerning an
identified or identifiable natural person;
9.
“Requesting Administration” shall mean the Customs
Administration which requests assistance;
10. “Requested Administration” shall mean the Customs
Administration from which assistance is requested;
11. “international trade supply chain” shall mean allprocesses involved in the cross-border movements of goods
from the place of origin to the place of final destination;
12. “precursors” shall mean any substance frequently usedin the manufacture of psychotropic and narcotic drugs,
listed in Table I and in Table II annexed to the United
Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 20 December 1988 andany additional substances defined in the laws andregulations of both Countries;
13. "narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances" shallmean materials or products containing such materials as
defined in paragraphs (n) and (r) of Article 1 of theUnited Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 20 December
1988 and any additional materials or products containing
materials defined in the laws and regulations of bothCountries;
14. “controlled delivery” shall mean the technique ofallowing illicit or suspect consignments to pass out of,through or into the customs territory of a Country, withthe knowledge and under the supervision of the competentauthorities of that Country with a view to investigating an
offence and identifying persons involved in the commissionof the offence; and15. “antiques and archaeological items” shall mean all
those objects having an artistic and archaeological value
for either Country as defined in the respective laws andregulations.

3Article 2
SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT
1.
The Contracting Parties shall, through their Customs
Administrations, provide each other with administrative
assistance under the terms set out in this Agreement, forthe proper application of customs law, for the prevention,
investigation and combating of customs offences and toensure the security of the international trade supply
chain.
2.
The Contracting Parties shall, through their Customs
Administrations, undertake to make cooperative efforts inorder to simplify and harmonize customs procedures.
3.
This Agreement shall be implemented by the Contracting
Parties in accordance with the laws and regulations of each
Country and within the competence and the available
resources of their respective Customs Administrations.
4.
The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect therights and obligations of either Contracting Party under
any other international agreements.
5.
This Agreement shall be without prejudice for thepresent and future obligations stemming from customs lawthat the Italian Republic shall comply with as a Member
State of the European Union and as a Contracting Party tointergovernmental agreements already concluded or to beconcluded with the other Member States of the European
Union.
Article 3
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
1.
The Customs Administrations shall, on their own
initiative or upon request, provide each other all relevant
information necessary to ensure proper application ofcustoms law and to prevent, investigate, and repress any
customs offences, particularly the information regarding
illicit traffic of the following goods and substances:(a)weapons, munitions and explosive material;(b)hazardous and toxic waste, nuclear material
substances and components intended for the
manufacture of atomic, biological and/or chemical
weapons;(c)dual use goods and goods subject to high customs
duties, taxes or charges;

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(d)

narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances andprecursors;(e)other goods and other substances that could
represent a danger or are likely to cause
substantial damage to the environment, health andpublic safety and security;(f)works of arts of high historical and culturalvalue including antiques and archaeologicalitems; and(g)endangered species of wild fauna and flora.

2.
The Customs Administrations shall provide each other,on their own initiative or upon request, with information
which helps to ensure proper application of customs law andthe prevention, investigation and combating of customs
offences and to ensure the security of the international
trade supply chain. Such information may include:(a)enforcement techniques having proved theireffectiveness;(b)

new trends, means or methods of committing
customs offences;(c)

goods known to be the subject of customs
offences, as well as transport and storage
methods used in respect of these goods;(d)persons known to have committed or suspected ofcommitting customs offences;(e)means of transport and containers, known orsuspected of being used to commit customs
offences in the customs territory;(f)premises known to have been used or suspected ofbeing used in connection with customs offences in
the customs territory;(g)deliveries and notifications of administrativedecisions and documents regarding the applicationof customs law; and(h)any other information that may be relevant forthe proper application of customs law.

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3.
Either Customs Administration shall, on its own
initiative or upon request, exchange information with theother Customs Administration on planned activities which
are being or have been carried out providing enough grounds
for thinking that a customs offence has been or will becommitted within the customs territory of the latter.
Article 4
ASSISTANCE ON REQUEST
1.
The Customs Administrations shall, upon request,
supply to each other all information showing:(a)whether goods imported into the customs territoryof one Contracting Party have been lawfully
exported from the customs territory of the other
Contracting Party;(b)whether goods exported from the customs territoryof one Contracting Party have been lawfully
imported into the customs territory of the other
Contracting Party, and the customs procedure, ifany, under which the goods have been placed;(c)whether goods which are granted favourable
treatment upon exportation from the customs
territory of one Contracting Party have been
lawfully imported into the customs territory of
the other Contracting Party; and(d)whether goods which have been transited throughthe customs territory of one Contracting Party
and are destined to the customs territory of theother Contracting Party have been lawfullytransited.

2.
Either Customs Administration shall also provide theother Customs Administration, upon request, withinformation on all customs control measures taken in
respect of the goods.
Article 5
SPONTANEOUS ASSISTANCEThe Customs Administration of a Contracting Party
shall, on its own initiative, supply the available
information in cases when it thinks this could concern
serious customs offences which could cause substantial
damage to the economy, public health, public security,
including the security of the supply chain, or any othervital interests of the other Contracting Party.

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Article 6
SURVEILLANCEAt the request of the Requesting Administration, theRequested Administration shall, within the framework of thelaws and regulations of the Country of the Requested
Administration, provide information on and exercise special
surveillance of:(a)persons in respect of whom there are reasonablegrounds for believing that they are or have been
involved in a customs offence in the customs
territory of the Requesting Administration;(b)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 offence inthe customs territory of the Requesting
Administration;(c)goods that are or may be transported in such a
way that there are reasonable grounds forbelieving that they are the subject of an illicit
traffic or that they are intended to be used in acustoms offence in the customs territory of theRequesting Administration; and(d)means of transport that are or may be used insuch a way that there are reasonable grounds forbelieving or that are intended to be used in acustoms offence in the customs territory of theRequesting Administration.
Article 7
CONTROLLED DELIVERYThe Customs Administrations, in accordance with theirown competence and procedures as established in the laws
and regulations of their respective Countries, may
cooperate in and exchange information on a controlled
delivery on a case-by-case basis.

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Article 8
FORM AND CONTENT OF THE REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE
1.
Requests for assistance under this Agreement shall bemade in writing in English and shall be accompanied by any
information deemed useful to fulfil the request. Whenrequired because of the urgency of the situation, an oral
request may be accepted, but must be confirmed in writing
as soon as possible.
2.
Requests made pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article
shall include the following information:(a)Requesting Administration;(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.
Article 9
EXECUTION OF REQUESTS

1.
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement,
assistance under this Agreement shall be provided directlyby the Customs Administrations.
2.
In order to comply with a request for assistance, theRequested Administration shall, within the limits of its
competence and available resources, take all reasonablemeasures by providing information already possessed, by
carrying out appropriate inquiries or by arranging for them
to be carried out.
3.
The Requested Administration may authorize theofficials of the Requesting Administration to be present at
the inquiries conducted by the Requested Administration inits customs territory. The presence of such officials of
the Requesting Administration shall be of an advisory
character and subject to the terms and conditions
established by the Requested Administration.

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4.
Duly authorized officials from the Requesting
Administration may, with the consent of the Requested
Administration and subject to the conditions established by
the latter, be present to obtain in the offices of theRequested Administration, information and copies of the
documents related to activities that are or may be customs
offences, which the Requesting Administration needs for the
purposes of this Agreement.
5.
When, in accordance with this Agreement, officials ofeither Customs Administration are present in the customs
territory of the other Customs Administration, they must beable at any time to furnish proof of their identity,
official capacity and mandate. They cannot wear uniforms
or carry weapons with them. They are responsible for any
offence they may commit and they shall enjoy, to the extent
provided by the laws and regulations of the Country of theother Customs Administration, the same protection as
granted to officials of the other Customs Administration.
6.
If the Requested Administration cannot fulfil therequest, it will inform without delay the Requesting
Administration with a statement of the reasons which may be
accompanied by the relevant information.
Article 10
USE OF INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY
1.
Information obtained shall be used solely for the
purposes of this Agreement. Where one of the Contracting
Parties wishes to use such information for other purposes,
it shall obtain the prior written consent of the Customs
Administration which provided the information. Such use
shall then be subject to any restrictions laid down by that
Customs Administration.
2.
Notwithstanding the second sentence of paragraph 1 ofthis Article, unless otherwise notified by the Customs
Administration providing the information, the Customs
Administration receiving the information may provide theinformation received pursuant to this Agreement to therelevant law enforcement authorities of its Country, which
may use such information under the conditions of thisAgreement.
3.
This Article does not preclude the use and disclosureof information insofar as it is established in the laws andregulations of the Country of the Customs Administration
receiving the information. Whenever possible, the Customs
Administration receiving the information shall give priornotice of this disclosure to the Requested Administration.

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4.
Any information communicated in whatever form pursuant
to this Agreement shall be of a confidential nature inaccordance with the laws and regulations of each Country
and shall enjoy the protection extended to the same kind of
information under the laws and regulations of the Countryof the Customs Administration that received it unless theContracting Party providing it gives prior authorization toits disclosure.
5.
Personal data may be exchanged only when theContracting Party which may receive it undertakes toprotect such data in at least an equivalent way to the one
applicable to that particular case in the Contracting Party
that may supply it. The Contracting Party that may supply
the information shall not stipulate any requirements thatare more onerous than those applicable to it in its own
jurisdiction. The Contracting Parties shall communicate toeach other information on the laws and regulations
regarding the protection of personal data of each Country,
including those in force in the European Union.
Article 11
CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
1.
Information provided by either Customs Administration
to the other Customs Administration pursuant to thisAgreement shall not be used by the Contracting Party of thelatter in criminal proceedings carried out by a court or ajudge.
2.
In the event that information provided by the Customs
Administration of a Contracting Party pursuant to thisAgreement is needed to be used by the other Contracting
Party in criminal proceedings carried out by a court of ajudge, the latter Contracting Party shall, in order to use
such information in criminal proceedings carried out by acourt or a judge, submit a request for such information to
the former Contracting Party through diplomatic channels orother channels established in accordance with the laws andregulations of the Country of the former Contracting Party.

10Article 12
DEROGATION TO ASSISTANCE
1.
Where the Contracting Party of the Requested
Administration considers that the assistance requested may
infringe upon the sovereignty, public policy, security, or
any other substantive national interest of its Country or
involve violation of any industrial, commercial or
professional secrecy in the customs territory of thatContracting Party or may prove to be inconsistent with thelaws and regulations of its Country, such assistance may bedeclined by that Contracting Party, partly provided orprovided subject to any terms or conditions it may require.
2.
Where the Requesting Administration seeks assistancewhich it would itself be unable to provide if so requested,
it shall draw attention to that fact in its request. It
shall then be for the Requested Administration to decide
how to respond to such a request.
3.
The Requested Administration may postpone assistancewhen there are firm grounds for believing that it could
prejudice investigations or ongoing judicial proceedings.
In this case, the Requested Administration shall consult
the Requesting Administration to determine whether
assistance can be provided within the terms and conditions
required by the Requested Administration.
4.
The Requesting Administration shall be promptly
informed of any decision to refuse or postpone theassistance and the grounds for that decision.
Article 13
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCEThe Customs Administrations shall provide each otherwith technical assistance in customs matters by:(a)exchanging officials with a view to developing
mutual knowledge of the respective customs
techniques;(b)providing training and assistance in building up
the capacities of their own officials;(c)exchanging experts; and(d)providing information on the procedures andsimplifications of customs controls to improvethe methods and ways of such controls.

11Article 14
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
Administrations shall consult to determine the terms andconditions under which the request will be executed as wellas the manner in which the costs shall be borne.
Article 15
TERRITORIAL APPLICATIONThis Agreement shall apply to the customs territories
of both Countries as defined in their respective laws andregulations.
Article 16
HEADINGS
The headings of the Articles of this Agreement are
inserted for convenience of reference only and shall notaffect the interpretation of this Agreement.
Article 17
CONSULTATIONAll questions or disputes related to theinterpretation or implementation of this Agreement shall besettled by mutual consultation between the Contracting
Parties.
Article 18
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT
1.
The Customs Administrations shall take the necessary
measures to ensure that officials responsible forinvestigating or combating customs offences maintainpersonal and direct relations with each other. The Customs
Administrations will provide each other with detailed
information of respective offices responsible for the
implementation of this Agreement.
2.
Detailed arrangements to implement this Agreement may
be concluded, if necessary, between the Customs
Administrations.

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3.
A Joint Commission is hereby established between theContracting Parties, composed of Director General of
Customs and Tariff Bureau of the Ministry of Finance ofJapan and Director of the Customs Agency of the Italian
Republic, assisted by experts. The Joint Commission shallmeet, upon request by either Customs Administration, tomonitor the progress of this Agreement as well as to findsolutions to any problems that might arise.
Article 19
FINAL PROVISIONS
1.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first dayof the second month following the date on which theContracting Parties have notified each other, through theexchange of diplomatic notes, of the completion of theprocedures necessary for this purpose.
2.
The Contracting Parties, upon request and if the caseso requires, shall meet to examine this Agreement and toamend it. Amendments shall enter into force within thesame conditions as mentioned in paragraph 1 of this
Article.
3.
This Agreement is of unlimited duration but any
Contracting Party may denounce it at any time by notifying
it in writing to the other Contracting Party throughdiplomatic channels. The denunciation shall take effectthree months after the notification. The denunciation ofthis Agreement shall not affect the ongoing cooperation
activities, undertaken prior to the date of denunciation.
In witness thereof, we, the undersigned
representatives duly authorized by the respective
Governments, have undersigned this Agreement.
Done at Rome on the fifteenth day of December, theyear 2009 in two originals, in the Japanese, Italian, andEnglish languages all texts being equally authentic.
Should any dispute arise as to the interpretation of thisAgreement, the English text shall prevail.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN:

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC:

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