AGREEMENT BETWEENTHE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINAREGARDING MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATIONIN CUSTOMS MATTERS

The Government of Japan and the Government of thePeople’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “theContracting Parties”),
Considering that offenses against Customs laws areprejudicial to the economic, fiscal, social, cultural andcommercial interests of their respective countries,
Considering the importance of assuring the accurate
assessment and collection of Customs duties, fees and othertaxes,
Recognizing the need for international cooperation inmatters related to the administration and enforcement of
the Customs laws of their respective countries,
Having regard to the international conventions
containing prohibitions, restrictions, and special measuresof control in respect of specific goods that theContracting Parties have acceded to, andConvinced that action against Customs offenses can bemade more effective by cooperation between their Customs
Administrations,Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of the present Agreement:(a)the term “Customs laws” shall mean statutory andregulatory provisions relating to theimportation, exportation, movement or storage ofgoods, the administration and enforcement of
which are specifically charged to the Customs
Administrations, and any regulations made by theCustoms Administrations under their statutory
powers;(b)

the term “Customs Administration” shall mean, inJapan, the Ministry of Finance, and in thePeople’s Republic of China, General
Administration of Customs;

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(c)

the term “information” shall mean any data,
documents, reports, or other communications;(d)the term “Customs offense” shall mean any
violation against the Customs laws as well as any
attempt to commit any violation against suchlaws, including commercial fraud, smuggling ofgoods or substances harmful to the environment or
health, narcotic drugs, arms, ammunition,
antiques of historical, cultural orarchaeological value and endangered plants andanimals, and infringement of intellectual
property rights;(e)the term “person” shall mean any natural person,
any legal person, or any other entity without
legal personality carrying on importation,
exportation or transit of goods;(f)the term “Requesting Administration” shall mean
the Customs Administration that requestsassistance;(g)

the term “Requested Administration” shall mean
the Customs Administration from which assistanceis requested; and(h)the term “Customs territory” shall mean theterritory of the country of each Contracting
Party in which the Customs laws of that country
are in force.
Article 2
Scope of the Agreement

1.
The Contracting Parties shall assist each otherthrough their Customs Administrations to ensure proper
application of Customs laws and to prevent, investigate,and repress any Customs offense, in accordance with theprovisions of this Agreement.
2.
The Contracting Parties shall through their Customs
Administrations make cooperative efforts for simplificationand harmonization of their Customs procedures.
3.
This Agreement shall be implemented by the Contracting
Parties in accordance with the laws and regulations inforce in each country and within the limits of the mutualcompetence of both Customs Administrations and theirrespective available resources.

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4.
This Agreement is intended solely for mutual
assistance between the Contracting Parties. The provisionsof this Agreement shall not give rise to a right on thepart of any private person to obtain, suppress, or exclude
any information, or to impede in the execution of a request
for assistance made under this Agreement.
Article 3
Communication of Information
1.
The Customs Administrations shall provide each other,either on request or on their own initiative, withinformation necessary to ensure proper application ofCustoms laws and to prevent, investigate, and repress any
Customs offense, including such information:(a)which is likely to be of assistance in theaccurate assessment and collection of Customs
duties, fees and other taxes;(b)which relates to Customs offenses committed orplanned in respect of the importation and theexportation; and(c)which is involving the other Contracting Party inrespect of sources of smuggling goods, newappliances of Customs offenses as well as methodsof committing smuggling activities in relation tocases exposed by one Contracting Party.

2.
The Customs Administration of either Contracting Party
shall, on its own initiative or upon request, provide theCustoms Administration of the other Contracting Party withavailable information regarding the activities that may
result in Customs offenses within the Customs territory of
the country of the latter Customs Administration.
3.
When the Customs Administration of either Contracting
Party considers that available information may be relevant
to serious Customs offenses that could involve substantial
damage to the economy, public health, public security, or
any other vital interest of the country of the otherCustoms Administration, the former Customs Administration
shall, on its own initiative, provide the latter Customs
Administration with such information.

3Article 4
Assistance on Request
1.
At the request of the Requesting Administration, theRequested Administration shall provide it with information
which may enable it to ensure that Customs laws arecorrectly applied, including information regarding
activities detected or planned which are or could be
operations in breach of Customs laws. In particular, uponrequest, the Customs Administrations shall furnish to eachother information regarding activities that may result in
Customs offenses within the Customs territory of thecountry of the other Customs Administration, for example,
incorrect Customs declarations, certificates of origin andinvoices, or any other information known to be, orsuspected of being, incorrect or falsified.
2.
Upon request, the Requested Administration shallprovide the Requesting Administration with the following
information:(a)whether goods imported into the Customs territoryof the country of the Requesting Administration
have been lawfully exported from the Customs
territory of the country of the Requested
Administration; or(b)whether goods exported from the Customs territoryof the country of the Requesting Administration
have been lawfully imported into the Customs
territory of the country of the Requested
Administration.

3.
The information provided pursuant to paragraph 2 ofthis Article shall, upon request, contain the Customs
procedure used for clearing the goods.
4.
The Customs Administrations shall, upon request,
provide information relating to transportation and shipmentof goods showing value, disposition and destination of
those goods.
5.
Unless otherwise advised by the Requesting
Administration, the Requested Administration may transmit
any form of computer-based information in response to therequest referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article.
6.
All relevant information for interpreting or utilizing
the information provided pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 5 ofthis Article shall be supplied at the same time.

4Article 5
Special Surveillance
Upon request, the Requested Administration shall,
within the limits of the mutual competence of both Customs
Administrations and its available resources, provide
information on and exercise special surveillance of:(a)persons known to the Requesting Administration tohave committed a Customs offense or suspected by
the Requesting Administration of having done so
within the Customs territory of the country of
the Requesting Administration, particularly thosemoving into and out of the Customs territory of
the country of the Requested Administration;(b)

goods either in transport or in storage notified
by the Requesting Administration as giving rise
to a suspicion of controlled items to betransported towards the Customs territory of thecountry of the Requesting Administration; or(c)means of transport suspected by the Requesting
Administration of having been used in thecommission of a Customs offense within theCustoms territory of the country of theRequesting Administration.
Article 6
Form and Substance of Request

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 of this Article
shall include the following information:(a)the Administration making the request;(b)

the nature of the proceedings in respect of which
the request is made;(c)the object and the reason for the request;(d)the names and addresses of the persons to whom
the request relates, if known; and(e)a brief description of the matter underconsideration and the legal elements involved.

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3.
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, theinformation provided pursuant to this Agreement shall bedirectly communicated between officials designated by therespective Customs Administrations.
Article 7
Execution of Requests
1.
The Requested Administration shall take, within thelimits of mutual competence of both Customs Administrations
and its available resources, all reasonable measures to
execute the request for assistance made under thisAgreement in accordance with the laws and regulations inforce in the country of the Requested Administration.
2.
If the Requested Administration agrees to the requestof the Requesting Administration, officials speciallydesignated by the Requesting Administration may, subject tothe conditions imposed by the Requested Administration, bepresent at the inquiry conducted by the Requested
Administration in the Customs territory of the country ofthe Requested Administration.
3.
The Requested Administration shall, upon request by
the Requesting Administration and when it deems
appropriate, advise the Requesting Administration of thetime and place of the action it will take in response tothe request for assistance so that such action may becoordinated.
4.
In case the Requested Administration is not theappropriate agency to comply with a request for assistance,
it shall transmit the request to the appropriate agency
which shall be under no obligation to reply to such arequest.
Article 8
Use of Information
1.
Information received pursuant to this Agreement shall
only be used for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 ofArticle 2 of this Agreement and by the Customs
Administrations, unless the Customs Administration
providing the information has expressly approved in writing
its use by other authorities.

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2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, theCustoms Administration of a Contracting Party may provide
the information received pursuant to this Agreement to therelevant law enforcement agencies of its country, which may
use such information under the conditions stipulated inparagraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, provided that theCustoms Administration providing the information, uponrequest by the other Customs Administration, has approved
its use by the relevant law enforcement agencies.
3.
Information provided from the Customs Administrationof a Contracting Party to the Customs Administration of theother Contracting Party pursuant to this Agreement shallnot be used by that other Contracting Party in criminal
proceedings carried out by a court or a judge.
4.
In the event that information obtained by the Customs
Administration of a Contracting Party pursuant to thisAgreement is needed for presentation to a court or a judgein criminal proceedings, that Contracting Party shallsubmit a request for such information to the other
Contracting Party that provided the information throughdiplomatic channels or other channel established inaccordance with the laws of the country of the requested
Contracting Party.
Article 9
Confidentiality
1.
Each Contracting Party shall maintain theconfidentiality of any information communicated to it inconfidence by the other Contracting Party pursuant to thisAgreement, and shall grant at least the same level ofprotection under the laws and regulations of the country of
the latter Contracting Party, unless the latter Contracting
Party consents to the use or disclosure of suchinformation.
2.
This Article shall not preclude the use or disclosureof information to the extent that there is an obligation to
do so under the laws and regulations of the country of theCustoms Administration receiving the information. Such
Customs Administration shall, wherever possible, giveadvance notice of any such disclosure to the Customs
Administration which provided the information.
3.
Each Contracting Party may limit the information it
provides to the other Contracting Party when the other
Contracting Party is unable to give the assurance requestedby the former Contracting Party with respect toconfidentiality or with respect to the limitations ofpurposes for which the information will be used.

7Article 10
Exemption from Assistance1.
In cases where the Contracting Party of the Requested
Administration is of the opinion that assistance under thisAgreement would infringe upon its sovereignty, security,
public policy, or other substantial interest, assistance
may be refused or withheld, or may be made subject to thesatisfaction of certain conditions or requirements.
2.
If the Requesting Administration would be unable tocomply with a similar request in case such a request weremade by the Requested Administration, it shall draw
attention to that fact in its request. Execution of such arequest shall be at the discretion of the Requested
Administration.
3.
Assistance may be withheld by the Requested
Administration on the ground that it will interfere with an
ongoing investigation, including investigation by therelevant law enforcement agencies, prosecution, or judicialproceeding. In such a case, the Requested Administration
shall consult with the Requesting Administration todetermine if assistance can be given subject to any terms
or conditions as the Requested Administration may require.
4.
In the event that a request cannot be executed, theRequesting Administration shall be promptly notified ofthat fact, and provided a statement of the reasons forpostponement or denial of the request. The statement may
be accompanied by the relevant information which may be
useful for the Requesting Administration in its further
pursuit of the request.
Article 11
Technical Cooperation
The Customs Administrations shall provide each otherwith technical cooperation, within the limits of the mutualcompetence of both Customs Administrations and theirrespective available resources, when mutually beneficial on
Customs matters including:(a)the view exchange of Customs experts for thepurposes of promoting the understanding of eachother’s Customs laws, procedures and techniques;(b)

the training and assistance in developing
specialized skills of their Customs officials
including exchange of personnel;8(c)the exchange of professional, scientific andtechnical data relating to Customs laws andprocedures; and(d)the cooperation in the areas of research,development and test of new Customs procedures
and new enforcement aids and techniques.
Article 12
Costs

Expenses incurred in the implementation of thisAgreement shall be borne by the respective Contracting
Parties. If expenses of a substantial and extraordinary
nature are required in the execution of this Agreement, theterms and conditions under which the request will beexecuted shall be consulted and arranged by the ContractingParties.
Article 13
Implementation of the Agreement
1.
The Contracting Parties may hold, as necessary,consultations through diplomatic channels on any matterswhich may arise in the implementation of this Agreement.
2.
Detailed arrangements to implement this Agreement will
be concluded, as necessary, between the Customs
Administrations of the Contracting Parties.
Article 14
Entry into Force and Termination
1.

This Agreement shall enter into force upon signature.

2.
Either Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement
by giving three months written notice through diplomaticchannels. Any ongoing assistance at the time ofnotification of termination shall be completed by the dateof termination.
3.
The Contracting Parties shall meet in order to review
this Agreement as necessary, or at the end of five years
from its entry into force, unless they notify one anotherin writing that no review is necessary.
4.
The headings of the Articles of this Agreement are
inserted for convenience of reference only and shall notaffect the interpretation of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly
authorized by their respective Governments, have signed
this Agreement.

9DONE at Beijing, this second day of April 2006, in
duplicate, in the Japanese, Chinese and English languages,
all texts being equally authentic. In case of any
divergence of interpretation, the English text shallprevail.

For the Government ofJapan:

For the Government of
the People’s Republic of China:

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