AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPANAND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICAREGARDING MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATIONBETWEEN THEIR CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIONSThe Government of Japan and the Government of theRepublic of South Africa (hereinafter referred to as “theContracting Parties”);
CONSIDERING the importance of the accurate assessmentof customs duties and other taxes collected at importation
or exportation and of ensuring proper enforcement ofmeasures of prohibition, restriction and control;
CONSIDERING that customs offences are prejudicial tothe economic, fiscal, social, cultural and commercial
interests of their respective countries;
CONSIDERING that traffic in narcotic drugs andpsychotropic substances constitutes a danger to publichealth and to society;
RECOGNISING growing concern regarding violation of
intellectual property rights and the movement ofcounterfeit and pirated goods;
RECOGNISING the need for international cooperation inmatters related to the application and enforcement of thecustoms laws of their respective countries;
CONVINCED that actions against customs offences can bemade more effective by close cooperation between theirCustoms Administrations;
HAVING regard to international conventions containing
prohibitions, restrictions, and special measures of control
in respect of specific goods, that the Contracting Parties
have concluded,
HAVE AGREED as follows:
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Agreement:(a)the term “Customs Administration” shall mean, inJapan, the Ministry of Finance, and in theRepublic of South Africa, the South African
Revenue Service;

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(b)

the term “customs laws” shall mean any laws andregulations or rules administered and enforced by
the Customs Administrations in connection with
the importation, exportation, transit of goods
and placing of goods under any other customs
procedures, including measures of prohibition,restriction and control falling under thecompetence of the Customs Administrations;(c)the term “customs offence” shall mean any
violation or attempted violation of customs laws;(d)the term “information” shall mean any data,documents, reports, and other communications in
any format, including electronic copies thereof;(e)the term “official” shall mean any customs
officer of either Customs Administration;(f)

the term “person” shall mean both natural andlegal persons, or any other entity without legal
personality, constituted or organized under thelaws and regulations of the country of eachContracting Party, carrying on importation,exportation or transit of goods;(g)the term “Requested Administration” shall mean
the Customs Administration from which assistanceis requested;(h)the term “Requesting Administration” shall mean
the Customs Administration that requests
assistance; and(i)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 2SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT

1.
The Contracting Parties shall, through their Customs
Administrations and in accordance with the provisions set
out in this Agreement, assist each other to ensure proper
application of the customs laws to prevent, investigate andcombat customs offences and to ensure the security of theinternational trade supply chain.

22.
The Contracting Parties shall, through their Customs
Administrations, make cooperative efforts for
simplification and harmonisation of their customs
procedures.
3.
This Agreement shall be implemented in accordance withthe laws and regulations or rules in force in the countryof each Contracting Party and within the competence andavailable resources of their respective Customs
Administrations.
4.
Assistance to recover customs duties and other taxes
collected at importation or exportation, or fines is notcovered by this Agreement.
ARTICLE 3
COMMUNICATION ON INFORMATION
1.
Each Customs Administration shall, either upon request
or on its own initiative, provide the other withinformation necessary to ensure proper application ofcustoms laws and to prevent, investigate and combat anycustoms offence.
2.
Each Customs Administration shall, upon request,
provide the other with information relating to thetransportation and shipment of goods which shows value,
country of origin, disposition and destination of those
goods.
3.
When either Customs Administration considers thatavailable information is relevant to serious customs
offences that could involve substantial damage to theeconomy, public health, public security or any other vitalinterest of the country of the other Customs
Administration, the former Customs Administration shall,wherever possible, provide the other with such information
on its own initiative without delay.
ARTICLE 4
ASSISTANCE ON REQUEST
1.
Upon request, the Requested Administration shallprovide the Requesting Administration with information
concerning the following matters:(a)whether goods that are imported into the customs
territory of the Requesting Administration havebeen lawfully exported from the customs territoryof the Requested Administration;3(b)whether goods that are exported from the customs
territory of the Requesting Administration havebeen lawfully imported into the customs territoryof the Requested Administration and the nature of
the customs procedure, if any, under which thegoods have been placed; and(c)the customs procedure, if any, used for clearing
the goods.

2.
All relevant information for the interpretation orutilisation of the information provided pursuant toparagraph 1 of this Article shall be provided at the sametime.
3.
Unless the Requesting Administration otherwise
advises, the Requested Administration may provide computerbased information in any form in response to the request
referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
ARTICLE 5
SPECIAL SURVEILLANCE
Upon request, the Requested Administration shall
exercise special surveillance of and provide informationon:(a)persons known to the Requesting Administration tohave committed customs offences or suspected by
the Requesting Administration of having done so,particularly those persons moving into and out of
the customs territory of the Requested
Administration;(b)

goods either in transport or in storage known to
the Requesting Administration to have been usedor suspected by the Requesting Administration of
having been used to commit customs offences in
the customs territory of the Requesting
Administration;(c)places which are or may be used for storing goodsand which are known to the Requesting
Administration to have been used or suspected by
the Requesting Administration of having been used
to commit customs offences; and(d)means of transport known to the Requesting
Administration to have been used or suspected by
the Requesting Administration of having been used
to commit customs offences in the customs
territory of the Requesting Administration.

4ARTICLE 6
FORM AND SUBSTANCE OF REQUESTS
1.
Requests for assistance under this Agreement shall bemade in writing or electronically, and shall be accompanied
by any information deemed useful to comply with therequest. When the urgency of the situation so requires,requests may be made orally. Such requests shall beconfirmed in writing as soon as possible.
2.
Requests for assistance shall be made in the English
language. Any documents accompanying such requests shallbe translated, to the extent necessary, into the English
language.
3.
Requests for assistance made pursuant to paragraph 1of this Article shall include the following details:(a)the name of the Requesting Administration;(b)

the action requested;(c)the object and the reason for the request;(d)a brief description of the case under review andlegal elements involved; and(e)the names and addresses of the persons to whom
the request relates, if known.

4.
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, theinformation provided pursuant to this Agreement shall bedirectly communicated between officials who are speciallydesignated by the respective Customs Administrations. A
list of officials so designated shall be provided to theother Customs Administration.
ARTICLE 7
EXECUTION OF REQUESTS
1.
The Requested Administration shall take, within thelimits of its competence and its available resources, allreasonable measures to execute the request for assistancemade under this Agreement in accordance with the laws andregulations or rules in force in the country of theRequested Administration.

52.
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.
3.
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
ARRANGEMENTS FOR VISITING OFFICIALS
1.
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.
2.
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. 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.
ARTICLE 9USE OF INFORMATION
1.
Any information received pursuant to this Agreement
shall be used only by the Customs Administrations andsolely for the purposes of this Agreement except in cases
where the Customs Administration providing the information
has expressly approved, in writing, its use by otherauthorities for such purposes.

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2.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, unlessotherwise notified by the Customs Administration providing
the information, the Customs Administration receiving theinformation may provide the information received pursuant
to this Agreement to the relevant law enforcement agencies
of its country, which may use such information under theconditions stipulated in the first sentence of paragraph 1and in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, as well as inArticle 10.
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 through thediplomatic channels or other channels established inaccordance with the laws and regulations of the country of
the Requested Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 10
CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION
1.
Any information received pursuant to this Agreement
shall be treated as confidential and granted at least thesame level of protection as is extended to the same kind of
information under the laws and regulations of the countryof the Customs Administration receiving the information
unless the Customs Administration providing the information
gives a prior consent to the 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 providing the information.
3.
Each Customs Administration may limit the information
it provides to the other Customs Administration when that
other Customs Administration is unable to give theassurance requested by the former Customs Administration
with respect to confidentiality or with respect to thelimitations of purposes for which the information will beused.

7ARTICLE 11
EXEMPTIONS FROM THE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE
1.
If the Contracting Party of the Requested
Administration considers that the requested assistancewould infringe upon the sovereignty, security, public
policy or other essential interests of its country, it may
refuse to provide assistance or it may provide theassistance only if certain conditions are met.
2.
If the Requesting Administration would not itself beable to execute a similar request in case such a request
was made by the other Customs Administration, it shall draw
attention to the fact in its request. Execution of such arequest shall be entirely at the discretion of theRequested Administration.
3.
Assistance may be postponed by the Requested
Administration on the ground that it will interfere with an
ongoing investigation, prosecution or proceeding. In sucha case the Requested Administration shall consult with theRequesting Administration to determine if assistance can beprovided subject to any terms and conditions as theRequested Administration may require.
4.
In the event that a request cannot be complied with,
the Requesting Administration shall be promptly notified of
the fact and provided with a statement of the reasons forpostponement or denial of the request.
ARTICLE 12
TECHNICAL COOPERATION
1.
The Customs Administrations may provide each otherwith technical cooperation, within the limits of theircompetence and their respective available resources, incustoms matters including:(a)exchange of officials when mutually beneficial
for the purpose of advancing the understanding ofeach other’s techniques;(b)

training and assistance in developing specializedskills of officials;(c)exchange of information and experience in theareas of research, development and testing of newcustoms procedures and new enforcement aids andtechniques.

82.
The Customs Administrations shall provide each otherwith the necessary cooperation to detect and prevent
violation of intellectual property rights and the movementof such goods infringing intellectual property rights
between the customs territories of the CustomsAdministrations.
ARTICLE 13
COSTS
1.
The Contracting Parties shall not claim forreimbursement of costs incurred in the implementation ofthis Agreement.
2.
If expenses of a substantial or extraordinary nature
are or will be required to execute a request, the Customs
Administrations shall consult to determine the terms andconditions under which the request shall be executed.
ARTICLE 14
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT
1.
The Customs Administrations shall, as necessary andwithin their competence, consult with each other on anymatters which may arise in connection with theimplementation of this Agreement.
2.
The Customs Administrations may, as necessary,conclude detailed arrangements, within the framework ofthis Agreement, to facilitate the implementation of thisAgreement.
3.
Any difficulties or disputes related to theinterpretation or implementation of this Agreement shall besettled by mutual consultation between the ContractingParties.
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
ENTRY INTO FORCE
This Agreement shall enter into force on the date ofsignature thereof.

9ARTICLE 17
AMENDMENTS
The Contracting Parties may, at any time, amend thisAgreement by mutual consent in writing through diplomaticchannels. Amendments shall enter into force under the same
conditions as provided for in Article 16, except asotherwise agreed by the Contracting Parties.
ARTICLE 18
DURATION AND TERMINATION
1.
This Agreement is of unlimited duration but either
Contracting Party may terminate it, through diplomaticchannels, by giving written notice in advance.
2.
The termination shall take effect three months after
the date of receipt of such notice.
3.
Any ongoing assistance at the time of notification oftermination shall nonetheless be completed in accordancewith the provisions of this Agreement by the date oftermination.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly
authorised thereto by their respective Governments, havesigned this Agreement.
DONE in two originals at Pretoria on 2nd day of Julyin the year 2012, in the Japanese and English languages,
both texts being equally authentic.

For the Government ofJapan:

For the Government ofthe Republic of South Africa:

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