AGREEMENT BETWEENTHE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN AND
THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
ON CO-OPERATION AND MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCEIN CUSTOMS MATTERS

THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN and THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY(hereinafter referred to as the “Contracting Parties”),
CONSIDERING the importance of the commercial links
between Japan and the European Community (hereinafterreferred to as “the Community”), and desirous ofcontributing, to the benefit of both Contracting Parties,
to the harmonious development of those links;
BELIEVING that, in order to attain this objective,
there should be an undertaking to develop customs cooperation;
TAKING into account the development of customs cooperation between the Contracting Parties, concerning
customs procedures;
CONSIDERING that operations in breach of customs
legislation are prejudicial to the economic, fiscal andcommercial interests of both Contracting Parties, andrecognising the importance of ensuring the accurate
assessment of customs duties and other taxes;
CONVINCED that action against such operations can bemade more effective by co-operation between customs
authorities;
RECOGNISING the significant role of customs
authorities and the importance of customs procedures inpromoting trade facilitation;
HAVING regard to the high level of commitment of bothContracting Parties to customs actions and co-operation in
the fight against infringements of intellectual property
rights;HAVING regard to obligations imposed underinternational conventions already accepted by, or applied
to the Contracting Parties, as well as customs related
activities undertaken by the World Trade Organisation(hereinafter referred to as the “WTO”);

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HAVING regard to the Recommendation of the Customs Cooperation Council (hereinafter referred to as the “CCC”) on
Mutual Administrative Assistance of December 5, 1953; andWHEREAS in 1991 the Joint Declaration on Relations
between The European Community and its Member States andJapan provided general guidelines for the relationship andset procedural objectives to further develop relations;
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
TITLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Definitions
For the purpose of this Agreement:(a)“customs legislation” shall mean any laws andregulations of Japan or the Community, governing
the import, export and transit of goods andplacing of goods under any other customs
procedures, including measures of prohibitions,
restrictions and controls falling under thecompetence of the customs authorities;(b)“laws and regulations of the Contracting Party”
and “laws and regulations of each Contracting
Party” shall mean the laws and regulations ofJapan or the laws and regulations of theCommunity, as the context requires;(c)“customs authority” shall mean, in Japan, theMinistry of Finance and, in the Community, thecompetent services of the Commission of theEuropean Communities responsible for customs
matters and the customs authorities of the Member
States of the Community;(d)“applicant authority” shall mean a customs
authority of a Contracting Party which makes arequest for assistance, on the basis of thisAgreement;(e)“requested authority” shall mean a customs
authority of a Contracting Party which receives arequest for assistance, on the basis of thisAgreement;

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(f)

“personal data” shall mean all information
relating to an identified or identifiable
individual;(g)“operation in breach of customs legislation”
shall mean any violation or attempted violationof the customs legislation;(h)“person” shall mean any natural person, any legal
person, or any other entity without legal
personality constituted or organised under thelaws and regulations of each Contracting Party,
carrying on importation, exportation, or transitof goods; and(i)“information” shall mean data, documents,
reports, and other communications in any format,
including electronic copies thereof.
Article 2
Territorial Application

This Agreement shall apply, on the one hand, to theterritory of Japan in which its customs legislation is inforce and, on the other hand, to the territories where theTreaty establishing the European Community is applied andunder the conditions laid down in that Treaty.
Article 3
Implementation
This Agreement shall be implemented by the Contracting
Parties in accordance with the laws and regulations of eachContracting Party, and within the available resources of
their respective customs authorities.
Article 4
Scope of the co-operation
1.
Under this Agreement, customs co-operation shall cover
all matters relating to the application of customs
legislation.
2.
The Contracting Parties through their customs
authorities undertake to develop customs co-operation. In
particular, the Contracting Parties shall co-operate in:(a)establishing and maintaining channels ofcommunications between their customs authorities
to facilitate the secure and rapid exchange of
information;

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(b)

facilitating effective co-ordination between
their customs authorities; and(c)any other administrative matters related to thisAgreement that may from time to time require
their joint action.

3.
The Contracting Parties also undertake to make cooperative efforts through their customs authorities inorder to develop trade facilitation actions in the field ofcustoms in accordance with international standards.
Article 5
Scope of assistance1.
The Contracting Parties through their customs
authorities shall assist each other, in the areas within
their competence and within the limits of available
resources, and in the manner and under the conditions laid
down in this Agreement, to ensure the correct applicationof customs legislation, in particular by preventing,investigating and combating operations in breach of thatlegislation.
2.
Assistance in customs matters under this Agreement
shall be provided between the customs authorities of theContracting Parties, which are competent for theapplication of this Agreement. It shall not prejudice therights and obligations of either Contracting Party on
mutual assistance in criminal matters under international
agreements or the laws and regulations of each Contracting
Party. Nor shall it cover information obtained underpowers exercised at the request of a judicial authority.
3.
Assistance to recover duties, taxes or fines is notcovered by this Agreement.
Article 6
Relation to other international agreements
1.
The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect therights and obligations of either Contracting Party under
any other international agreements.
2.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, theprovisions of this Agreement shall take precedence over theprovisions of any bilateral agreement on customs cooperation and mutual administrative assistance which has
been or may be concluded between Japan and individual
Member States of the Community, insofar as the provisionsof the latter are incompatible with those of thisAgreement.

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3.
The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect theCommunity provisions governing the communication between
the competent services of the Commission and the customs
authorities of the Member States of the Community of any
information obtained under this Agreement which could be ofinterest to the Community.
TITLE IICUSTOMS CO-OPERATION
Article 7
Co-operation in customs procedures
For the purpose of facilitating the legitimate
movement of goods, the customs authorities shall exchange
information and expertise on measures to improve customs
techniques and procedures and on computerised systems inaccordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 8
Technical co-operation
The customs authorities may provide technical cooperation to each other and exchange personnel andexpertise on measures to improve customs techniques andprocedures and on computerised systems with a view towards
achieving these objectives in accordance with theprovisions of this Agreement.
Article 9
Discussions in international organisations
The customs authorities shall seek to develop andstrengthen their co-operation on topics of common interest
with a view to facilitating discussions on customs mattersin the framework of relevant international organisations
such as the CCC and the WTO.

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TITLE III
MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE
Article 10
Assistance on request
1.
At the request of the applicant authority, therequested authority shall provide it with all relevant
information which may enable it to ensure that customs
legislation of the Contracting Party of the applicant
authority is correctly applied, including information
regarding activities detected or planned which are or could
be operations in breach of such customs legislation. In
particular, upon request, the requested authority shallfurnish the applicant authority with information regarding
activities that may result in operations in breach ofcustoms legislation of the Contracting Party of theapplicant authority, for example, incorrect customs
declarations and certificates of origin, invoices, or otherdocuments known to be, or suspected of being, incorrect orfalsified.
2.
At the request of the applicant authority, therequested authority shall inform it:(a)whether goods exported from the territory of oneof the Contracting Parties have been properly
imported into the other, specifying whereappropriate, the customs procedure applied to thegoods; and(b)whether goods imported into the territory of oneof the Contracting Parties have been properly
exported from the other, specifying whereappropriate, the customs procedure applied to thegoods.

3.
At the request of the applicant authority, therequested authority shall, within the framework of the laws
and regulations of the Contracting Party of the requested
authority, 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 operations in breach of customs
legislation of the Contracting Party of theapplicant authority;

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(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 operations in breachof customs legislation of the Contracting Partyof the applicant authority;(c)goods that are or may be transported in such a
way that there are reasonable grounds forbelieving that they are intended to be used inoperations in breach of customs legislation of
the Contracting Party of the applicant authority;
and

(d)

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 inoperations in breach of customs legislation of
the Contracting Party of the applicant authority.
Article 11
Spontaneous assistance

The Contracting Parties shall assist each other, attheir own initiative and in accordance with the laws andregulations of each Contracting Party, if they consider
that to be necessary for the correct application of customs
legislation, in particular, in situations that could
involve substantial damage to the economy, public health,public security, or similar vital interest of the other
Contracting Party, particularly by providing information
obtained pertaining to:(a)activities which are or appear to be operationsin breach of customs legislation and which may beof interest to the other Contracting Party;(b)

new means or methods employed in carrying out
operations in breach of customs legislation;(c)goods known to be subject to operations in breachof customs legislation;(d)persons in respect of whom there are reasonablegrounds for believing they are or have been
involved in operations in breach of customs
legislation; and(e)means of transport in respect of which there arereasonable grounds for believing that they havebeen, are, or may be used in operations in breachof customs legislation.

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Article 12
Form and substance of requests for assistance1.
Requests pursuant to this Agreement shall be made inwriting. They shall be accompanied by the documents
necessary to enable compliance with the request. Whenrequired because of the urgency of the situation, an oral
request may be accepted, but must be confirmed immediately
in writing.
2.
Requests pursuant to paragraph 1 shall include thefollowing information:(a)the applicant authority;(b)

the action requested;(c)the object of 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.
Requests shall be submitted in a language acceptableto both requested and applicant authorities. Thisrequirement may also apply, to the extent necessary, to any
documents that accompany the request under paragraph 1.
4.
If a request does not meet the formal requirement set
out above, its correction or completion may be requested;
precautionary measures may be taken by the requested
authority in the meantime.
Article 13
Execution of requests
1.
In order to comply with a request for assistance, therequested authority shall, within the limits of its
competence and available resources, take all reasonablemeasures by supplying information already possessed, by
carrying out appropriate enquiries or by arranging for them
to be carried out.

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2.
Requests for assistance shall be executed inaccordance with the laws and regulations of the Contracting
Party of the requested authority.
3.
Duly authorised officials from the applicant
authority, may, with the agreement of the requested
authority and subject to the conditions laid down by thelatter, be present to obtain in the offices of therequested authority, information related to activities thatare or may be operations in breach of customs legislation
which the applicant authority needs for the purpose of thisAgreement.
4.
Duly authorised officials from the applicant authority
may, with the agreement of the requested authority andsubject to the conditions laid down by the latter, bepresent at enquiries carried out in the latter’sjurisdiction into specific cases.
5.
In the event that the request cannot be complied with,the applicant authority shall be notified promptly of thatfact with a statement of the reasons. The statement may be
accompanied by the relevant information that the requested
authority considers may be of assistance to the applicant
authority.
6.
The requested authority shall, upon request by theapplicant authority and when it deems appropriate, advise
the applicant authority of the time and place of the action
it will take in response to the request for assistance sothat such action may be co-ordinated.
Article 14
Form in which information is to be communicated1.
The requested authority shall communicate results ofenquiries to the applicant authority in writing together
with relevant documents or other items.
2.

This information may be in computerised form.

9Article 15
Exceptions to the obligation to provide assistance1.
Assistance may be refused or withheld, or may be madesubject to the satisfaction of certain conditions or
requirements, in cases where the Contracting Party of therequested authority is of the opinion that assistance under
this Agreement would infringe upon the sovereignty of Japanor of a Member State of the Community, or upon its
security, public policy, or other essential interest suchas that referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 16. In
particular, each Contracting Party may limit the
information it communicates to the other Contracting Party
when the latter Contracting Party is unable to give theassurance requested by the former Contracting Party withrespect to confidentiality or with respect to thelimitations of purposes for which the information will beused.
2.
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 agencies, prosecution or judicial andadministrative proceedings. In such a case, the requested
authority shall consult with the applicant authority todetermine if assistance can be given subject to such terms
or conditions as the requested authority may require.
3.
Where the applicant authority seeks assistance which
it would itself be unable to provide if so requested, it
shall draw attention to that fact in its request. It shallthen be for the requested authority to decide how to
respond to such a request.
4.
For the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, thedecision of the requested authority and the reasons thereof
must be communicated to the applicant authority without
undue delay.
Article 16
Information exchange and confidentiality
1.
Any information communicated in whatsoever form
pursuant to this Agreement shall be treated as of aconfidential nature, depending on the laws and regulationsof each Contracting Party and shall enjoy the protection
extended to similar information under the relevant laws andregulations of the Contracting Party of the customs
authority that received it and the corresponding provisions
applying to the Community authorities, unless theContracting Party which provided the information gives aprior consent to the disclosure of such information.

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Personal data may be exchanged only where 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 of eachContracting Party, including where appropriate, those in
the Member States of the Community.
3.
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
authority which provided the information. Such use shallthen be subject to any restrictions laid down by that
authority.
4.
Paragraph 3 shall not impede the use of information
obtained in accordance with this Agreement as evidence inadministrative proceedings subsequently instituted in
respect of operations in breach of customs legislation.
Therefore, the Contracting Parties may in their records ofevidence, reports and testimonies and in administrative
proceedings use as evidence information obtained inaccordance with the provisions of this Agreement. The
customs authority which supplied that information shall be
notified of such use.
5.
Notwithstanding paragraph 3 of this Article, unlessotherwise notified by the customs authority providing theinformation, the customs authority receiving theinformation may provide the information received pursuant
to this Agreement to the relevant law enforcement agencies
of its Contracting Party. These agencies may only use thisinformation for the correct application of customs
legislation and shall be subject to the conditions set out
in Article 16 and 17 of this Agreement.

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6.
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 Contracting
Party of the customs authority that received it. Suchcustoms authority shall, wherever possible, give advancenotice of any such disclosure to the customs authority
which provided the information. The receiving Contracting
Party shall, unless otherwise agreed by the Contracting
Party which provided the information, wherever appropriate,use all available measures under the applicable laws andregulations of the former Contracting Party to maintain theconfidentiality of information and to protect personal data
as regards applications by a third party or otherauthorities for disclosure of the information concerned.
Article 17
Criminal proceedings
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.
Article 18
Assistance expenses
1.
Expenses incurred in the implementation of thisAgreement shall be borne by the respective Contracting
Parties.
2.
If during the execution of a request it becomesapparent that completion of the execution of the request
will entail expenses of an extraordinary nature, thecustoms authorities shall consult to determine the terms
and conditions under which the execution may continue.
TITLE IV
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 19
Headings
The headings of the Titles and the Articles of thisAgreement are inserted for convenience of reference onlyand shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.

12Article 20
Consultation
All questions or disputes related to theinterpretation or implementation of this Agreement shall besettled by mutual consultation between the Contracting
Parties.
Article 21
Joint Customs Co-operation Committee
1.
A Joint Customs Co-operation Committee is hereby
established, consisting of officials from the Ministry of
Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and of
officials of the European Community responsible for customs
matters. Other officials of both Contracting Parties with
the necessary expertise relevant to the issues to be
discussed may be included on an ad hoc basis. It shallmeet at a place, on a date and with an agenda, fixed bymutual consent.
2.
The Joint Customs Co-operation Committee shall inter
alia:
(a)

see to the proper functioning of this Agreement;(b)take measures necessary for customs co-operationin accordance with the objectives of thisAgreement;(c)exchange views on any points of common interest
regarding customs co-operation, including future
measures and the resources for them;(d)recommend solutions aimed at attaining theobjectives of this Agreement; and(e)adopt its internal rules of procedure.
Article 22
Entry into force and duration

1.
This Agreement shall enter into force on the first dayof the month following the date on which the Contracting
Parties have notified each other of the completion of theprocedures necessary for this purpose through diplomatic
notes exchanged between them.

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2.
This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of theContracting Parties through diplomatic notes exchanged
between them. Amendments shall enter into force within thesame conditions as mentioned in paragraph 1, except asotherwise agreed by the Contracting Parties.
3.
Each Contracting Party may terminate this Agreement bygiving notice to the other in writing. The termination
shall take effect three months from the date of
notification to the other Contracting Party. Requests forassistance which have been received prior to thetermination of the Agreement shall be completed inaccordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 23
Authentic texts
This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in theJapanese, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English,
Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian,
Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese,Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish languages,
each text being equally authentic. In case of divergenceof interpretation, the Japanese and English texts shallprevail over the other language texts.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly
authorised to do so, have signed this Agreement.
Done at Brussels, this thirtieth day of January, 2008.

For the Government of JapanFor the European Community

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