Starting from December 1 2021, the prefectures of production (to-do-fu-ken) of Japanese alcohol imported as commercial samples or for personal use are advised to be disclosed  in their Customs declarations. “This will be of great help to facilitating the approval of an exemption from quality inspection,” Keelung Customs (KLC) said.

Pursuant to the import regulation (code W01, as shown in the Customs Import Tariff) provided by the National Treasury Administration (NTA), alcohol imported from all sources are subject to quality inspections. In particular, the radiation inspection is required for each shipment of Japanese alcohol produced in five main nuclear-affected kens: Fukushima, Gunma, Ibraki, Tochigi and Chiba.

“However, to accelerate Customs clearance procedures for imported alcoholic drinks while reducing health risks to nationals caused by alcohol consumption, the NTA may also grant inspection exemptions on small scale importations of alcoholic beverages, including Japanese alcohol produced in prefectures other than the above five kens, “KLC pointed out. Such exemptions, if granted, applies to alcohol imported as commercial samples (valued no more than 1,000 USD) or for personal use (no more than 5 liters).

KLC added that, to obtain a waiver of inspection, the importer of Japanese alcohol should indicate the producing prefecture of the products concerned in the "Description of Goods" column of their import declaration. For example, Plum wine, place of production: Kyoto.

KLC further mentioned that should any omissions or errors of the prefectures of production, had been made in a declaration presented to Customs, the importer or his/her clearing agent should apply for corrections associated with documentary evidence to the NTA rather than the Customs. This will reduce the possibility of delaying the reviewing process for the inspection exemption claim.

For more information, please contact the Import Division, KLC at (02) 24202951 ext. 2120.