Japan replaces the tax-free shopping system it uses today with a refund system on 1 November 2026. From that date the shop charges you the consumption tax at the till and the tax comes back to you afterwards, and the customs check that releases the refund is labelled as happening before the security gate rather than after it.
The two documents that set this out are a National Tax Agency leaflet for tax-free shops and a Japan Tourism Agency leaflet for departing travellers.
The refund method starts on 1 November 2026, and the two systems never run together
The National Tax Agency leaflet gives the start date as 1 November 2026 and closes the door on a transition: “There will be no period during the shift when the current system and the refund system can be effective together.”
The same leaflet sets 31 October 2026 as a deadline for shops rather than shoppers. A tax-free shop that has not submitted the Notification Form on Provision Method of Purchase Record Information by that day loses its tax-free shop permit on that day. Shops that do file are carried across: existing general-type and procedure-entrustment-type shops are treated as general-type shops under the new system from 1 November 2026, and the permit categories from then on are two, general type and vending machine type.
The floor stays at 5,000 yen and the 500,000 yen ceiling on consumables is abolished
The minimum purchase printed in the leaflet is 5,000 yen, based on the price excluding consumption tax, and it is applied without distinguishing general goods from consumable goods. The leaflet does not say whether that 5,000 yen is counted per shop per day.
Four things are listed as abolished, and the leaflet heads each: “Abolition of Category”, “Abolition of Maximum Purchase Amount”, which is where the 500,000 yen consumables ceiling sits rather than standing as its own item, “Abolition of Purpose of Use Requirements” and “Abolition of Packaging”, the last of which the leaflet’s own before-and-after table marks as “Unnecessary”. In place of a yen ceiling the leaflet puts a physical one: purchases are limited to “the capacity that they can take out of Japan (export personally)”.
Some goods are outside the scheme whatever you spend. The leaflet excludes gold and platinum bullion, gold and platinum coins, and products that are exempt from consumption tax in the first place.
| Abolished by this revision | What the leaflet prints |
|---|---|
| Maximum purchase amount | Headed “Abolition of Maximum Purchase Amount”; this is the 500,000 yen consumables ceiling, and no replacement is printed |
| Purpose of use requirements | Headed “Abolition of Purpose of Use Requirements”; the daily-use determination goes with it |
| Category distinction | The 5,000 yen minimum applies without distinguishing general and consumable goods |
| Special packaging | Marked “Unnecessary” in the after-revision column |
The customs check is labelled as moving to before the security gate
The Japan Tourism Agency leaflet draws the departure flow twice, once for each system, and the labels differ in one step. The pre-November flow is labelled “Customs inspection after clearing security” and placed in the restricted area. The flow from November 2026 is labelled “Customs inspection before clearing security” and placed in the general access area, before you check your hand luggage. The leaflet’s instruction that follows from this is to arrive early enough to finish the customs step first.
The same flow chart ends in two colours: green for “Tax-free procedures completed” and red for “Not eligible for a refund”. For anyone flying out on a domestic connection the leaflet is explicit: if you transfer from a domestic flight to an international flight before leaving Japan, you complete all refund procedures at the outbound airport.
Seven airports are named, and not for the inspection itself. The leaflet lists a wireless network for these procedures in designated areas of the international departure lobbies at Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Fukuoka and Naha, and says that at certain airports Visit Japan Web can be used in place of the tax-free procedure terminal. Narita’s own charges for departing passengers differ by terminal, which is a separate matter from the refund.
Customs confirmation has to happen within 90 days of the purchase date
The window in the National Tax Agency leaflet is 90 days from the date of purchase, and it explains the counting: the period runs from the day after the purchase through to the 90th day. It then works the example itself, so the arithmetic is the leaflet’s and not mine. A purchase made on 1 November has to be confirmed at customs by 30 January of the following year.
One item missing from a receipt can disqualify the rest of that receipt
Both leaflets state the rule per purchase transaction rather than per item. If you are not in possession of even one item included in a single purchase transaction, the goods on that transaction are not eligible for the customs check, the ones you still hold included. The Japan Tourism Agency leaflet illustrates it with a sample receipt of three items, 3,000 yen, 75,000 yen and 13,000 yen, totalling 91,000 yen, marking the items held as acceptable and the one not held as not acceptable.
With special packaging gone, food, drink and cosmetics that have been used or consumed inside Japan are not eligible for a refund, and the leaflet does not offer the option of presenting only the untouched items from a transaction in which others have been used.
A single item priced at 1 million yen or more is recorded in more detail
For a product with a unit price of 1 million yen or more excluding consumption tax, the shop has to set Product Information Details as part of the purchase record information, with enough detail to identify the goods. The leaflet gives two worked examples of what that means: a watch may need its brand, model number, colour and serial number, and a brooch may need its name, its shape, its model name, 18K and a certificate of authenticity.
The Japan Tourism Agency leaflet says that for goods above 1 million yen customs may ask for certificates of authenticity or warranties, shown alongside the items themselves.
Japanese nationals qualify after two years abroad, and the number card now counts
The eligibility list covers foreign nationals staying under a landing permit for cruise tourism, for crew members, for emergencies and for shipwreck, who present a passport along with the landing permit, with cruise tourists allowed to present a passport copy. It also covers foreign nationals on a landing permit for a port of call or transit, where passport confirmation is unchanged.
Japanese nationals are eligible if they have lived abroad for two or more years, and the change here is documentary: the Individual Number Card is now an accepted certificate. The certificate has to be dated within the six months before the last entry date, and the length of residence abroad is measured from the date of the move or settlement abroad to the last entry date shown in the passport.
The law names no refund method, and the penalty for passing goods on is printed
The leaflet states that the law does not specify refund methods, and the examples it offers are a bank transfer, a credit card, an app transfer, and cash at the departure port after the customs confirmation. The refund may be handled by the shop itself or by an approved transmitting and receiving business. A shop that entrusts the procedure to another operator has to complete the sale and the procedure on the same day.
The tax agency leaflet introduces penalty provisions for goods not exported after customs confirmation, without putting figures to them, and says the tax equivalent to the exemption is collected. Japan Customs prints the figure on its own passenger page: transferring tax-free goods before departure carries “Imprisonment up to 1 year or a fine up to maximum of 500,000 yen”. Direct shipping is no longer part of this scheme at all, having moved under the export exemption in Article 7 of the Consumption Tax Act, which needs no tax-free sales procedure.
The dates and figures printed across the two leaflets
| Date or figure | What the leaflets attach to it |
|---|---|
| 31 March 2025 | Separate-shipment treatment abolished |
| 31 October 2026 | Last day for a shop to file the notification form; permit lost that day if it does not |
| 1 November 2026 | Refund method takes effect, with no overlapping period |
| 5,000 yen | Minimum purchase, excluding consumption tax, categories not distinguished |
| 500,000 yen | The consumables ceiling that the revision abolishes |
| 1,000,000 yen | Unit price at which Product Information Details are recorded, and above which customs may ask for certificates |
| 90 days | Window for the customs confirmation, counted from the day after purchase |
| 30 January | The leaflet’s own deadline for a purchase made on 1 November |
| 2 years | Residence abroad that makes a Japanese national eligible |
| 500,000 yen | Maximum fine printed by Customs for transferring tax-free goods before departure |
Sources Checked
National Tax Agency — leaflet on the revision of the consumption tax exemption scheme for export goods carried by visitors
Confirmed that the refund method takes effect on 1 November 2026 with no period in which both systems are effective together; that a shop failing to submit the Notification Form on Provision Method of Purchase Record Information by 31 October 2026 loses its permit that day; that existing general-type and procedure-entrustment-type shops become general-type shops and the categories become general type and vending machine type; that the minimum purchase is 5,000 yen excluding consumption tax applied without distinguishing general and consumable goods; that the maximum purchase amount, the 500,000 yen consumables maximum, the category distinction and special packaging are abolished, with packaging marked “Unnecessary”; that purchases are limited to the capacity the purchaser can take out of Japan; that gold and platinum bullion, gold and platinum coins and consumption-tax-exempt products are excluded; that customs confirmation must be obtained within 90 days, counted from the day after purchase to the 90th day, with a 1 November purchase due by 30 January of the following year; that Product Information Details are required for a unit price of 1 million yen or more, with the watch and brooch examples; that eligibility covers the listed landing permits and Japanese nationals resident abroad for two or more years, with the Individual Number Card accepted and the certificate dated within six months of the last entry date; that the law specifies no refund method and the examples are bank transfer, credit card, app transfer and cash at the departure port; that the sale and the entrusted procedure must fall on the same day; and that separate-shipment treatment was abolished on 31 March 2025 while direct shipping moved under Article 7 of the Consumption Tax Act.
https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/202506/pdf/0025006-106.pdf
Japan Tourism Agency — departure-side leaflet on the tax-free refund procedure
Confirmed that the flow until October 2026 is labelled customs inspection after clearing security in the restricted area and the flow from November 2026 customs inspection before clearing security in the general access area, before hand luggage is checked; that the chart ends in green for completed procedures and red for not eligible for a refund; that goods above 1 million yen may require certificates of authenticity or warranties; that a traveller lacking even one item from a single transaction loses the whole transaction, illustrated by a receipt of 3,000, 75,000 and 13,000 yen totalling 91,000 yen; that used or consumed food, drink and cosmetics are not eligible; that a domestic-to-international transfer requires all procedures at the outbound airport; and that the wireless network for these procedures is provided in designated international departure lobby areas at Narita, Haneda, Kansai, Chubu, New Chitose, Fukuoka and Naha.
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/content/001990233.pdf
Japan Customs — passenger procedures page
Confirmed that transferring tax-free goods before departure carries imprisonment up to 1 year or a fine up to a maximum of 500,000 yen.
https://www.customs.go.jp/english/summary/passenger.htm
Last updated: October 2026
