3.6 Overview of consumption tax

The following domestic and import transactions, except for certain transactions deemed non-taxable, are subject to consumption tax. In principle, the consumption tax rate is 10% (inclusive of local consumption tax rate of 2.2%) . The reduced tax rate of 8% (inclusive of local consumption tax rate of 1.76%) will be applied to sales of food and beverages, except for alcoholic drinks and dining out, and sales of newspapers published more than twice a week (under subscription contracts).

Financial transactions, capital transactions and certain transactions in the areas of medical care, welfare and education are deemed non-taxable. Export transactions and export-like transactions such as international communications and international transport are exempt from consumption tax.

Enterprises whose taxable sales*1are 10 million yen or less for the base period*2 are exempt from consumption tax filing/liability (such enterprises are referred to as "tax exempt enterprises"). However, tax exempt enterprises can opt to be taxable by submitting an advance notification.

Tax filing/liability will not be exempt for certain corporations and enterprises, such as a newly established corporation with capital of 10 million yen or more, a newly established corporation whose capital is less than 10 million yen but is established by a group of enterprises whose taxable sales are more than 500 million yen with the group having more than a 50% stake (only for two years after the establishment, for either case), and an enterprise whose taxable sales*3 during the first half of last year or the previous fiscal year are more than 10 million yen.

Consumption tax on taxable purchases may be deducted from consumption tax on taxable sales when calculating the amount of consumption tax to be paid. In order for the consumption tax on purchase to be deducted, both account ledgers and invoices that describe certain matters have to be retained according to the following classifications.

On or after October 1, 2023, as a general rule, taxable purchases other than those from business issuer of qualified invoice will no longer be eligible for deduction of consumption tax on purchases. However, a transitional measure has been established to treat a certain percentage of the amount equivalent to the consumption tax on purchases to be deductible as follows:

The amount of the deduction, however, varies depending on factors such as the proportion of taxable sales to total sales. For certain cross-border supplies of electronic commerce by foreign enterprises, only the consumption tax on purchases that are subject to the reverse charge system (see 3.6.3) and on purchases that are received from registered foreign enterprises can be deducted.

If taxable sales during the base period amounted to 50 million yen or less, the amount calculated by multiplying the consumption tax on taxable sales by a specific percentage given to each industry may be considered the consumption tax on purchases to be deducted and allowed as a deduction if advance notification is submitted (such system is called the “simplified tax system”).

Enterprises engaged in domestic and/or import transactions are obliged to file and pay consumption tax. (If the amount of consumption tax on purchases to be deducted is more than the amount of consumption tax on taxable sales, the difference can be refunded by filing in a tax return.) In the case of certain cross-border supplies of electronic commerce by foreign enterprises, Japanese enterprises who have received the provision of services are responsible for filing and payment (reverse charge system). Regarding certain cross-border supplies of electronic commerce to consumers, foreign enterprises providing services are responsible for filing and payment. The tax return filing and payment deadline is within two months from the day after the taxation period (in principle, the last day of the business year in the case of corporations)

As mentioned in 3.3.10 above, with respect to consumption tax, corporations (excluding foreign corporations) with share capital or contributed capital exceeding 100 million yen are also required to submit final returns and interim returns via electronic filing from fiscal years beginning on or after April 1, 2020.