Japan's 2026 tax reform, passed by the Diet on 31 March 2026, ends the consumption-tax exemption on imported goods of ¥10,000 or less per item from 1 April 2028. Foreign sellers with more than ¥10 million a year of such sales must register, and platforms with annual transactions above ¥5 billion become deemed suppliers, collecting tax at the point of sale. The 60% valuation discount for personal-use imports is also being abolished; its start date is not confirmed in our sources.
Key dates
- Done15 Jul 2026
National Tax Agency publishes 62 Q&As on consumption tax for low-value imported goods KPMG
- 1 Jan 2027
Start of the January to March 2027 period used to designate large platforms as deemed suppliers PwC Japan
- 1 Oct 2027
Registration opens for foreign sellers of low-value goods PwC Japan
- 1 Apr 2028
Consumption tax on low-value imports collected at point of sale; border exemption ends PwC Japan
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Who it hits
What to prepare
- Add a field to Japanese declarations showing whether tax was collected at sale and by which registered seller or platform
- Ask platform customers whether they will cross the ¥5 billion threshold measured on January to March 2027
- Recalculate landed cost for personal-use imports once the 60% valuation discount ends
Our reading
Sources
- Japan: 2026 tax reform bills passed by National Diet · KPMG · 2026-03-31
- Japan Tax Update: 2026 tax reform · PwC Japan · 2026-01-14
- Japan: consumption tax treatment of cross-border e-commerce (NTA Q&As) · KPMG · 2026-07
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Information, not legal advice. Dates come from official texts or quality legal and trade press, and slip often: always check the current text before acting. Back to the full radar.