Key points: For sales made on or after November 1, 2026, a tax-free shop can no longer stop at sending purchase record information (購入記録情報) to the National Tax Agency's Tax-Free Sales Management System (免税販売管理システム). The shop, or the approved transmission service provider (承認送受信事業者) it uses, must query, retrieve and store the customs check results. Results are returned only in response to a request from your side (a pull-type API connection), so you will not receive them unless you query.
- There are two result types, "customs check completed" and "not eligible for tax exemption." Once a result type is registered, it does not change.
- You can query a result for 460 days from its registration. The storage obligation is 7 years, and the two periods start from different dates.
- Once a customs check result is registered, you can no longer send cancellation data for that purchase record information.
- There are three ways to connect: build your own, use another company's software, or outsource to an approved transmission service provider (you can combine them).
Check first: when connection problems cost you the tax exemption
Connection problems cost you the tax exemption when data is sent late or with errors, when you fail to retrieve results, or when you miss the chance to cancel.
- You did not send the data immediately at each sale. If you send in a daily batch or in bulk, the sale is not tax-exempt, even if the data is accepted without errors.
- The traveler left before you corrected an error. If you need to recheck details, such as missing passport information, and cannot, you cannot provide the information required by law, and the sale is not tax-exempt.
- The data was received without errors, but the passport number or identification code is wrong. This sale is not tax-exempt either. Send cancellation data, then send the data again.
- You did not retrieve the customs check result within 460 days. You cannot store the customs check information, so the requirements for tax exemption are not met.
- You sent the data after the traveler had left Japan. No customs check information will be provided.
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 22, 23, 90 and 91; National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)," Q7
How purchase records and customs check results connect: query-based, and the two result types never change
Purchase record information is created per sale (per receipt), with one sale provided as one record, and is matched against the customs check information recorded at departure before the refund is paid. Customs check results are returned as a response when the tax-free shop or the approved transmission service provider queries them. The National Tax Agency does not send them automatically. There is no limit on how many times you can query.
| Type | Meaning | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Customs check completed | Customs confirmed, within 90 days of the purchase date, that the goods are being taken out of Japan | Required for tax exemption |
| Not eligible for tax exemption | It was confirmed that the goods are not being taken out, or no customs check took place within 90 days | Not required |
A result is registered once its type is final, and it is never switched later. If a query returns zero results, the check may not have taken place yet, or the passport number may be wrong. There are two ways to query.
| Method | Conditions you specify | Results returned per query |
|---|---|---|
| By date and time | Identification code + registration date and time (up to 31 days) | Up to 1,000 (an error if exceeded) |
| By transaction | Sender identification code, sales site identification code and transmission number | 1 |
The results do not include every field of the purchase record information, so match them against your stored purchase record information using the identification codes and transmission number. A tax-free shop can query only the records for its own sales sites, and an approved transmission service provider only the records it sent on a shop's behalf.
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 16, 22, 37, 105 and 107 to 110; National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)," Q1, Q2, Q5, Q6 and Q8
460 days (queries) and 7 years (storage) are separate deadlines
The 460 days is how long you can query results in the National Tax Agency's system. The 7 years is how long the tax-free shop must keep them. After 460 days you can no longer query, so retrieve and store the results before then. Even if you could not pay the refund to the traveler, you can still apply the tax exemption as long as you have stored the customs check information.
| Deadline | Starting point | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Immediately | Each tax-free sales procedure | Sending purchase record information |
| A few seconds to about 10 seconds | Receipt of purchase record information | Expected time until the receipt result notification is returned |
| 90 days | Up to the 90th day from the day after the purchase date | The traveler's customs check (after this, "not eligible for tax exemption") |
| 460 days | Registration of the customs check result | Querying results (the same applies after the sales site is closed) |
| 7 years | The day on which two months have passed from the day after the last day of the taxable period that includes the sale date | Storing purchase record information and customs check information |
Store the receipt result notifications as well. Apart from these notifications, the system has no function for looking up what you sent at a later date.
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 22, 31, 59, 87, 89 and 105, and the overview edition, Question 19; National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)," Q7; Japan Tourism Agency, "FAQ for Tax-Free Shops (Refund Method)," Question 21
How to send: receipt result notifications, resending, and late sending after a failure
When you send purchase record information, a receipt result notification comes back within a few seconds to about 10 seconds. If no notification comes back, handle it as follows.
- If an HTTP status code or error message appears, find the cause and then resend.
- If nothing appears, resend the same data. If the first transmission was accepted, you will get a secondary check error, which tells you it has already been received.
- If you could not send because of a line failure or system fault, send the data promptly after recovery. In the "Remarks" field, state that it is a late transmission and give the cause.
One purchase record can contain up to 200 items. Describe each item specifically enough for customs to identify the goods. Run test transmissions in the test environment, not the production environment.
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 22, 23, 87, 88 and 93; Japan Tourism Agency, "FAQ for Tax-Free Shops (Refund Method)," Question 6
Corrections and cancellations must happen before the result is registered
Purchase record information cannot be cancelled once a customs check result has been registered for it. If you notice a return or a transmission error, deal with it before the result is registered.
- For a full return, send cancellation data for the original purchase record information without delay.
- For a partial return, send cancellation data, then send the corrected information again (the full-replacement method, 洗替方式). You cannot send only the difference.
- For a refund on a defective item after the result is "customs check completed," no cancellation is needed.
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Question 98, and the overview edition, Question 16; National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)," Q9
Manual operation or a system connection? The difference is deadline management
Because the system is query-based, results do not arrive unless someone queries them. Whether staff handle querying, matching and transfer entries by hand, or your sales and accounting systems do it automatically, affects how easily you can manage deadlines. Note that neither the National Tax Agency's Tax-Free Sales Management System nor e-Tax provides a function for sending purchase record information or querying customs check results. Sending and receiving are done by your own system or by the provider you outsource to.
| Task | Handled manually by staff | Automatically connected to sales and accounting systems |
|---|---|---|
| Querying | Staff split queries into ranges within 31 days and 1,000 results | Scheduled processing leaves no gaps in the periods covered |
| Matching | Matched by hand using the transmission number | Matched automatically |
| 460-day deadline | Unretrieved records are tracked in a ledger | Unretrieved transactions are listed so you notice them before the deadline |
| Transfer entries | Done in bulk, for example monthly | Can also be done each time a result is retrieved |
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 54, 84, 105 and 108
Connection requirements and three ways to connect
To connect directly to the system, you need an identification code and a client certificate for each sales site. The identification code is notified to you when you receive permission. A client certificate is valid until the last day of the month three years after its issue date, and neither the National Tax Agency nor the certificate authority charges a fee. Identification codes and certificates obtained before the transition can still be used.
| Item | Build your own | Use another company's software | Outsource to an approved transmission service provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basis | National Tax Agency, "Tax-Free Sales Management System API Specifications" | Another company's software (including SaaS) | The provider's system |
| Client certificate | Required | Depends on whether it counts as outsourcing (if unclear, ask the vendor) | Not required |
| Storing results | Query and store them yourself | Depends on the product's specifications | Receive them from the provider and store them |
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 25, 27, 28 and 66; National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)," Q3
Frequently asked questions
Are customs check results delivered automatically?
No. They are provided as a response to a query.
Can "not eligible for tax exemption" later change to "customs check completed"?
No. Results are provided based on their final status.
Does the storage obligation end after 460 days?
No. The 460 days is the period during which you can query. The storage obligation is 7 years.
Can I send test data to the production environment to check the connection?
Send only purchase record information for actual transactions to the production environment. Always run test transmissions in the test environment.
Sources: National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)," Questions 31 and 87; National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)," Q1, Q7 and Q8
Read next
- Tax-Free E-commerce from November 2026: What Sellers Must and Need Not Do Under the Refund Method
- Japan Tax-Free Rules Change Nov 2026: Refund Method Guide
Sources and date checked
- National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method)" (July 2026) (Japanese): https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0026006-152_01.pdf
- National Tax Agency, "Q&A on the Export Goods Sales Site System (Refund Method, Overview Edition)" (revised April 2026) (Japanese): https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/pdf/0025012-025_02.pdf
- National Tax Agency, "FAQ on the Refund Method (Customs Check Results)" (Japanese): https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/shohi/menzei/201805/format/002/faq.htm
- Japan Tourism Agency, "FAQ for Tax-Free Shops (Refund Method)" (Japanese): https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00024.html
By TaxFreeOnline.jp | Sources last checked: October 22, 2026
