ACP support
The fees, the eligibility layers and the order action.
ACP supportJapan import structure · ACP (税関事務管理人)
Keep your own customs broker and appoint an ACP in Japan
You already work with a licensed customs broker in Japan and you do not want to change that. The appointment does not ask you to. Your broker keeps preparing and filing the declaration; Aplash holds the appointment and is the contact Japan Customs reaches for the entry.
Order the ACP appointment setup Check ACP eligibility
The online order is for importers with no registered entity, office or address in Japan. Food, drink, additives, food-contact goods and children's toys may need an Importer of Record arrangement beside the appointment, at a further fee. Checkout and the service agreement are in English.
Outside Japan
Your company
Stays the importer. Provides the transaction and product evidence, and funds duty and Japan Consumption Tax.
In Japan
Your own licensed customs broker
Prepares and files the import declaration and completes the clearance formalities, as it does today.
Japan Customs
Reviews the entry, may ask for more information, and decides release.
Your buyer or marketplace warehouse
Receives the released goods in Japan.
Aplash, appointed ACP (税関事務管理人)
Holds the appointment made under the Customs Act (関税法) and is the contact Japan Customs reaches for the entry.
Direct answer
Can I appoint an ACP and keep the customs broker I already use?
Yes. The two roles are separate. A licensed customs broker files the import declaration and conducts customs brokerage; an Attorney for Customs Procedures (税関事務管理人) is the Japan-based representative a non-resident importer appoints under the Customs Act (関税法) for specified customs procedures. Where your own broker files, Aplash holds the appointment, is the contact Japan Customs reaches for the entry, and keeps the ACP record for each shipment.
What the appointment holds, and what your broker keeps doing
The split is the whole point of this lane. Nothing moves off your broker's desk.
- Your broker: prepares and files the import declaration, conducts customs brokerage, and completes the release formalities.
- Aplash: holds the appointment, keeps the ACP record for each entry, and handles customs communications within the agreed scope.
- Your company: stays the importer, provides accurate transaction and product evidence, and funds duty and Japan Consumption Tax.
- Japan Customs: reviews the entry, may ask for more information, and decides release.
What each side needs before the first entry
Both directions, so nobody is waiting on a document nobody named.
- From you: the transaction parties, the title and payment flow, the product description and its intended use, and the current broker arrangement.
- From your broker: the entries it expects to file, the customs office those entries clear through, and the declaration data it will work from.
- From Aplash: the appointment and notification records, and the reviewed shipment file your broker receives before filing.
What happens when Japan Customs comes back with a question
This is the reason the lane exists. A non-resident importer with no Japan-based contact has nobody the office can reach about an entry, and that is the point the appointment answers.
- A controlled channel for questions, revisions, authority responses, release records and a shipment-level audit trail.
- Aplash answers within the agreed scope and coordinates with your broker rather than around it.
- We do not promise acceptance, clearance or a fixed government processing time. Japan Customs decides.
When this lane stops fitting
Two changes move the work, and both are worth saying before the first shipment rather than after it.
- You do not retain a suitable licensed customs broker, or you would rather Aplash coordinate the clearance workflow through its partner customs specialist. That is the coordinated arrangement, priced separately on the parent page.
- The product, supplier, price, Incoterms, sales channel, destination or importer facts change. Any of those is a reassessment, because the route that fitted the first shipment may not fit the next.
- Your entries clear through more than one regional customs. Each further office is a separate 関税法第95条 (Customs Act Article 95) filing.
One setup fee, then a per-shipment fee sized to who files.
The appointment setup is a one-time fee covering one Japan Customs office, and the ACP role is charged per shipment at the rate that applies where your own broker files. Both figures, and what each excludes, are on the parent page.
ACP fee ledgerFrequently asked questions
ACP roles, costs, and next steps.
Does my broker have to be the ACP?
No. The two roles are separate and can sit with different parties. A licensed customs broker files declarations and conducts customs brokerage; the ACP is the Japan-based representative appointed for specified customs procedures. Where your broker also holds the appointment, this lane is not the one you need.
Does appointing an ACP change how my broker files?
Your broker prepares and files the declaration as it does today. What changes is that Japan Customs has a named Japan-based contact for the entry, and that an ACP record is kept for each shipment.
Who is responsible if a declaration turns out to be wrong?
Importer responsibility stays with your company. The appointment does not move it, and it does not cure an unsuitable importer structure or missing product compliance.
What if my entries clear through more than one customs office?
Each further office is a separate 関税法第95条 (Customs Act Article 95) filing and is quoted on its own. Tell us the expected ports or airports before the appointment file is prepared.
ACP is one of three possible import structures.
Importer of Record support
Where a Japan-side party must hold the importer position instead.
Importer of Record supportTell us who files today and where your entries clear, and we will confirm whether this lane fits before the first shipment moves.