Japan 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 · USD 500 Check ACP eligibility

Online ordering is for companies with no registered entity, office or address in Japan, for imports and exports alike. Food, drink, additives, food-contact goods and children's toys imported into Japan may also need an Importer of Record arrangement, quoted separately. Checkout and the agreement are in English.

Outside Japan

  1. Your company

    Stays the importer. Provides the transaction and product evidence, and funds duty and Japan Consumption Tax.

In Japan

  1. Your own licensed customs broker

    Prepares and files the import declaration and completes the clearance formalities, as it does today.

  2. Japan Customs

    Reviews the entry, may ask for more information, and decides release.

  3. 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.

Appointing an ACP adds a Japan-based contact for specified customs procedures. It does not replace your broker, it does not move importer responsibility off your company, and it does not replace product approvals.

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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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. Adding an office later means a further filing with Japan Customs (a change notification).

What does an ACP cost?

ACP fees

Questions asked before the first shipment.

Choose a question

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?

Adding an office later means a further filing with Japan Customs (a change notification), so each further office is quoted on its own.

Adding an office later means a further filing with Japan Customs (a change notification). It takes processing time and filing work, so each further office 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.

ACP support

The fees, the eligibility layers and the order action.

ACP support

Tell us who files today and where your entries clear, and we will confirm whether this lane fits before the first shipment moves.