Every non-resident company importing to Japan encounters two terms early in the process: the customs broker (通関業者) and the Attorney for Customs Procedures (税関事務管理人, ACP). Most companies assume one replaces the other. Some assume a customs broker already covers everything. Neither assumption is correct, and conflating the two roles creates a gap in your legal standing before Japan Customs that can surface at the worst possible moment: during an audit, a notice of inquiry, or when a shipment is held for examination.
This post explains what each role is, why they exist under separate laws, and when a non-resident importer typically needs both.
What a Customs Broker (通関業者) Does
A customs broker is a company licensed under the Customs Business Act (通関業法) to prepare and file import and export declarations on behalf of importers and exporters. Every licensed customs broker must employ at least one customs specialist (通関士), who is the qualified individual who signs and submits the declaration.
The customs broker's operational role on each shipment:
(a) Receives commercial documents from the importer or freight forwarder (commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill).
(b) Classifies the goods under the correct HS heading and determines the applicable tariff rate and customs value.
(c) Prepares and submits the import declaration through NACCS (Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System / 輸出入・港湾関連情報処理システム), Japan Customs' electronic filing system.
(d) Pays import duties and consumption tax on the importer's behalf, then recovers those amounts from the importer.
(e) Handles examination requests if Japan Customs pulls the shipment for physical or documentary inspection.
One point that often confuses importers: the customs broker acts as an agent for the importer, not as the importer itself. The importer is still the entity named on the import declaration. The customs broker files on your behalf, but you bear the customs liability as the named importer of record. This distinction matters enormously for non-residents, as explained below.
Every import declaration filed with Japan Customs must be prepared and submitted by a licensed customs broker. There is no mechanism for an importer to file declarations directly without one.
What an ACP (Attorney for Customs Procedures / 税関事務管理人) Is
The ACP is a Japan-resident entity designated by a non-resident importer under Article 95 of the Customs Act (関税法) to serve as the statutory customs contact for that non-resident.
The designation is not a filing service. It is a legal registration filed with Japan Customs that formally records who, within Japan, can accept customs notices, respond to customs inquiries, and interact with Japan Customs on behalf of the non-resident importer. Think of it as the non-resident's registered presence before Japan Customs, not as the mechanism that submits your declarations.
The ACP is required only for non-residents. Specifically, Article 95 of the Customs Act applies to importers that have no address, residence, or office in Japan. If you have a Japan-registered entity of any kind, you do not need an ACP; you handle customs matters directly or through a customs broker as any resident importer would.
What the ACP does in practice:
(a) Files the ACP designation notification (税関事務管理人届出書) with the relevant Japan Customs office before any import activity begins. The appointment must precede the first declaration; it cannot be applied retroactively.
(b) Serves as the legally registered point of contact for all customs notices directed at the non-resident, including post-clearance audit requests, valuation inquiries, and penalty notices.
(c) Coordinates with the non-resident and, in full-service arrangements, with the customs broker on each shipment to ensure the declaration is filed correctly and that any customs inquiry is answered promptly.
The ACP does not itself prepare or file import declarations. That is the customs broker's function under the Customs Business Act (通関業法). The two roles are grounded in two separate laws and serve two distinct purposes.
Why Non-Resident Importers Typically Need Both
The cleanest way to understand the relationship is to separate the legal structure question from the operational filing question.
The ACP appointment answers the structural question. Japan Customs needs a Japan-resident contact for every non-resident importer. Without an ACP registration, there is no legally recognized resident representative for Japan Customs to reach when it needs to contact your company. Import declarations can technically still be filed, but the non-resident has no registered legal representative for customs purposes, meaning notices go unanswered, inquiries go unaddressed, and the non-resident's position in any post-clearance dispute is structurally weak.
The customs broker answers the operational question. Who actually prepares and submits the import declaration on each shipment? That must be a licensed customs broker employing a licensed customs specialist. The ACP is not licensed to perform this function, and no ACP appointment substitutes for it.
These are parallel requirements that coexist on every shipment the non-resident imports. In practice, the ACP provider typically coordinates directly with the customs broker on each shipment, passing commercial documents, confirming the HS classification, and managing any examination response. The two roles can sit with the same company or with separate companies, depending on how the service is structured.
At Aplash, the ACP service covers both the statutory appointment role and, under the full-service arrangement, coordination with a partner customs specialist (通関士) who handles the actual declaration filing. The non-resident importer engages one point of contact; the two legally distinct functions are handled by the appropriate licensed parties.
Common Misconceptions
"My freight forwarder handles customs."
Freight forwarders manage the physical and logistical movement of goods. Many subcontract the actual customs declaration to a licensed customs broker, but the subcontracting relationship is between the forwarder and the broker. The non-resident importer is still the named importer on the declaration, and neither the freight forwarder nor the customs broker is or can be the non-resident's ACP. The statutory ACP appointment is a separate legal registration that the non-resident must make independently.
"I can just use a customs broker and skip the ACP."
A customs broker can file your import declaration. It cannot serve as your registered statutory representative under Article 95 of the Customs Act unless it has also been formally designated as your ACP in a separate filing with Japan Customs. Without that ACP registration, Japan Customs has no resident contact of record for your company. The declarations may go through, but you are exposed on every inquiry, audit, and notice that Japan Customs might direct to you as the named non-resident importer. The gap tends to remain invisible until it is not.
"The ACP is the same as the Importer of Record."
In the ACP structure, the non-resident company is the Importer of Record. The non-resident is named on the import declaration; it holds title to the goods; it bears customs duty and consumption tax liability. The ACP is the procedural agent designated to interact with Japan Customs on the non-resident's behalf. The non-resident remains the principal.
This is structurally different from the Aplash IOR (buy-and-sell) structure, where Aplash itself is the importer of record. In the IOR structure, the non-resident is not named on the declaration at all; Aplash takes title, clears the goods, and resells to the buyer. The ACP question does not arise for non-residents using the IOR route, because it becomes Aplash's own import operation.
When You May Not Need a Separate ACP
If you are using the Aplash IOR (buy-and-sell) structure, you are not the importer. Aplash is. The customs obligations belong to Aplash as the named importer, and Aplash manages the customs process through its own licensed customs specialist partner. The non-resident importer has no customs standing that requires an ACP appointment.
The ACP question is relevant only when the non-resident chooses to remain the importer of record itself. That choice is sometimes commercially necessary: B2B manufacturers supplying distributors under their own brand, companies where the timing of title transfer matters for accounting, or importers that want to recover Japanese consumption tax directly. When those conditions apply, the non-resident must be named as the importer, and the ACP appointment is the legal prerequisite.
The Complete Structure for a Non-Resident Importer
For a non-resident company importing to Japan as its own importer of record, the complete customs structure requires three elements working together.
(a) An ACP appointment filed with Japan Customs under Article 95 of the Customs Act, designating a Japan-resident entity as the statutory representative. This must be done before the first shipment.
(b) A customs broker relationship, either through the ACP provider's partner customs specialist or an independent broker, to prepare and submit each import declaration through NACCS.
(c) A tax representative and Qualified Invoice System registration, if the non-resident intends to recover Japanese consumption tax (消費税) on its imports. The tax representative appointment (消費税の納税管理人) is filed with the National Tax Agency (国税庁) separately from the ACP, and Qualified Invoice System (インボイス制度) registration must be completed before the first shipment that will carry a tax recovery claim. This is distinct from both the ACP appointment and the customs broker relationship, governed by separate tax legislation.
The ACP and customs broker are not competing options. They are complementary legal requirements that operate on every shipment from different directions: one establishing your legal standing before Japan Customs, the other executing the declaration on each import.
This article is informational only and does not constitute legal, tax, or regulatory advice. Consult a qualified licensed customs specialist (通関士), licensed tax accountant (税理士), or attorney (弁護士) with Japan import experience before acting on any content in this article. Last updated: June 2026.