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國際時事跟讀 Ep. L289: Japan Ends Instant Tax-Free Shopping for Tourists
Highlights 主題摘要
- From November 1, Japan will charge visiting shoppers full consumption tax and refund it only after departure checks.
- Nearly 90% of visitors who spent 100 million yen or more in one trip escaped customs checks.
- Travelers must carry every item on a receipt to the airport kiosk, or the whole receipt loses its refund.
Shopping in Japan is about to get slightly more complicated for tourists who see a trip there as a chance to stock up on cosmetics, snacks and electronics. From November 1, foreign visitors will no longer buy goods tax-free at the till. Instead, they will pay the full price, including Japan's 10% consumption tax, and get the money back only after customs confirms, at departure, that the goods are actually leaving the country.
不少旅客把日本行當成掃貨的機會，化妝品、零食、3C產品一次買齊。11月1日起，這件事會變得麻煩一些。外國旅客結帳時不能再直接免稅，必須先付含10%消費稅的全額，等出境時海關確認商品確實帶出日本，才拿得回稅款。
The overhaul is aimed squarely at abuse. Government figures show that tax-free purchases were recorded on about 19.6 million departures between April 2022 and March 2024. In 690 cases, a visitor had spent 100 million yen or more on a single trip, and nearly 90% of these buyers slipped past customs unchecked. Officials concede that not every big spender was cheating, yet almost all of those who were caught and billed left the country without paying. Retailers, meanwhile, had been left to police suspicious customers themselves, and some simply stopped offering tax-free sales.
這次改制直指濫用問題。政府數據顯示，2022年4月至2024年3月間，有免稅購物紀錄的出境旅客約1,960萬人次。其中690人次單趟消費達1億日圓以上，這群買家近九成沒經過海關查驗就出境。官方坦言，高額消費不代表一定違規，但遭攔查並補稅的人，幾乎全都沒繳錢就離境。零售業者過去只能自己把關可疑顧客，有些店家乾脆停辦免稅。
Under the new Refund Method, shoppers still show their passports in store, and each purchase is logged electronically. Within 90 days, they must scan their passports at a kiosk in the departure lobby, before checking in any luggage. A green result ends the process, while a red one means showing the goods to customs officers. If even one item on a receipt is missing, every item on that receipt loses its eligibility. At seven major airports, including Narita, Haneda and Kansai, travelers can also complete this step online through Visit Japan Web.
新制稱為「退稅方式」（Refund Method）。旅客在店內購物時仍要出示護照，每筆交易都會以電子方式登錄。購買後90天內，旅客必須在託運行李前，到出境大廳的自助機掃描護照。畫面顯示綠燈就完成手續，顯示紅燈則要把商品交給海關查驗。同一張收據上只要少一件商品，整張收據都會失去退稅資格。成田、羽田、關西等七座主要機場的旅客，也能透過 Visit Japan Web 線上辦理。
In return, the government is scrapping rules that had frustrated shoppers and shop staff alike. The 500,000-yen daily cap on consumables, the sealed-bag requirement and the split between general goods and consumables will all disappear. Refunds will be paid by shops or the refund agents they hire, with credit card refunds expected to take one to two weeks and bank transfers longer. For most visitors, the trade-off is more paperwork at the airport in exchange for fewer restrictions in the shop. Those who arrive too late to finish the check, however, will forfeit the refund altogether.
政府也同步廢除多項讓旅客和店員頭痛的規定，包括消耗品每日50萬日圓的購買上限、密封袋包裝要求，以及一般物品和消耗品的分類。退稅款由店家或其委託的退稅業者支付，退回信用卡預計要一到兩週，銀行轉帳更久。對多數旅客來說，機場多了一道手續，店內的限制則少了許多。不過，如果太晚到機場、來不及完成查驗，就拿不到退稅。
Keyword Drills 關鍵字
- Stock up on [verb phrase, to buy a large amount of something to use later]: We stock up on coffee before every busy quarter.
- Overhaul [noun, a thorough change to a system or process]: The company announced an overhaul of its pricing.
- Slip past [verb phrase, to get past someone or something without being noticed]: The error slipped past three rounds of review.
- Trade-off [noun, a balance between two things you cannot fully have at once]: Speed and quality often involve a trade-off.
- Forfeit [verb, to lose a right or benefit because you broke a rule]: Late applicants will forfeit their early-bird discount.
Reference article:
https://news.immigration.gov.tw/NewsSection/Detail/95691AB3-68A3-4F28-8CED-4513EDC07BC3?lang=EN&topic=onetouch
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/tax-free/page01_000001_00028.html
https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/content/001858413.pdf
https://en.japantravel.com/article/tax-free-shopping-in-japan-2026-changes/72305