A company in Tokyo's Toshima ward that buys and resells luxury watches has been ordered to pay about ¥580 million in back taxes after it wrongly claimed consumption tax refunds on duty-free sales to foreign visitors, sources familiar with the matter said.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau made the assessment. The company had been claiming refunds under the tax-free program for foreign tourists, which lets visitors buy goods without paying the 10 percent consumption tax.
The sources said the bureau found the refund claims were improper. NHK did not report how the company is alleged to have obtained the refunds, or whether it has responded to the assessment.
Japan's duty-free system is meant for goods that tourists take home. Resellers have been drawing scrutiny for buying up tax-free stock in bulk and selling it on inside the country, where the tax is owed.