Due to the sharp decline in the yen exchange rate, product prices are cheaper than in other regions. This spring, a large number of tourists travel to Japan to shop. One of the popular items is Apple products. Passengers staying in Japan for less than 6 months are exempt from paying sales tax while shopping. Apple is said to have suspected a mistake in handling tax refunds for customers. As a result, the authorities are now demanding that Apple you pay $98 million in return. taxes.
Distributors pretend to be tourists to buy in large quantities
Some retail stores will handle tax refund procedures for tourists directly during the transaction, and the Apple Store has also provided this service in the past. The Nikkei reported that authorities found that the Apple Store in Japan had wrongly exempted some transactions from sales tax. The report mentioned at least one transaction involving a person buying hundreds of iPhones in one go, which authorities they assumed it was a dealer purchase. is for resale, he believes Apple shouldn’t handle tax refund procedures for it.
Discounts by mistake for resellers
Apple plugged this loophole in June of this year and stopped handling tax refund processes in stores. Passengers are required to process tax refunds at designated locations such as airports. The $98 million tax involved this time is a small fraction of Apple’s $26 billion in sales in Japan in fiscal 2022, and Apple has voluntarily asked to change its tax return.
source:nikki
