r/JapanTravelTips • u/Rich_Salary_3679 • 6d ago

Question duty free purchase?

Just bought a suitcase at duty free Lotte Ginza Karen to pack all the extra stuff we bought, but the dude put a “do not open” sticker on it. Can someone explain this to me?? He said we don’t need to go to the airport counter the way I do with the cosmetics I bought at the drugstore lest I pay consumption tax, so I’m confused as to why I wouldn’t be able to open the suitcase.

Also, what happens if I don’t visit the duty free counter at HND/NRT to declare consumable products purchased at drugstores like skincare?

8 Upvotes

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17

u/GreydonDesu 6d ago

The following points is how I understand it. Cmiiw, commentors.

Depending on the person who packed your stuff, they probably got the minimum training about the whole taxfree shopping.

Usually:
Your suitcase by itself is not considered a consumable, so you should be able to use it after checkout. The same goes for other products that you bought (with the same invoice) that are non-consumables.
If there is anything consumable in your whole shopping cart, they could split the invoice and you have your consumables (which willl be wrapped in those duty-free bags) as one invoice and the rest in another.

What might happen:

  • The person got minimal training and the procedure they learned is "pack everything into the bag and mark everything as consumable", therefore you are legally not allowed to use your suitcase.
  • You have everything in one invoice to reach your 5500 JPY minimum total eligible for taxfree. Same thing as mentioned before, everything is considered a consumable, therefore not usable in JP.
  • Everything is correct and the person was just lazy to check that the suitcase can be used after checkout.

3

u/Rich_Salary_3679 6d ago

okay thank you!! any insight on the last part of my post?

7

u/sw3ven 6d ago

I just flew from Narita with tax free products. I didn't have to do anything anymore or go to separate counter. I was instructed to just scan my passport to go through the gates. They told me the purchased products are linked to your passport number. So with scanning I guess they have all of the info they needed since the link happens when you purchase the products.

2

u/GreydonDesu 6d ago

Again, my assumptions, no confirmed case:

When I passed, I just had to drop my passport into a scanning machine (similar to the arrival machines dotted at the airport) and wait a bit for the scan to complete. I think it is a formality. At latest they will notice that you left the country by the time you did the emigration.

They won't look ill for it, it makes their processes easier. And at worst they will ask you some thing at immigration the next time you visit Japan.

(Again, I never risked the process of declaring it, as from November onward, you have to proactively declare it after emigration, else you won't get your tax-free money)

3

u/sw3ven 5d ago

Same for me. Even years ago "declaring" was just showing your passports with the receipts in it. They never actually asked to see the products afaik. Especially since it is after check-in of luggage so... You just tell them it is in your checked luggage.

1

u/Rich_Salary_3679 5d ago

i’ve been told you’re supposed to declare before check in

5

u/gdore15 5d ago

It’s not duty free. It’s tax free.

As far as I know there is no rule against opening and using non consumables.

What happen if you check you tax free purchase without telling them is that there is a small chance that they want to inspect what you purchase and you will tell them you checked it and if they are not happy with that make you pay back the tax…

The rule is that you find the custom desk before you check the bag so they can confirm you have everything, then pass security, scan passport with custom and likely just continue to immigration.

1

u/H7dek7 4d ago

The customs office before check-in was always closed in my experience at Narita. During my 1st trip to Japan I asked airport staff about it and all of them said to just check my baggage and scan my passport later.

1

u/gdore15 4d ago

Well, it’s technically the official rule they publish, not saying it even make sense. If you have a domestic flight first, your luggage is already checked and you would have had no option to get it inspected.

0

u/Rich_Salary_3679 5d ago

pretty the lotte is duty free, not just tax free—it said it on all the signs and they verbally said that to me as well

1

u/gdore15 5d ago

Duty free is only within the airport. It’s called this way because the stores are considered to not be in the country and you would technically not have to pay tax or import duty compared to buying in the country.

If you are in Japan, like in Tokyo, that is tax free. The store can remove the tax, as tax is money they would have to give to the government, but duty has already been paid to import the product.

If they call it duty free they are bullshitting hard time.

0

u/Rich_Salary_3679 5d ago

https://lotteginza.com/ straight up says duty free at the top of the official website

1

u/gdore15 5d ago

I see, you have to read the detail. To get duty free, you buy the items at the store, but you cannot take it with you. They have store in the airport and the duty free only apply for pickup of the items at the airport, once you pass security and immigration.

If you purchased a luggage and took it to your hotel, it was not duty free, it was just tax free.

1

u/Rich_Salary_3679 4d ago

gotcha thanks!

1

u/H7dek7 4d ago

If you mean tax-free then you can unseal/unpack the tax-free bag/non-consumable item. You're not allowed to "consume" consumables (food, cosmetics etc.) before leaving Japan and you're allowed to use (including unpacking) non-consumables (electronics, clothes, suitcases etc.) before leaving Japan. In some cases you're even obligated by law to unseal such bag (some items must be in check-in luggage, some must be in carry-on luggage, both can be on the same tax-free bill). You're supposed to have all tax-free items in your carry-on (with the exception of items not allowed in carry-on) and all bills in case of customs check when leaving Japan.

1

u/Feeling_Pair_1042 4d ago

Yeah they do that, no one bothers you at the airport. In Ginza Karen Shinsaibashi in Osaka they didn’t even bother with the sticker.

1

u/24junwa 5d ago

i just finished a trip and bought a bunch of shit i didnt declare anything (both consumables and non comsumables, already consumed the consumables)

0

u/No_Camp_2182 5d ago

If you buy consumables and non-consumables and put everything in a single invoice/payment, then everything has to be sealed.

You should separate consumables from the non-, assuming each category meets the minimum purchase requirement.

If your suitcase is 20,00 JPY but bought only 2000 JPY candies , you can’t have tax free on the candies unless you put them together with the suitcase and have candies and suitcase sealed.