Apple Japan slapped with 14 bil. yen in back tax over duty-free sales

Apple Inc.'s Japan branch was slapped with 14 billion yen ($105 million) in additional taxes after authorities found bulk sales of iPhones and other items to foreign visitors were incorrectly exempted from consumption tax, a source close to the matter said Tuesday.

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau found Apple Japan’s approximately 140 billion yen tax-exempt sales over two years through September 2021 were the result of fraudulent duty-free purchases to be resold for commercial purposes, the source said.

Tax-free shopping is only admitted for foreign visitors who buy souvenirs or daily goods ...