A shop in Japan reported for suspected illegal sales of vaping products

The operator of the convenience store "7-11 Narita Tsubasa Tsuchiya" in Narita City has been referred to the Chiba District Public Prosecutors Office by the investigation division of the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau on suspicion of violating the Consumption Tax Act by allegedly disguising vaping product sales as duty-free transactions and illegally receiving consumption tax refunds.

Those referred include the general partnership company "Wing Tsubaki," which operates the store under a franchise model, and its representative, Mitsuko Tsubaki (50). According to related sources, although the vaping products were in fact sold to domestic residents who were acquaintances of Ms. Tsubaki, the sales were allegedly disguised as duty-free transactions to dozens of foreign tourists in order to apply for consumption tax refunds. The company is suspected of receiving about 3 million yen in refunds in 2020 and attempting to obtain about 20 million yen in refunds in 2021.

The tax office withheld the refund in 2021. In April this year, tax authorities launched a compulsory investigation (inspection). A public relations representative for Seven & i Holdings, the parent company of 7-11, said: "This is extremely regrettable. We will fully cooperate with the investigation, monitor its progress, and handle matters related to the store appropriately."