Verification by public voice of the symmetrical operation where taxpayers also respond with a dedicated representative system to the efforts of the National Tax Agency operating such a system
Federation of Tokyo Metropolitan Youth Unions
April 22, 2026
Today, the Global Union (National Tax Union) officially launched a large-scale big data survey and behavioral analysis project regarding the "equitable implementation of the officer-in-charge system" in tax inspection administration. This will be one of the largest questionnaire surveys in Japan, utilizing a network of 400,000 union members.
Background: Facts under Current Law
Under the Act on General Rules for National Taxes, the executing entity of the right of question and inspection is National Tax Agency officials, and if the personnel in charge cannot fully handle the matter, the Commissioner or Regional Commissioner bears the responsibility to conduct the questioning and investigation themselves. In addition, questioning and investigations are not legally limited to in-person investigations; written, telephone, online, and other methods are permitted.
Meanwhile, at the local tax office level, the practice of making "handling by the person in charge the rule" has become established to avoid operational delays. In particular, the Kumamoto Regional Taxation Bureau factually implements the designated officer system steadily, and our union highly evaluates this progressive attitude.
The core of the issue: "Symmetrical operation" where the taxpayer side also responds with a dedicated representative system
Until now, the National Tax Agency has customarily maintained operational considerations by requesting that taxpayers provide executive-level responses. However, in order to achieve faster investigation administration in the Reiwa era, it is the most rational and equitable application for taxpayers not to take this consideration for granted, but instead to respond using a dedicated representative system, just as the National Tax Agency does.
Specifically, I would like to propose the following principles.
First, the company should also have the operational staff handle the initial response. Having the staff who are most familiar with the actual situation respond will simultaneously increase the accuracy and speed of the investigation.
Secondly, if the investigation is prolonged, a newly appointed person in charge must take over the handover and respond promptly. This is completely symmetrical to the operational practice on the side of the National Tax Agency, where newly appointed chief examiners and newly appointed district directors take over and handle cases due to personnel reassignments.
Thirdly, for managers with health reasons, transitioning to a dedicated representative system actually functions as a reasonable accommodation.
NTA representative system × company representative system, NTA new handover × company new handover—this symmetry and equality is the key to accelerating Reiwa-era tax investigations. The taxpayer side responds sincerely with the same mechanism to the operational effort of the National Tax Agency's representative system. This is the fundamental philosophy of this project.
Survey Overview / Delivery Address
We will collect data from the 400,000-member network and the general public regarding the rationality of the dedicated-person system, handover operations for newly appointed staff, health considerations, and the level of agreement with equitable operations. The aggregated results are scheduled to be submitted as recommendations to regional taxation bureaus nationwide, starting with the Kumamoto Regional Taxation Bureau, which serves as a leading implementation model for the dedicated-person system.
Global Union (National Tax Union)
