Japan: a Cabinet bill, not yet law, would cut the consumption tax rate on food and beverages to 0.78% from 1 April 2027
This change is proposed and is not law. The rules below describe what would change if it is adopted.
This page records one dated change. For the rules in Japan as they stand today, see the Japan guide →
- Jurisdiction
- Japan
- Tax
- Consumption tax
- Change type
- Rate change
- Status
- Proposed
- Impact
- Watch
- Announced
- 9 October 2026
- Effective
- 1 April 2027
- Authority
- Cabinet Secretariat, Japan
- Systems
- POS, Tax engine, ERP, Invoicing, E-commerce
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Japanese businesses supplying or importing food and beverages at the reduced rate, including retailers and restaurants, and the vendors of their POS and tax systems.
Plan POS, tax-engine and price-display changes for a 1% food and beverage rate from 1 April 2027, subject to Diet passage.
POSTax engineERPInvoicingE-commerce
The Japanese Cabinet adopted on 9 October 2026 and submitted to the 222nd (extraordinary) Diet session the bill on the temporary reduction of the consumption tax rate on food and beverages and payment of a worker burden-reduction support payment. The bill outline sets the consumption tax (national) rate at 0.78 percent for reduced-rate food and beverage supplies and imports from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029 (combined national and local rate of 1 percent per the National Tax Agency leaflet), and provides total-price display and simplified-taxation transitional rules. The House of Representatives received the bill on 9 October 2026 and referred it to its Finance and Financial Affairs Committee on 20 October 2026. Not yet enacted; the government aims for enactment before the session ends on 12 December 2026.
What changed in detail
This is a bill, not law. The Japanese Cabinet adopted on 9 October 2026 and submitted to the 222nd (extraordinary) Diet session a bill on the temporary reduction of the consumption tax rate on food and beverages and the payment of a worker burden-reduction support payment.
The bill outline sets the national consumption tax rate at 0.78 percent for reduced-rate food and beverage supplies and imports from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2029. The National Tax Agency leaflet gives the combined national and local rate as 1 percent. The bill also provides total-price display rules and transitional rules for simplified taxation.
The House of Representatives received the bill on 9 October 2026 and referred it to its Finance and Financial Affairs Committee on 20 October 2026. It has not been enacted; the government aims for enactment before the session ends on 12 December 2026.
What it means
Nothing changes until the Diet passes the bill. Retailers and system vendors can plan POS, tax-engine and price-display changes for a 1% food and beverage rate from 1 April 2027, but the rate, the dates and the transitional rules could still change in the legislative process.
Proof
令和九年四月一日から令和十一年三月三十一日までの間に事業者が国内において行う飲食料品（軽減税率の適用対象となっている飲食料品をいう。以下同じ。）の譲渡（以下「特例対象課税資産の譲渡」という。）及び保税地域から引き取られる飲食料品について、消費税の税率を〇・七八パーセントとする。For supplies of food and beverages (meaning food and beverages subject to the reduced tax rate; the same applies below) made by businesses in Japan between 1 April Reiwa 9 (2027) and 31 March Reiwa 11 (2029), and for food and beverages withdrawn from bonded areas, the consumption tax rate is to be 0.78 percent.
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