Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday that fees for an electronic customs system for cargo ships making port calls will will drop drastically beginning in April.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had been pushing for the reduction to promote the use of electronic administrative services at ports.
The cost of using an exclusive phone line to register imports is 110 yen to 120 yen per call. Some major customs offices are paying as much as 100 million yen a year to use the electronic system.
Only the Finance Ministry charges fees for electronic customs procedures.
The land ministry does not charge fees for use of ports and facilities, and the economy ministry does not charge fees for the use of an electronic system to apply for approval of imports and exports.