A request for reinvestigation is filed with the administrative agency that has taken the action in question, usually with the competent district director. This approach aims to remedy the rights and interests of the taxpayer through a simple and quick procedure by making the administrative agency that is party to the dispute handle that dispute. The system also aims to secure proper administration.
A request for reinvestigation must be filed within 2 months after the date that a notice of action is received. The tax office investigates the request and decides whether or not the request should be accepted. To assure fair and objective judgment, this examination and investigation is assigned to staff officials other than those who took the original action. The tax office has special staff to handle duties associated with requests for reinvestigation.
Even after a request for reinvestigation is filed, the validity and execution of an action in question are not suspended (so-called “Principle of Non-suspension of Administrative Action”).
Statistical information concerning requests for reinvestigation in recent years is shown in Table 36. Since FY1980, the number of requests for reinvestigation has been decreasing dramatically, reflecting a reduction in cases of salaried income earners claiming refunds of tax withheld as one means of reducing their tax burden