Don Quijote operator PPIH will waive refund fees as Japan's duty-free system switches to a post-purchase model
Japan's duty-free system switches nationwide from a point-of-sale exemption to a post-purchase refund model on November 1 — the sector's biggest procedural change in years — and Don Quijote operator PPIH is among the first major retailers to say publicly how it will handle the new refund fee: by not charging it.
Pan Pacific International Holdings (PPIH), the operator of Don Quijote, said it will not charge customers an application fee for duty-free refunds once Japan's tax-free retail system switches nationwide from a point-of-sale exemption to a post-purchase refund model on November 1, according to a news release dated October 5.
Under the current system, foreign visitors buy eligible goods at a tax-exempt price in store. From November 1, they will instead pay the tax-included price at the till and claim a refund of the consumption-tax portion after customs confirms, at departure, that the goods are leaving the country, PPIH said in explaining the nationwide change.
PPIH said its group stores — including Don Quijote, Mega Don Quijote, Apita and Piago nationwide — will absorb the refund-application fee from November 1, continuing what it described as a long-standing policy of offering duty-free service at no fee to customers. The waiver does not extend to cash refunds collected at the airport, which remain subject to the refund operator's own charge, the company noted. PPIH said the new refund process should also take less time at checkout than the current point-of-sale exemption, which it expects to shorten queues and free up staff time it plans to redirect toward multilingual shopping support.
The move comes as PPIH's duty-free sales hit a record ¥228.6 billion for the fiscal year to June 2026, the company said, citing the figure as context for its decision.
November 1's switch to a refund model is the most disruptive change to inbound retail procedure in years — it adds a customs step at departure and gives operators room to charge for processing a refund they previously built into the point-of-sale price. PPIH's decision to waive that fee, at a chain whose duty-free sales just hit a record and whose stores are a default stop for visiting shoppers, sets a public benchmark that other department stores, drugstores and electronics retailers chasing the same inbound spending will now be read against as November 1 approaches.