Announcement reposted from Amazon Japan:
Amazon Japan G.K. (“Amazon”) recently received an administrative recommendation dated August 2, 2024 from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry that Amazon was not in compliance with the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Digital Platforms (the “Transparency Act”) in its disclosure of the terms and conditions of the referral fees charged to its Sellers, and the changes it made to the fee categories which determine the referral fee percentage.
In response to this recommendation, Amazon announces to sellers that Amazon is undertaking the following initiatives:
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Amazon is making revisions such as those described below to the help pages so that the contents of the terms and conditions related to the referral fees are disclosed in clear and concise language that is consistent with actual transactions on Amazon.co.jp:
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We update the Help Page to disclose the following matters. These revisions are announced on November 20, 2024:
1. The fee categories are determined by Amazon
2. The precise relationship between the browse nodes and the fee categories
3. The timing when the changes to the fee categories may occur
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The “Fee category guidelines for your products” (the “Guidelines”) are being revised by providing the rationale of the classification in which the listed example products are categorized, and by otherwise disclosing Amazon’s basic idea on the definition/classification for each of the fee categories. These revisions have been announced on August 26, 2024. We will update the Guidelines on a continuous basis to ensure that sellers will find them easier to understand.
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When making changes to the fee categories themselves, or when making changes to the fee category applicable to the same type of products offered by individual Sellers, Amazon will give prior notice to Sellers that includes the following matters (at least 15 days in advance):
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(For changes to the fee categories themselves) Clear indication of the parts being changed, reasons for the change, and the expected effective date
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(For changes to the fee category applicable to the same type of products offered by individual sellers) Reasons why Amazon determines such fee category is appropriate, method of filing an objection, and information needed when filing an objection
Pursuant to the aforesaid recommendation, Amazon Japan’s management confirmed the contents of the disclosure on the referral fees that were being made at the time of the aforesaid recommendation was not in compliance with the obligation set forth in the Transparency Act to make disclosures of the terms and conditions in clear and concise language, and Amazon would undertake the initiatives described above.