Terms of Use — "Talk to TAXMEN"
1. What this service is
"Talk to TAXMEN" ("the Service") is a chat-based intake tool operated by OPTI Inc. ("OPTI", "we", "us") to gather information about your company and your situation before a consultation on Japanese Consumption Tax ("JCT") and related matters.
1.1 The Service is a preliminary information-gathering step, not a tax, legal, or accounting opinion.
1.2 Any statement made by the Service, including any figure, range, or indication (for example, an estimated fee or an indication of whether registration "may be" required), is a guideline only. It is not a final determination of your tax position, and it is not a quotation. A final quotation, and any determination of your tax obligations, is provided separately, in writing, after review by a person.
1.3 The Service may use an AI system (including a large language model) to converse with you, read text you type, and read files or images you upload, and to draft responses. A human at OPTI reviews and confirms the information you provide before it is treated as final (see Section 4).
1.4 The Service does not replace a meeting with our staff. Its purpose is to prepare for that meeting so it can be more efficient.
2. No tax, legal, or professional advice; no guaranteed outcome
2.1 Nothing said by the Service constitutes tax advice, legal advice, or a professional opinion on which you may rely for compliance purposes. OPTI does not represent that any statement made through the Service determines whether you are required to register for or report JCT, or any other tax.
2.2 Any final determination of your obligations, and any final quotation, will be confirmed in writing by OPTI staff, separately from this chat.
2.3 OPTI disclaims responsibility for any tax, customs, or regulatory outcome that results from decisions made based solely on information provided through the Service before that information has been confirmed in writing by OPTI staff.
3. Your account and information
3.1 To use the Service, we may ask for your company's information, your name and role, your mobile phone number, and details about your business activity. Where information is already in our records (for example, from an earlier inquiry), we will show it to you and ask you to confirm it rather than asking you to enter it again.
3.2 You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide. If information you gave us was mistaken, please tell us as soon as possible.
4. Confirmation of your answers
4.1 When the Service identifies an answer from your message (for example, a company name or a figure), it will ask you to confirm whether it is correct before treating it as final. Only answers you have confirmed are treated as your final answer.
4.2 If you did not confirm an answer, or you told us it was a mistake, it will not be used as your final answer.
5. Attachments (images, PDF, and other files)
5.1 You may upload files (for example, screenshots, PDF documents, invoices, or notices from a tax authority) to help us understand your situation.
5.2 Attachments are used only to provide the Service to you — to understand your business, your products, and your situation, and to prepare guidance and a quotation.
5.3 We may share the content of your attachments and your answers with a tax firm we retain overseas, where necessary to prepare your guidance or handle your matter. We do not disclose the identity of that firm to you or to any other third party as part of this Service.
5.4 The file itself (the image or PDF you uploaded) is automatically deleted approximately 6 months after upload. The record that a file was received (its name, when it was received, and the fact that it was part of your conversation), and the text of your conversation and your confirmed answers, are retained indefinitely as part of our business records, unless you ask us to delete them under Section 5.5.
5.5 You may ask us to delete your personal data, including attachments, by contacting us at the address in Section 10. We will respond in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law; some records may need to be retained where required by law (for example, tax law) or to establish or defend a legal claim.
5.6 Do not upload a file containing another person's personal data unless you have the right to share it with us for this purpose.
6. Mobile phone number and SMS/message contact
6.1 We ask for your mobile phone number so we can contact you about your matter, including by SMS, in addition to email and the chat itself.
6.2 By providing your mobile phone number and agreeing to this Section, you consent to OPTI (or a service we use, such as a messaging provider) contacting you at that number about your matter. We do not use your mobile phone number for marketing unless you separately opt in.
6.3 You may withdraw this consent at any time by telling us through the chat or at the contact address in Section 10; this will not affect the underlying service we are providing.
7. Acceptable use
You agree not to: (a) impersonate another person or company; (b) upload unlawful, infringing, or malicious content; (c) use the Service to submit another person's personal data without a lawful basis to do so; (d) attempt to access another user's conversation or data.
8. Availability; changes to the Service
We may change, suspend, or discontinue the Service, or these Terms, at any time. We will use reasonable efforts to notify you of material changes to these Terms before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the change.
9. Limitation of liability
9.1 To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, OPTI's total liability arising out of or relating to the Service (excluding any separately signed engagement for tax, VAT, EPR, or other professional services) is limited to direct damages actually incurred, and OPTI is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages, or lost profits.
9.2 Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including liability for OPTI's willful misconduct or gross negligence, or liability under mandatory consumer-protection or data-protection law.
9.3 These Terms govern the intake chat and information-gathering Service only. They do not constitute, and are not a substitute for, a signed engagement letter, Service Order, or Master Service Agreement for tax registration, tax filing, or other professional services. Any such engagement is governed by its own separately signed terms.
10. Contact
For questions about these Terms, or to exercise the rights described in Section 5.5, please contact: OPTI Inc. — account@opti.co.jp
11. Governing law and jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of Japan, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. The Tokyo District Court has exclusive jurisdiction as the court of first instance, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
12. Language
These Terms are prepared in English and Japanese. If there is any conflict between the two versions, the English version prevails, except where Japanese law requires the Japanese version to govern for a matter within Japan.
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