Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs has been considered as the fiscal subject that charges customs duties and other taxes on import and export. In recent decades, the views on the functions of customs have considerably expanded and now covers three basic issues: taxation, security, and trade facilitation.
The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a long series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce with other countries and with its own colonies. The laws also regulated England's fisheries and restricted foreign—including Scottish and Irish—participation in its colonial trade. While based on earlier precedents, they were first enacted in 1651 under the Commonwealth.
A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to customs duty. Free trade zones are generally organized around major seaports, international airports, and national frontiers—areas with many geographic advantages for trade.
HM Customs and Excise was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the collection of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes.
Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage economic activity. The taxation rules and duties are determined by each country. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) has content on the conditions and benefits of free zones.
A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government.
A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will then pay duties and taxes in their destination country. Which products can be sold duty-free vary by jurisdiction, as well as how they can be sold, and the process of calculating the duty or refunding the duty component.
The New Zealand Customs Service is a state sector organisation in New Zealand whose role is to provide border control and protect the community from potential risks arising from international trade and travel, as well as collecting duties and taxes on imports to the country.
The Treasury of the Isle of Man is the finance department of the Isle of Man Government. It prepares the annual budget for the Government, and also handles taxation, customs and excise, economic affairs, information systems, internal audit, currency and the census in the Isle of Man.
An excise, or excise tax, is any duty on manufactured goods that is normally levied at the moment of manufacture for internal consumption rather than at sale. It is therefore a fee that must be paid in order to consume certain products. Excises are often associated with customs duties, which are levied on pre-existing goods when they cross a designated border in a specific direction; customs are levied on goods that become taxable items at the border, while excise is levied on goods that came into existence inland.
In the United States, a foreign-trade zone (FTZ) is a geographical area, in a United States Port of Entry, where commercial merchandise, both domestic and foreign, receives the same Customs treatment it would if it were outside the commerce of the United States. The purpose of such zones is to help American businesses to be competitive in the global economy by reducing tariff burdens on the importation of foreign inputs and on exported finished products. Another definition of an FTZ states that it is an isolated, enclosed and policed area operated as a public utility, furnished with facilities for loading, unloading, handling, storing, manipulating, manufacturing and exhibiting goods and for reshipping them by land, water or air. Merchandise of every description may be held in the zone without being subject to tariffs and other ad valorem taxes. This tariff and tax relief is designed to lower the costs of U.S.-based operations engaged in international trade and thereby create and retain the employment and capital investment opportunities that result from those operations.
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department is a government department body under the Malaysian Ministry of Finance. RMCD functions as the country's main indirect tax collector, facilitating trade and enforcing laws. The top management of JKDM is led by the Director General of Customs and assisted by 3 deputies, namely, the Deputy Director General of Customs Enforcement/Compliance Division, the Deputy Director General of Customs Customs/Inland Tax Division and the Deputy Chief Director of Customs Management Division. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department consists of several divisions, namely the Enforcement Division, the Inland Tax Division, the Compliance Division, the Customs Division, and the Technical Services Division.
Entry visibility is an aspect of supply chain visibility, allowing a company to manage the proper use of trade compliance data for the importation of goods from the time they leave a foreign supplier until the time those goods reach their destination. Entry visibility aims to ensure that all regulatory, compliance, and documentation requirements are met in a timely fashion along the way. When importing into the U.S., every individual transaction must be compliant with The Customs Modernization Act, and the Importer Security Filing (10+2). Under the Mod Act, importers are required to maintain and produce timely records at the time of entry. Furthermore, the Mod Act includes a "Reasonable Care" clause, which states that importers and brokers need a comprehensive audit process to ensure they have met all compliance requirements and provided the correct information on all entry filings.
Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) or Domestic Tariff Zone (DTZ) means an area within India that is outside the Special Economic Zones and EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP.
The United States imposes tariffs on imports of goods. The duty is levied at the time of import and is paid by the importer of record. Customs duties vary by country of origin and product. Goods from many countries are exempt from duty under various trade agreements. Certain types of goods are exempt from duty regardless of source. Customs rules differ from other import restrictions. Failure to properly comply with customs rules can result in seizure of goods and criminal penalties against involved parties. The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforces customs rules.
A bonded logistics park is a type of special economic zone. Trade arrangements are similar to that of a bonded warehouse but over a specific geographic area. Sometimes with international port capabilities. Goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty.
A whisky bond, a type of bonded warehouse, is a building where whisky on which excise duty has not yet been paid is stored under lock and key.
The Bureau of Customs is a Filipino government agency that is responsible for the collecting of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes in the Philippines. It is part of the Philippines Department of Finance.
Taxation in Malta is levied by the State and it is administered by the Commissioner for Tax and Customs. The total tax revenues in 2014 amounted to €2.747 Billion, which represents 34.6% of the Maltese GDP. The main sources of tax revenue were value-added tax, income tax, and social security contributions.
Cikarang Dry Port (CDP) is a dry port in Kota Jababeka at Cikarang, West Java, Indonesia. With a total area of 200 hectares, CDP was founded in 2010. It is operated as Indonesia's first and only Integrated Customs Services Zone by PT Cikarang Inland Port, a division of the publicly traded PT Jababeka Tbk. As an inland dry port model, CDP acts as a port extension, that addresses ongoing traffic jams and delays at Tanjung Priok, a significant import/export gateway. The primary goal is to reduce the dwelling time from 3.2 days to the government-mandated 2.5 days.
