Bundeszollverwaltung

The Bundeszollverwaltung, commonly rendered in English as the Federal Customs Administration or Federal Customs Service, is the customs administration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms part of Germany's federal financial administration and operates under the Federal Ministry of Finance. Established in 1949 in West Germany, it combines revenue administration, customs control, payment enforcement and a broad range of law-enforcement responsibilities. Its central fiscal role is to administer customs duties and a range of federal excise taxes. These include taxes connected with energy, electricity, tobacco, beer and other taxable goods. Customs also collects revenue for the European Union. Under the EU customs revenue arrangement described in the reference material, most tariff receipts are transferred to the EU budget while a portion is retained by the collecting state to cover collection costs and support the federal budget. The administration therefore operates at both national and European levels. The Bundeszollverwaltung supervises the import, export and transit of goods entering, leaving or moving through the EU customs area via Germany. Its officers check whether goods comply with customs rules, prohibitions and restrictions, including controls connected with endangered species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Its enforcement work includes combating the illegal movement of weapons, narcotics, dangerous substances and other prohibited goods. Beyond conventional customs inspection, the administration performs several policing and protective functions. These include elements of border-related enforcement, road-traffic policing, the protection of Germany's continental shelf in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and controls relating to underwater mining and exploration rights. The maritime customs service works with other authorities as part of Germany's federal coast-guard arrangements. Customs enforcement units cooperate with state police forces and the Federal Police, including in activities directed against serious organized crime and terrorism. Another major function is the prevention of illicit work and related forms of social-security and employment fraud. Customs officials also participate in measures against money laundering. In this capacity, the administration is not limited to collecting duties at ports, airports or land crossings; it also investigates and enforces compliance in the domestic economy where federal laws assign it responsibility. The Bundeszollverwaltung additionally acts as an execution authority for payment claims owed to the federal government and to federal public-law bodies, including institutions such as the Federal Employment Agency. Authorized officials may enforce these claims using powers comparable in some respects to those of bailiffs, including the seizure and disposal of assets and, where legally permitted, real estate. Customs offices also organize public auctions. These can include seized property or items designated for disposal by customs and other public authorities. Certain categories cannot be sold through ordinary customs auctions. Protected animals and plants are handled under conservation rules; narcotics are excluded; tobacco products must satisfy tobacco-tax requirements before lawful sale; and regulated weapons require appropriate authorization or are disposed of through the responsible procurement channels. The administration is consequently both a fiscal service and a visible enforcement institution at Germany's borders and within its internal market.

The Bundeszollverwaltung was established in 1949 in the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany, placing customs administration within the federal financial system of postwar West Germany. From its beginning, the organization was designed to perform more than the collection of border duties. It served as a federal fiscal authority responsible for administering customs revenue and selected excise taxes, while also enforcing restrictions on the cross-border movement of goods. Its fiscal mandate developed around Germany's participation in the European customs system. Customs administration became responsible not only for national requirements but also for applying European customs rules at German ports, airports, roads and other points through which goods entered, exited or transited the customs territory. The authority's work therefore came to include the assessment and collection of tariff revenue, the administration of federal taxes on particular goods, and the safeguarding of EU and German financial interests. The administration's enforcement role broadened alongside its fiscal responsibilities. Customs officials were assigned to detect prohibited or restricted imports and exports, including weapons, drugs, dangerous substances and goods subject to special conservation controls. The application of CITES rules made customs an important operational part of Germany's response to trafficking in protected wildlife and plants. Maritime customs units also acquired responsibilities connected with Germany's coastal waters, including the monitoring of rights relating to offshore mining and exploration. Within Germany, customs enforcement expanded into labor-market and financial compliance. The administration became responsible for combating illicit work and associated violations, working with police and other public bodies where investigations required broader law-enforcement powers. Its remit also includes participation in measures against money laundering. Cooperation with state police forces and the Federal Police is a recurring feature of enforcement activity, particularly in cases involving cross-border crime, organized crime or terrorism. The Bundeszollverwaltung has additionally operated as a federal execution authority. It collects payment claims on behalf of the federal government and federal public-law entities, including the Federal Employment Agency. Officials assigned to this work may use enforcement measures comparable to those available to bailiffs, including the seizure of property and the disposal of assets in accordance with applicable law. Customs offices also provide an auction function for seized or surplus goods. This service may be used by customs and by other public authorities. Its scope is constrained by legal and safety requirements: protected species, narcotics, non-compliant tobacco products and certain weapons cannot simply be sold through ordinary public auctions. Such items are transferred, destroyed or otherwise handled through the legally responsible institutions. Today, the Bundeszollverwaltung remains an active component of Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance. Its identity is defined by the combination of revenue collection, customs supervision, domestic compliance enforcement, public-debt execution and cooperation with national and European authorities.

• 1949

  Federal customs administration established

  [1]Bundeszollverwaltungen.wikipedia.org

  The Bundeszollverwaltung was founded in West Germany as the federal customs and fiscal administration of the newly established Federal Republic.

Government customs, fiscal administration and law-enforcement authority

1. 1Bundeszollverwaltungen.wikipedia.org
2. 2German Customs: Official websitezoll.de