Customs is a unique organization among government agencies. It is neither a domestic agency nor an international agency. It is poised on the international borders as the nations guard against external threats to health, safety, and the environment. Customs protects domestic industry and collects revenue to support the government. It must be aware of the border implications of national priorities concerning domestic crime, immigration, labor, economy, and agriculture. At the same time, it must maintain an awareness of international issues and their potential impact on the nation, and it must be knowledgeable about national obligations to trade and transport treaties and conventions.
In many ways, customs organizations relate more closely with their counterparts in other countries than they do with other agencies in their own government. They frequently look to customs administrations internationally and in the neighboring countries for assistance and for ideas on how to improve operations or enforcement, as well as to exchange information on emerging threats.
Historically, customs work consisted of the manual labor of inspecting cargo, vessels, and passengers, and patrolling long stretches of border between ports of entry. Customs management was close to higher ranking government officials, while its staff was often poorly educated, trained, and compensated. This arrangement undermined professionalism and integrity in the customs.
A modern customs administration must use a professional workforce and an enabling technology to accomplish its mission.
An ideal organization is not static. The imperatives of a globalized economy on customs have become clear. Public and private sector organizations modify their structures continually to address new challenges. A customs administration is no exception and often struggles to find an ideal organization to match the constantly changing customs environment.
Traditionally, customs organizations are structured as departments of the Ministry of Finance and are fully accountable to the Ministry for their operations and results. The placement of customs under one ministry or the other is, at the end, a decision that could be reached rationally given the unique administrative structure and economic circumstances of the country, as well as the mission assigned to customs by the government. At times, customs has somewhat greater autonomy than other agencies, generally due to its responsibilities as border guard, as well as its responsibility to deal with noncompliant traders and smugglers.
The organizational structure of most customs is decentralized, consisting of headquarters and regional and local offices. The headquarters develops operational policy and procedures, monitors the activities of the decentralized offices and is responsible for personnel policy. Regional offices oversee the activities of the local offices in their jurisdiction. The staff at the local offices decide on the level of verification required when processing a declaration and releasing goods.
It is thus obvious that customs organizations need to find the organizational formula best suited for their particular circumstances.
(From: Customs Modernization Handbook)
Text comprehension
1. Why is customs a unique organization?
2. What does customs protect?
3. How does customs support the government?
4. What must customs be aware of?
5. Do customs organizations relate more closely with their counterparts in other countries? In what ways?
6. What did customs work historically consist of?
7. What causes changes in the work of modern customs?
8. How are customs organizations traditionally structured?
9. Why does customs has greater autonomy than other agencies?
10. What tasks do customs headquarters, regional and local offices perform?
