Customs

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This article is about import/export tariffs. For other uses, see Custom.

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting customs duties and for controlling the flow of animals and goods (including personal effects and hazardous items) in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules. The customs agency may be different from the immigration authority, which monitors persons who leave or enter the country, checking for appropriate documentation, apprehending people wanted by international search warrants, and impeding the entry of others deemed dangerous to the country.

A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the import of or export of goods. In England, customs duties were traditionally part of the customary revenue of the king, and therefore did not need parliamentary consent to be levied, unlike excise duties, land tax, or other impositions.

Commercial goods not yet cleared through customs are held in a customs area until processed.

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[edit] Customs services in the world

[edit] Red and Green Channels

Customs for arriving passengers at many international airports are separated into Red and Green Channels[1][2]. Passengers with goods to declare (carrying items above the permitted customs limits and/or carrying prohibited items) should go through the Red Channel. Passengers with nothing to declare (carrying goods within the customs limits only and/or not carrying prohibited items) can go through the Green Channel. Passengers going through the Green Channel are only subject to spot checks and save time. But, if a passenger going through the Green Channel is found to have goods above the customs limits on them and/or carrying prohibited items, they may be prosecuted for making a false declaration to customs, by virtue of having gone through the Green Channel.

Airports within the EU also have a Blue Channel[3][4]. The EU is a customs union, travellers between EU countries do not have to pay customs duties, so long as the goods they are carrying are for personal use only (will not be sold). Passengers arriving from other EU countries should go through the Blue Channel. Luggage tickets for checked in luggage within the EU are green-edged so they may be identified[5][6].

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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