View source for Customs

{{For|information about a custom or tradition|Custom}}
[[File:RIAN archive 807764 Customs control at Sheremetyevo-2 international airport.jpg|thumb|Customs officer inspects the luggage of passengers arriving from a foreign country]]

Most countries have a '''Customs Service'''. The customs service works mostly at ports, airports and the countries borders to make sure that people do not bring things into the country which are banned, or that the right amount of tax has been paid on goods that can be ''imported'' (brought into the country).

Some customs officers work at a post office. They do not meet the public, they examine letters and parcels which have been sent from outside the country, to make sure nothing illegal is being brought into the country.

In the United Kingdom the customs service was called "Customs and Excise". This is because it was once two separate bodies. The Customs service collected tax (called customs duty) on goods being brought into the country, for example brandy from France or tea from India. The Excise service collected tax (called [[Excise tax|excise duty]]) on goods made in the country, for example Scotch [[whisky]] or Irish [[whiskey]]. Today all cars and lorries must pay a tax to be allowed to drive on the road. Although most people call this "road tax" or "car tax", it is officially called "vehicle excise duty".

== Customs Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Netherlands Customs Douane Schiphol Airport.jpg|A [[customs officer]] in [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]] checks the luggage of an incoming traveler.

File:Vienna Convention road sign C16-V1 (Customs-EN-FR).svg|[[Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals|Vienna Convention road sign]] for customs

File:CBP female officers going aboard a ship.jpg|Officers from [[US Customs and Border Protection]] boarding a ship

File:Prt-yhteistyö.jpg|The [[Finland|Finnish]] [[Police of Finland|police]], [[Finnish Customs|customs]] and [[Finnish Border Guard|border guard]] working together in 2006

File:Orrling of CentralHFA 15.jpg|The customs-and-duty house at the [[port of Haifa]], Israel

File:20190221 160044 Sheremetyevo Airport terminal D February 2019.jpg|Customs control zone at [[Sheremetyevo International Airport]], [[Moscow Oblast]], February 2019

File:Customs, Tolls or Duties - Corporation of Kinsale.jpg|Customs, Tolls or Duties of the Corporation of [[Kinsale]] (1788)
</gallery>
== Related pages ==
{{commons cat|Customs services}}
* [[Border guard]]
* [[Law enforcement agency]]
== Footnotes ==
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{{Types of law enforcement agencies}}

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[[Category:Customs services| ]]
[[Category:Taxation]]