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Customs

About Customs

The French General Directorate of Customs and Excise (DGDDI) has three main missions : 

• Taxation (its traditional and historical mission) : Customs now collects approximately 13% of French central-government revenue and contributes to financing of the EU budget;
• Economic issues: Customs supports business competitiveness by facilitating international trade (simplified procedures, business consultancy), compiling foreign-trade statistics, enforcing EU agricultural and commercial policy and protecting businesses from unfair practices such as dumping and counterfeiting;
• Security and protection of the public, heritage and the environment: Customs tackles major trafficking and smuggling (narcotics, weapons, explosives, cigarettes, counterfeit items, species protected under the Washington Convention, etc.) and monitors movement of toxic waste, civil and military strategic goods and cultural goods, import of products not complying with EU standards, etc. Customs is also involved in some government naval missions and in tackling immigration and illegal labour.

Broad outlines of DGDDI international cooperation

The French General Directorate of Customs and Excise (DGDDI (General Directorate of Customs and Excise (Ministry for Budget, Public Accounts, the Civil Service and State Reform)) ) has been expanding its international cooperation policy under the broad guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE (Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs) ) and the Ministry for the Budget, to which the DGDDI (General Directorate of Customs and Excise (Ministry for Budget, Public Accounts, the Civil Service and State Reform)) is attached.

This international work takes the form of both operational cooperation (networks of customs attachés and liaison officers, implementation of bilateral agreements for exchange of intelligence, joint investigations and joint surveillance operations) and technical assistance. Customs cooperation focuses on France’s main economic partners and countries of origin and transit for smuggling.

The priority geographical areas are the periphery of Europe (Mediterranean, Balkans, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States (in French see CEI)) ), China and Vietnam, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Main fields of technical customs cooperation :

• Modernisation of customs authorities and facilitation of international trade
  • In 2008, the DGDDI (General Directorate of Customs and Excise (Ministry for Budget, Public Accounts, the Civil Service and State Reform)) was awarded a twinning in Romania to build the operational and administrative capacities of Romanian Customs for transfer of excise management and control to this authority.
  • In 2008, Adetef organised a forum in Ukraine with French Customs on international trade facilitation and security when adopting international practice (Community Customs Code, computerised procedures, etc.).
  • Since 2007 many French customs officers have also helped to implement the World Customs Organization’s Columbus programme for building customs authorities’ capacity to enforce SAFE standards for securing and facilitating trade.
• Training
  • Training, a major cross-disciplinary field of cooperation, takes various forms: hosting of foreign customs officers for in-service training (customs procedures with economic impact, supervision of business transactions, etc.) and university-level initial training in customs colleges in France or partner countries, as well as specific training missions abroad.
  • The DGDDI (General Directorate of Customs and Excise (Ministry for Budget, Public Accounts, the Civil Service and State Reform)) has played an active part in setting up and developing public finance institutes in the Mediterranean region.

Customs enforcement

• In West Africa, the DGDDI (General Directorate of Customs and Excise (Ministry for Budget, Public Accounts, the Civil Service and State Reform)) is providing technical expertise in risk prevention (risk analysis, information gathering/exchange) and customs enforcement (institutional support for investigation and research) through its network of technical assistants and its bilateral cooperation projects.
• Customs is involved in action to combat counterfeiting in Europe and Asia: the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) working group on the fight against fraud, combating counterfeiting, and customs action for the environment thus met in the French National Customs College in Tourcoing in May 2008. A memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Customs has led to greater cooperation in combating export of counterfeit wine and developing registered designations of origin and has been supplemented by an agreement on mutual administrative assistance. An international agreement on mutual administrative assistance was also signed with Vietnamese Customs in January 2009; it includes a strand on combating counterfeiting.
• Missions to provide training on how to search ships are organised regularly for customs authorities in Latin America.