Federal Office for Customs and Border Security

The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) (French Office fédéral de la douane et de la sécurité des frontières OFDF; Italian Ufficio Federale della dogana e della sicurezza dei confini UDSC; Rhaeto-Romanic Uffizi federal de la duana e de la segirezza dals cunfins UDSC) is a federal agency of the Swiss Confederation. It is an office of the Federal Department of Finance.

Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS)
(in German) Office fédéral de la douane et de la sécurité des frontières OFDF
(in French) Département fédéral des affaires étrangères
(in Italian) Ufficio Federale della dogana e della sicurezza dei confini UDSC
(in Romansh) Uffizi federal de la duana e de la segirezza dals cunfins

Main building of the FOCBS in Bern
Agency overview
JurisdictionFederal administration of Switzerland
HeadquartersBern
Employees~4500
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Christian Bock
Websitewww.bazg.admin.ch

Prior to 1 January 2022, it was known as the Federal Customs Administration.[1]

Tasks

Several thousand tones of different goods cross the Swiss border every day. The FOCBS experts check whether the goods have been registered correctly, set taxes and duties, and ensure compliance with numerous regulations to protect the population and the economy. Together with domestic and foreign partner authorities, the FOCBS also fulfills tasks in the area of security and migration in the border area, as well as in rail traffic and at airports.[2]

Organization and Responsibility

The headquarters of the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security is in Bern.The Swiss customs area is divided into six regions.

  • Customs North: Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Aargau
  • Customs Northeast: Schaffhausen, Thurgau, Zurich, Zug, Schwyz, Lucerne, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus
  • Customs East: St. Gallen, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Outerrhoden, Graubünden, Principality of Liechtenstein
  • Customs South: Uri, Ticino
  • Customs West: Geneva, Vaud, Valais
  • Central Customs: Jura, Nauenberg, Bern, Freiburg, Solothurn[3]

The Federal Office of Customs and Border Security is not only responsible for Switzerland but also for the German municipality and exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Until the end of 2019, the Italian municipality and exclave of Campione d'Italia was also a de facto Swiss customs area.

Transformation

As part of the DaziT [4] transformation program , the FOCBS will gradually develop further until 2026. In addition to process simplification and digitization, the legal basis will also be adjusted (total revision of the customs law). The previous professions of "customs specialist" and "border guard" will be combined in the new job profile of "customs and border security specialist", and work equipment and infrastructure will be geared towards greater flexibility and mobility. As part of this, the authority was renamed from Federal Customs Administration into its current name on 1 January 2022.[5]

The reform efforts are sometimes sharply criticized. In particular, the planned expansion of powers, armament and uniforms were questioned.[6][7][8]

See also

References
  1. "Die Eidgenössische Zollverwaltung heisst neu Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG)". Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  2. Auftrag. Webseite der Eidgenössischen Zollverwaltung. Abgerufen am 30. Dezember 2020.
  3. Archived (Date missing) at ezv.admin.ch (Error: unknown archive URL) Webseite der Eidgenössischen Zollverwaltung. Abgerufen am 30. Dezember 2020.
  4. Transformationsprogramm DaziT. Webseite der Eidgenössischen Zollverwaltung. Abgerufen am 30. Dezember 2020.
  5. "Die Eidgenössische Zollverwaltung heisst neu Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG)". Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  6. Markus Eberhard (2021-04-21). "Massive Kritik an der Person von Christian Bock, Direktor der Eidgenössischen Zollverwaltung". finesolutions.ch (in Swiss High German). FineSolutions AG. Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  7. "Bewaffnung und Uniformierung" (PDF). 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  8. Pierre-Yves Maillard, David Gallusser (2020-12-17). "Vernehmlassung zum Gesetz über den Allgemeinen Teil der Abgabenerhebung und die Kontrolle des grenzüberschreitenden Waren- und Personenverkehrs durch das Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG-Vollzugsaufgabengesetz, BAZG-VG) sowie Totalrevision des Zollgesetzes (ZG) zum neuen Zollabgabengesetz (ZoG)" (PDF). Schweizerischer Gewerkschaftsbund. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
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