Concept in Definition ABC

Customs is the public and / or fiscal office that, often under the orders of a State or government political, is established on coasts and borders with the purpose of registering, manage and regulate the international traffic of goods and products entering and leaving a country.

The purpose of customs is multiple and, among other things, is concerned with controlling the traffic of Material goods that are imported and exported, charging taxes and fees to individual entities or collectives.

In addition to control over merchandise, customs also regulates traffic - entry and egress - of people and capital to a country, although these do not constitute its main functions, since there are other institutions oriented to such ends, for example, the banking system.

Customs is made up of customs agents, which is the person authorized by the national government to control the entry of goods and determine the collection value that the interested party must pay for them.

The administration customs clearance on the goods takes place through the right customs duty or customs duty, which refers to that fee or cost that the owner of the products must pay to allow them to enter the country without being withheld by the safety from customs. But they also look at those products that leave the country. Rates are arranged in accordance with Customs policies and a regulation is established that sets a price for each type of product: for example, technological goods, consumption, cultural, etc.

One of the reasons why a customs duty is charged is that they constitute tariff items that are of exclusive use by the government of the country and, ultimately, they imply an important source of income for policies public. At the same time, these practices provide protection for national production, since they impose taxes that make foreign merchandise more expensive would contribute to the consumption of goods manufactured within the country. Ultimately, the existence of a customs office also allows regulated practices and within the framework of the law, avoiding the traffic of illegal products across borders.

When these regulations are taken to the extreme, they speak of prohibitionism or protectionism. While the more liberal and flexible practices regarding the entry and exit of goods evoke a context of capitalist free trade that has been favored in recent decades since the globalization.