Federal Office for Customs and Border Security

The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) (German Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG); 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.

"Swiss Customs" redirects here. For the museum, see Swiss Customs Museum.
Federal Office for Customs and Border Security
(in German) Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG)
(in French) Office fédéral de la douane et de la sécurité des frontières (OFDF)
(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 (UDSC)

Main building of the FOCBS in Bern
Agency overview
JurisdictionFederal administration of Switzerland
HeadquartersBern
EmployeesAbout 4500
Minister responsible
Agency executive
  • Christian Bock
Websitewww.bazg.admin.ch/bazg/en/home.html

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

Tasks

Several thousand tones of 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 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 responsibilities

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. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  3. Organisation. at the Wayback Machine (archived 2021-01-08) Webseite der Eidgenössischen Zollverwaltung. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  4. Transformationsprogramm DaziT. Webseite der Eidgenössischen Zollverwaltung. Retrieved 30 December 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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