Customs House Overview

A customs house is a building or a facility that is used to file the proper paperwork regarding the importing and exporting of goods into and out of the home country.

At one time, the custom house was one of the most important areas of employment, because it required a significant number of individuals in order to file paperwork and do all necessary processes regarding customs and the movement of merchandise.

The customs house was also the area of collection for customs duties; customs duties are fees or tariffs that are imposed on goods being imported into the nation. Without the payment of a duty, the imports are not allowed to be moved into the nation’s borders.

Customs duties and custom houses were important regarding national security. By collecting the duties, the nation was assured that the importers and exporters are working under the nation’s regulations.

For items that are not granted access into a nation and there are a number of these times which are not allowed, but individuals have attempted to bring them in, this is where the items would be taken away from the individual in order to give the individual leave into the nation or this is where both the item and the individual were sent back to the nation they originally came from.

The custom house is considered the enforcement agency of a nation; however, a majority of these custom houses have been replaced by electronic systems which organize and do the same work that the custom house once did. However, there are still several custom houses around the world.

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