Customs Service Better services in the age of digital lifestyle

Customs Service Better services in the age of digital lifestyle

Editor: Marcin Woźniczko Text: Monika Szewczyk Cover design: Mirosław Wojtowicz DTP: Publishing House C&C Photos. Property of the Customs Service of Poland

Content About us 5 What do we do 6 Where can you meet us 9 How do we look like 10 How do we work 12 Challenges for Customs 20 Friendly Customs Service 21 Statistics related to the Customs Service 22 Legal basis 23

About us The Customs Service is a uniformed formation subordinated to the Minister of Finance. It was established for the purpose of ensuring protection and safety of the customs territory of the European Union and Poland. The Customs Service is responsible for issues related to customs duty, import tax, excise tax, mineral extraction tax and gambling tax. Do you know that? The customs administration on the territory of Poland has a very long tradition which dates back to the times of the king Boleslaw II the Bold and his implementation of the customs duty on the Bug river. 5

What do we do? Mission and duties of the Customs Service Protecting financial interests of Poland and European Union, i.e. Tasks of Customs Service Assessment and collection of customs duty Assessment and collection of gambling tax Assessment and collection of mineral extraction tax The taxes and customs duties collected by the Customs Service account for 1/3 of the state budget. Every year the customs revenue amounts to tens of billions Polish zloty. In 2011, the Customs Service collected and remitted to the budget 90 billion PLN. Revenue remitted to the state budget by the Customs Service in 2011 Supporting and facilitating legal business activities, i.e. Surveillance of gambling market Detection of violations of excise, tax customs and gambling laws Protection of intellectual property rights Customs Service 90 billion PLN 32 % Protecting the society and the environment, i.e. Inspection of imported goods Fight against smuggling Prevention of importing dangerous goods Protection of endangered species (plants and animals) Protection of monuments Surveillance of production, trade and sale of products subject to excise duty Revenue from customs duty and taxes levied by the Customs Service 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Excise tax 58 billion PLN VAT on import of goods 29 billion PLN Customs duty 2 billion PLN Gambling tax 1,5 billion PLN

Organizational structure of the Customs Service Ministry of Finance Customs chambers in (Biała Podlaska, Białystok, Gdynia, Katowice, Kielce, Kraków, Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Poznań, Przemyśl, Rzepin, Szczecin, Toruń, Warszawa, Wrocław) Customs offices Customs branches The basic tasks of the Customs Service Customs chambers:: Fighting against crimes in the area of customs, excise or gambling laws Risk management in control process Auditing procedure Control of products covered by the Common Agricultural Policy Conducting proceedings as a second instance in the field of customs, excise or gambling Settlement of customs duty, excise tax, gambling tax and guarantees Enforcement of debts Liquidation of goods Customs offices: Collection of customs duty, excise tax and gambling tax Conducting proceedings as a first instance in the field of customs, excise or gambling laws Conducting investigative procedures within the penal and fiscal area Control of traders within the scope of customs, excise or gambling laws Control of the market with regard to trade in goods subject to excise duty and gambling machines Monitoring of movement of excise goods Customs branches: Handling of customs declarations Accepting of excise duty declarations Control of goods and means of transport Validation of certificates of origin and documents certifying the customs status of goods 7

Where can you find us? On 1 May 2004, the day of Poland`s accession to the European Union, the customs borders between Poland and the neighbouring Member States (Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania and the maritime border with all Member States) disappeared. The Polish Customs Service became a part of the body protecting borders of the EU customs territory where free movement of people, goods, services and capital applies. Poland entered the Schengen zone in 2007. Due to geographical location of Poland, the Polish Customs Service is responsible for securing one of the longest (and including the highest number of border crossing points) section of EU land external border. However, customs officers are now less visible at the border crossing points because they carry out most of their statutory tasks in customs chambers, customs offices and customs branches spread all over Poland. Słupsk Gdynia Gdańsk Koszalin Elbląg Szczecin Piła Bydgoszcz Toruń Gorzów Wielkopolski Rzepin Poznań Zielona Góra Pruszków Leszno Łódź Kalisz Suwałki Olsztyn Łomża Białystok Ciechanów Warszawa Siedlce Biała Podlaska Do you know that? There are 15 thousand customs officers employed in the Customs Service including 10 thousand in the customs area and among them 3.5 thousand on the borders, about 3 thousand in the excise area and about 2 thousand in the gambling area. Legnica Wałbrzych Wrocław Ministry of Finance Customs chambers Customs offices Customs branches Opole Rybnik Częstochowa Piotrków Trybunalski Radom Kielce Chorzów Katowice Kraków Czechowice-Dziedzice Nowy Sącz Nowy Targ Lublin Zamość Rzeszów Przemyśl EU land border 9

How do we look like? The customs officers are easy to recognize because of their characteristic uniforms. To become a customs officer you need to undergo a two-year preparatory training first.

Badges on the uniforms refer to the corps and the rank of the officer Corps of customs privates: Corps of non-commissioned customs officers custom trainee senior custom trainee junior customs auditor customs auditor senior customs auditor junior customs accountant customs accountant senior customs accountant Corps of customs aspirants Corps of juniors customs officers junior customs aspirant customs aspirant senior customs aspirant customs deputy comissioner customs comissioner customs chief comissioner Corps of senior customs officers Corps of customs generals customs deputy inspector junior customs inspector customs inspector customs chief inspector customs general 11

How do we work? The Customs Service carries out its duties in a way which is friendly for both citizens and traders by making use of effective system of control, knowledge, skills and engagement of the highly qualified staff, effective management methods and modern technologies. The effective and efficient work of Customs Service depends mainly on functional infrastructure, modern control devices, reliable communication system and innovative IT solutions. Therefore we have been constantly modernizing customs offices and branches to provide the citizens with the services of highest standard. We support and facilitate the legal business activity by applying simplified procedures which limit intervention of the customs officer in the circulation of goods and enable delivering the goods directly to the trader, who deals with the customs formalities on his own. Such simplifications are offered to the traders with AEO status the status of authorized economic operator. 33 % of business entities submitting customs declarations made use of this option in 2011. We have been also introducing simplifications of rules and procedures in the area of excise duty. If possible, we try to replace controls with audits which results in building trust between the Customs Service and the traders. By applying risk analysis we can concentrate our control activities on these business entities which evade paying taxes or disobey the law, enhance our effectiveness and make it less burdensome for the trustworthy traders.

Infrastructure adjusted to the needs of traders facilitates the process of their servicing by the customs officers. New customs parking lots and clearance terminals improve standard of servicing our clients. By combating unfair competition the Custom Service fight against crime supports the traders and by limiting the inflow of counterfeit, non-examined, toxic and harmful goods it ensures safety of all citizens from Poland and the European Union. Do you know that? Every year Polish customs officers seize on the EU border about 4 million counterfeit goods including toys, clothes, purses, shoes, sweets, cosmetics and medicines. A lot of them contain substances harmful for human life and health. 13

We protect the citizens from access to illegal gambling and enforce the ban of advertising it. In this way we want to contribute to decreasing the number of people addicted to gambling games and limit the dangerous social phenomena connected with this area. The Customs Service pays particular attention to cigarette smuggling due to large scale of this practice and the consequences for the state budget. Do you know that? Unquestionably, Poland is a European leader as far the number of seized illegal cigarettes is concerned. After tightening the eastern borders of Poland, the smugglers had to look for new routes from Eastern to Western Europe which made their activity less profitable. According to the data of 2011, the grey market`s cigarette sales was estimated around 10-12 % - the lowest in the region. Effective fight against smuggling is possible thanks to the use of hightech scanning devices which scan precisely not only packages but also vehicles and containers. The Customs Service also prevents import of goods which could endanger safety of the country, life and health of people and animals and the environment into the territory of Poland and European Union. This task is carried out with help of highly qualified specialists working in modernly equipped laboratories.

Customs Service also combats smuggling of drugs, weapons and radioactive substances. Do you know that? Polish customs officers have considerably improved their effectiveness in fighting against drugs. Customs Service also prevents illegal trade in the protected species of animals and plants, including products made from them. Do you know that? When you bring a unique holiday souvenir made from the skin of a snake or a turtle shell you may commit an unintentional offence. In order to avoid such situations you can participate in an education campaign prepared by the customs officers and get to know which animals and plants are protected. 15

Combat against smuggling and tax irregularities is much more effective thanks to the mobile control groups equipped with high-tech devices which enable unfailing communication and information exchange. Integrated management of the land border ensures smooth cross border traffic. The so called green corridors for vehicles which do not carry any goods to declare shorten customs formalities on the borders in a considerable way. The agreements with Ukraine and Belarus allow the customs officers to react quickly if the customs control has been disrupted. Electric screens placed above the access roads to the border crossing points inform the drivers about the waiting time for the customs clearance. On the website: www.granica.gov.pl., you can find information about the estimated waiting time to cross the borders.

The fights against smuggling and violation of customs, excise and gambling laws include not only controls but also preventive actions and education campaigns. The customs officers organize meetings with children and teenagers during which they provide necessary information and teach civic responsibility. The constant improvement of Customs Service activities also covers effective management of human capital. Transparent rules of open recruitment, creating corps, precisely defined career paths and professional courses expanding knowledge and skills of the customs staff make the Polish Customs Service equal to the modern public services in the European Union. Our work is efficient, effective and friendly for the citizens thanks to: infrastructure adjusted to the needs of traders simplified procedures application of risk analysis and limitation of control usage of the most modern control and laboratory equipment implementation of modern IT solutions highly involved and qualified staff 17

To provide the citizens with an easy access to the information on the activities of Customs Service, we opened the Customs Service Information Centre in 2011. If you contact us on (+48) 801 470 477, you will obtain information on: Polish and EU customs law procedures connected with customs duty, excise duty and gambling games jurisdiction of customs offices and branches Any irregularities related to the matters supervised by the Customs Service can be reported by calling us on 0 800 060 000. The Polish Emergency Telephone Number of Customs Service is the same on the whole territory of Poland, available 24 hours a day. All calls are free. Calling on (+48) 0 800 060 000 you can inform about the irregularities in the field of customs, excise and gambling.

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Challenges for Customs One of the biggest challenges for Customs in the nearest future is adjustment to the requirements of the modern and computerized society. Implementation of modern software will enable to carry out most formalities by electronic means. Currently, 71 % of all customs declarations are submitted electronically via e-customs system. In the future we would like to increase this number and implement applications supporting other procedures. We also plan to carry out the Single Window Project. Enabling the traders to submit all documents and provide all information necessary for completing the import and export formalities in one place, i.e, in the customs office. It will speed up the customs procedure, simplify the formalities and improve access to data and information exchange between the traders and the customs authorities. The Customs Service will also work on improving methods of fighting against illegal gambling and trade in counterfeit goods on the Internet.

Friendly Customs Service By carrying out the statutory tasks, the Customs Service ensures safety of the citizens, facilitates the legal business activity and takes care of the state budget. The customs officers also try to participate in the social life after work. They bring help to the people in need by getting involved in various charity and aid actions. Every year we raise funds for Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy [The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity]. In 2011, the customs officers from the Świętokrzyskie province prepared Christmas presents as a part of Szlachetna Paczka Project [Noble Gift Project]. We also helped the flood victims from Bogatynia. We provided transport of diesel fuel across the territory of the Czech Republic and Germany for the rescue services. The customs officers also take care of animals. They donated blankets and food as Christmas gifts to the Animal Protection Association Hope in Przemyśl. 21

Statistics related to the Customs Service About 15 thousand people are working in the Customs Service. In 2011, 3.5 thousand customs officers cleared about 9 million passenger cars, 1.7 million lorries, about 33 million passengers, about 3 million containers and cargo wagons. At the same time, the customs officers working in the customs offices carried out about 2.5 thousand controls of the traders related to excise duty, gambling tax and foreign trade turnover and collected in total more than 630 million PLN. More than 2.5 thousand customs officers were involved in fighting against crime and carried out over 400 thousand controls.

Legal basis Customs Service Act of 27 August 2009 Action Strategy of the Polish Customs Service for the years 2010-2015 Anti-corruption Program of the Polish Customs Service for the years 2010-2012+ Customs Service Business Strategy on Tobacco Products Smuggling Crisis Reponses Plan for the Customs Service Development perspectives for the Customs Service 3i Internet, Intelligence, Innovation 23

You will find more information on the Customs Service at www.sluzbacelna.gov.pl and you can also contact the Information Centre of the Customs Service on (+48) 801 470 477