HM Customs and Excise (HMCE, properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution in 2005) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the collection of customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes.

Payments of customs dues have occurred in Britain for over one thousand years, and HMCE was formed from predecessor bodies with a long history.

With effect from 18 April 2005, HMCE merged with the Inland Revenue (which administered and collected direct taxes) to form a new department: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Activities

The three main functions of HMCE were revenue collection, assessment and preventive work, alongside which other duties were performed.

Other

For various reasons HMCE and its predecessors had accrued a variety of other responsibilities over the years, some of which had nothing to do with revenue collection and protection. Many of these additional duties pertained to the regulation of activities in UK coastal waters on behalf of HM Government (not least because HMCE had customs officers stationed all around the UK coast). Thus at various times in the 20th century HMCE was involved in receiving, regulating or recording:

  • import and export licences
  • trade statistics (since 1696)
  • light dues (recorded since 1615)
  • wrecks (statutory by 1713)
  • embargoes
  • quarantine and other public health restrictions (since 1663)
  • occupational licensing
  • registration of moneylenders
  • exchange controls
  • ship registration
  • immigration control (in smaller ports and airports)

Location

thumb|[[Custom House, Exeter|Exeter's former Custom House: built in 1681, it remained in use by HM Customs until 1989.]]

In the 1970s Customs and Excise officers were operating from around 2,000 offices located in all parts of the United Kingdom; they ranged in size from large regional centres to small outposts attached to distilleries and the like.

Historically, the Board of Customs and the Board of Excise were (along with the General Post Office) 'the only Crown Services organised on a country-wide basis'. In 1987 the headquarters staff moved again to New King's Beam House 22 Upper Ground London SE1 in the area of Southwark.

Corporate structure

The 1909 amalgamation of the (previously separate) Customs and Excise services required a new corporate structure, which substantially remained in place until 1971. The new Board of Customs and Excise had oversight of three inter-linked branches, each with its own management structure:

  • The Headquarters Staff (based in London)
  • The Outdoor Service (based at Customs and Excise offices all around the country)
  • The Waterguard (uniformed preventive service: based at coastal locations, airports and border crossings).

The Board of Customs and Excise was made up of eight commissioners appointed by letters patent under the Great Seal and chaired by a Permanent Secretary. The board was responsible to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for collecting and accounting for all customs and excise revenues and for 'the management of all matters belonging and incidental to such collection'. from which time customs were to be collected and paid to the state Treasury. HM Customs was established on a more permanent basis with the passing of legislation in the reign of King Edward I: the nova custuma of 1275. Alongside the nova custuma (which was levied on exported wool and leather) duty was levied on imported goods; from the 14th century this became known as tonnage and poundage.

The Board of Customs

A Board of Customs was effectively created by the Long Parliament on 21 January 1643 under the Ordinance concerning the Customs for the continuance of the ordinance of concerning the subsidy of Tonnage and Poundage from 1 March 1643, to 25 March 1644. Under this ordinnace the regulation of the collection of customs was entrusted to a parliamentary committee; however in 1662 Parliament reverted to the farming system, until a permanent board was finally established in 1671 by letters patent.

HM Revenue of Excise

Excise duties are inland duties levied on articles at the time of their manufacture, such as alcoholic drinks and tobacco. Excise duties were first levied in England in 1643, during the Commonwealth (initially on beer, cider, spirits and soap); later, duties were levied on such diverse commodities as salt, paper and bricks.

For a time, the Excise Board was also responsible for collecting the duty levied on imports of beverages such as rum, brandy and other spirits, as well as tea, coffee, chocolate and cocoa beans. Prior to payment of duty, these items were often stored in a bonded warehouse, where excise officers could assess and measure them.

The Board of Excise

A Board of Excise was likewise established by the Long Parliament under the "Excise Ordinance" of 1643 (Ordinance for the speedy raising and levying of moneys by way of charge or impost upon several commodities). After 1662 excise revenue was farmed for the most part, until the board was established on a permanent footing in 1683.

The Board of Inland Revenue

In 1849 the Inland Revenue Board Act 1849 merged the Board of Excise with the Board of Stamps and Taxes to create a new Board of Inland Revenue.

The Waterguard

In 1809 an organisation called the Preventive Water Guard was formed, independent of HM Customs, as a specialist service to combat smuggling. In 1822 it was brought together with the Riding Officers and Cutter service to form a new body (under the authority of HM Customs) named the Coast Guard. In 1856, however, authority over the Coast Guard was transferred from the Customs to the Admiralty.

In 1891 a specialist Waterguard service was re-established within HM Customs, dedicated to rummaging vessels and combatting smuggling.

The Cutter Service

thumb|right|220px|HM Revenue Cutter Vigilant, launched in 2003; the twelfth customs vessel to bear the name.

Following the transfer of the Coastguard to the Admiralty, HM Customs had found itself bereft of sea-going vessels. For the first part of the twentieth century, HMCE made do with a single revenue cruiser, the Vigilant (which served more as a flagship for the Commissioners than as a practical deterrent). After the Second World War, however, the need for active vessels was again recognised and suitable craft were purchased from the Admiralty. By 1962 HMCE had four fast launches in service, crewed by officers of the Waterguard (many of whom had seen active service in the Royal Navy); by 1980 eight further vessels had been acquired.

In the 21st century, a fleet of Customs Cutters (latterly 42 metre Damen patrol vessels) continued to operate throughout UK territorial waters inspecting vessels for Prohibited and restricted goods and increasingly immigration matters

After the 2005 merger

In 2005, the border enforcement functions of HMCE were transferred (along with the organisation responsible for them) to HMRC; but in 2008 they were again transferred (at least in part) to the new UK Border Agency of the Home Office, which due to various failings was itself disbanded in 2012, whereupon a new UK Border Force was established with border enforcement responsibilities and powers.

Notable Customs and Excise officers

Historically, some of the more well-known figures to have served as Customs officers or Excise men are Robert Burns, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Congreve, Daniel Defoe, John Dryden, Thomas Paine and Adam Smith. Other literary figures included William Allingham, John Oldmixon, Matthew Prior and Maurice Walsh. A number of senior officers in London went on to serve as Lord Mayor, including Sir Nicholas Brembre, Sir William Walworth and Sir Richard ('Dick') Whittington. tags, and the template below.

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  • HM Customs & Excise National Museum
  • Administrative history of Customs & Excise
  • National Archives. Customs & Excise Officials and Tax Collectors

Pathé Newsreels:

  • Customs / Distillers (HMCE officers measuring sizes of casks and proof of spirits, 1958)
  • Customs men at Oil Refinery (HMCE officer assessing crude oil deliveries, 1958)
  • River Customs (ship rummaging by Preventive Officers, 1958)
  • Customs School (Waterguard Training Centre anti-smuggling branch, 1966)