MPs say customs service 'failing'

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UK customs authorities are failing in key areas, with not enough spot checks on goods and inadequate assessment of risks, MPs have warned.

The public accounts committee said internal weaknesses at HM Revenue and Customs made procedures less effective.

Physical searches of goods were well below the EU average, it said, and checks on documents had fallen.

Customs officials said major drugs and weapons catches last year showed their strategy was being successful.

However, they acknowledged some shortcomings and said there had been changes to increase accountability.

'Disjointed'

Revenue and Customs is responsible for managing import controls and procedures, collecting custom duties and VAT and helping traders comply with customs rules.

Since 2008, the UK Border Agency has been responsible for on-the-spot checks of imports.

Although comparisons were difficult, MPs suggested the amount of goods physically searched at UK borders compared "unfavourably" to the rest of Europe - with 2-3% of items examined against an EU average of 9%.

It is far from reassuring to learn that the department's management of customs activities is fragmented and disjointed Edward Leigh, Public Accounts Committee

Efforts to shift the emphasis away from physical searches to documentary checks and audits of traders, designed to speed up the customs process, have proved unsuccessful, they said.

Checks on documents had fallen "significantly", MPs found, while the number of company audits was halved between 2005 and 2008.

MPs noted the challenge of implementing complex EU customs rules, which divide banned and restricted goods into 34 categories and operate 30 different regimes for firms to defer or reduce payment of duties.

Many traders struggled to comply with the rules while non-compliance, particularly among new traders, had increased.

'Minimum' delays

And they criticised poor sharing of information and ineffective oversight in some customs operations.

"It is far from reassuring to learn that the department's management of customs activities is fragmented and disjointed, that accountabilities are blurred and that management information is poor," said Tory MP Edward Leigh, the committee's chairman.

"Revenue and Customs has argued that an approach based on assessing risk and managing intelligence justified the relatively low levels of physical examination.

"The trouble is Revenue and Customs and the Border Agency have lacked robust processes to identify new and emerging risks. This is a weakness that both bodies must address in a concerted way."

In a statement, the agency defended its approach, adding that comparisons with other countries were "unhelpful".

"The type and range of checks on freight by customs authorities differ widely," it said.

"Our risk and intelligence-based approach aims to stop traffic only when we need to do so. Delays are the exception, keeping the burdens on business to a minimum."

Giving the UK Border Agency control of on-the-spot searches had meant more not less scrutiny, it said.

Its officers had impounded 4,900 dangerous weapons and £260m worth of illegal drugs since April 2008.