The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
''Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit'' (BAZG);
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
''Office fédéral de la douane et de la sécurité des frontières'' (OFDF);
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
''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
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...
. It is an office of the
Federal Department of Finance
The Federal Department of Finance (FDF, , , , ) is one of the seven Ministry (government department), departments of the Swiss federal government. The department is headquartered in Bern and headed by a member of the Federal Council (Switzerlan ...
.
Prior to 1 January 2022, it was known as the Federal Customs Administration.
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.
Organization and responsibilities
The headquarters of the Federal Office of Customs and Border Security is in
Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
. The 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
The Federal Office of Customs and Border Security is not only responsible for Switzerland but also for the German municipality and
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of
Büsingen am Hochrhein
Büsingen am Hochrhein (, ; Alemannic: ', ), often known simply as Büsingen, is a German municipality () in the south of Baden-Württemberg with a population of about 1,548 inhabitants. It is an exclave of Germany and Baden-Württemberg, and ...
and the
Principality of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a doubly landlocked German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east and north and Switzerland in the west and south. Liechtenst ...
. Until the end of 2019, the Italian municipality and exclave of
Campione d'Italia
Campione d'Italia (; ) is a (municipality) of the Province of Como in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy. Located on the shores of Lake Lugano, it is an enclave surrounded by the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Ticino. At its closest, the encla ...
was also a ''de facto'' Swiss customs area.
Transformation
As part of the DaziT 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
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties.
Name and uniform
In diff ...
" 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.
The reform efforts are sometimes sharply criticized. In particular, the planned expansion of powers, armament and uniforms were questioned.
See also
*
Swiss Border Guard
The Swiss Border Guard, known as the Swiss Border Guard Command, was a Federal government, federal law enforcement agency, which acted as both the border guard and Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, customs service for Switzerland. ...
*
References
External links
*
Commons: Federal Office of Customs and Border Security - Collection of images, videos and audio files
{{Authority control
Federal administration of Switzerland
Federal Department of Finance