Department details

The term 'customs' applied to customary payments or dues of any kind, regal, episcopal or ecclesiastical until it became restricted to duties payable to the King upon export or import of certain articles of commerce. Excise duties are inland duties levied on articles at the time of their manufacture, most notably on alcoholic drinks, but duties have also been levied on salt, paper and glass.1

The origin of a nation-wide customs system in England can be traced back to the Winchester Assize of 1203-4 when it was directed that the 'customary dues at the ports', should be accounted directly to the State Exchequer, and payable to King John (1199-1216). Legislation concerning customs can be traced to King Edward the First (1272-1307), and in 1298 'custodes custumae' were appointed in certain ports to take direct charge of the collection of customs for the crown.

In 1643 a Board of Excise was established by the Long Parliament, to organize the collection of duties in London and the provinces. At first they covered a wide range of commodities, but when the duties were extended beyond the districts which parliament controlled to cover the whole country, they were confined to alcoholic liquor. Excise duty was settled by statute despite widespread protest in 1660. The Dutch Republic was used as its model, having been successful in its imposition of excises on its citizens. A permanent Board of Excise for England and Wales was established in 1683, with separate Boards for Ireland in 1682, and Scotland in 1707. Excise duties spread to other commodities such as salt, paper, soap, candles and home produced spirits. Male Servant Duty was an Assessed Tax which became Excise Duty in 1869, and Hackney Carriage Duty became a Stamp Duty in 1831 and an Excise Duty in 1847.

By ordinance on 21 January 1643, the regulation of the collection of customs was entrusted to a parliamentary committee whose members were appointed commissioners and collectors of customs, forming in effect a Board of Customs. This and succeeding committees appointed by Parliament until 1660, and thereafter by the Crown, functioned until 1662, when those who had been serving as commissioners became lessees of a new form of customs. This continued until 1671, when negotiations for a new form broke down, and a permanent Board of Customs covering England and Wales was created by Letter Patent. The Board was eventually amalgamated with separate boards for Ireland and Scotland in 1823, forming a single Board of Customs for the entire United Kingdom.

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries increased duties in wines and spirits resulted in widespread smuggling which contributed to more effective policing by both Customs and Excise. In 1817, a Commission on Customs and Excise was appointed by royal warrant to inquire into existing regulations for the conduct of business in every department of the Board of Customs, and in the export and import departments of the Board of Excise. It produced 16 reports, the last in May 1824.

In 1823 an act of Parliament replaced the separate boards of excise for England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland with a single Board of Excise covering the entire United Kingdom. In 1833 a Royal Commission on Excise was appointed by Letters Patent to inquire into the establishment of the Board of Excise, and into the management of a collection of excise revenue in all branches throughout the UK. Its twentieth and final report was issued in July 1836. In 1849, the Board of Excise combined with the Board of Stamps and Taxes to become the Board of Inland Revenue.

In 1908, Section 4 of the Finance Act provided for the transfer, as an order in Council, of the management of duties of excise and of the powers and duties of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, to the Commissioners of Customs. The Commissioners of Customs were thenceforth called The Commissioners of Customs and Excise. The Customs and Excise Services were amalgamated as an order in Council from 1 April 1909, and were administered by the Board of Customs and Excise and became known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise.

The Chairman of the Board of Customs and Excise corresponds in rank to that of Permanent Secretary, and the Deputy Chairman to that of Deputy Secretary. The Commissioners, whose rank corresponds to Under Secretaries, form the Board of Customs and Excise and have a corporate responsibility, but are each responsible for an assigned segment of work. They are all directly responsible to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The 1979 Customs and Excise Management Act consolidated the collection and management of revenue of customs and excise. The primary function of HM Customs and Excise has been, subject to the control of the Treasury, the management of revenue of customs and excise including the collection of duties on certain commodities.

The Board levies protective tariffs on imports, and has been responsible for Value Added Tax from its introduction in 1973. Duties on tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar etc. (known as "breakfast table" duties) have been greatly reduced, although there is still a large yield on alcoholic liquors and tobacco. Hydrocarbon oil also yields a considerable amount. Under the Finance Acts of 1916, it collected match and mechanical lighter duties (abolished in 1993). It still collects betting and gaming duties, introduced in 1948 and 1966 respectively. A film levy was brought in under the Cinematograph Films Act 1957, and was abolished in 1985. The Board is also responsible for the prevention and detection of smuggling, illicit distillation and other evasions of tax laws. Policy on duty rates is decided by the Excise Policy Group (EPG) which is part of the Excise and Central Policy Directorate. Duty rates are imposed on alcohol for beverages or industrial use, (beer, wine, made wine, cider, perry and spirits), mineral oils, betting and gaming, the National Lottery, and Air Passenger Duty.

Former duties of the Board include those imposed on medicine, taken over from the Board of Inland Revenue in 1909 and abolished in 1941 under the Pharmacy and Medicine Act; railway passengers duty, repealed under the Finance Act of 1929; entertainment duty, from its introduction in 1916 until its repeal in 1960; unsuccessful betting duty, introduced in 1926 and repealed in 1929, due to full scale evasion; playing card duty, abolished in 1960 after 249 years of existence; and television advertisement duty which existed from 1961 until 1964. The Board was also responsible for Purchase Tax from 1940 to 1973. Excise Licence Duties for appraisers, auctioneers, house agents and plate dealers were abolished under the 1949 Finance Act. Television excise duties introduced in 1957 were abolished in 1963, and retail liquor excise licences were done away with under the Finance Act of 1967. The Ships' Registry was transferred to the Department of Transport in 1994 and HM Customs and Excise no longer collects light dues or performs Mercantile Marine work. It also collected passenger returns for the Department of Trade and Industry until 1988.

As well as being responsible for collecting and administering Customs and Excise duties and Value Added Tax, HM Customs and Excise is also responsible for preventing the evasion of revenue laws, and for enforcing a range of prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of certain classes of goods. Commissioners control the importation of goods, ensuring that duty chargeable on imported goods is paid. They also administer the control of exported goods and maintain a register of exporters. The Commissioners control coastal traffic, enforce the prevention of smuggling, and control excise licence trade and revenue traders. The Board works closely with other countries on customs matters and has duties in relation to the European Community. They must give effect to any community requirement as to the movement of goods between countries, and to any reciprocal arrangements made between member states for ensuring the administration of their customs laws. They have the power to hold inquiries into any assigned matter in relation to HM Customs and Excise, and have the power to appoint ports for the purpose of customs and excise anywhere in the UK, as well as to detain ships by Order of the Admiralty Court, and to control the movement of aircraft.

The Board collects statistics of imports and shipping for published trade and shipping returns. It administers import and export licensing. Exchange controls were abolished in 1980. The Board has responsibility for public health regulations with regard to ships and aircraft, on behalf of the Department of Health. It enforces prohibitions and restrictions on importation of damaging drugs, infected goods, animals, and indecent or obscene articles. It also enforces import prohibitions under the Trade Description Act of 1968 and Merchandise Marks Act, 1976. On behalf of the Home Office HM Customs and Excise enforces immigration and emigration controls at certain small ports and airports, and helps to enforce Sea Fisheries Acts and Conventions.

Collectors of Customs and Excise Division

Operational work for the purpose of local control and collection of Customs and Excise is carried out by several geographical regions, known as Collections (Executive Units). In 1970 there were 30 such regions but these were gradually reduced, and in 1995 a major reorganisation of HM Customs and Excise resulted in the number of regions being reduced to 14 geographical regions in the United Kingdom. Four Headquarters sites deal with policy and some centralised operations. Each Collection is under the control of a Collector who is the Board's personal representative in their Collection. The Collector is supported by a team consisting of a Deputy Collector and Assistant Collectors, each of whom head an operational division dealing with a specific geographical and /or functional area. The Waterguard was administered separately before 1971, and it functions included the enforcement of revenue control on the flow of ships and aircraft, and their passengers and crews, in and out of the UK. After 1971 the Waterguard Division functions appear to have been amalgamated with those of the Collections. The Collections consist of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Northern England, North West England, Eastern England, Wales, the West and the Borders, Central England, Anglia, Thames Valley, London Airports, London Central, South London and Thames, Southern England and South East England. A Collection is divided into a number of districts, depending on the concentration of customs and excise work.

The North West Collection, based at Queen's Dock, Liverpool, is unique because in addition to the usual responsibilities undertaken by the Department, it is the national centre for the collection of a number of excise duties such as beer, betting and pool betting, which is called the North West Collection Beer Duty Seat. The North West Collection was established in the 1995 reorganisation of HM Customs and Excise, by a merger of the former Manchester and Liverpool Collections (excepting the Chester Division from Liverpool, which is now a part of Wales West and the Borders); and the Northern Computer Audit Unit, which was managed from Northern England until joining the Collection on 1 April 1998. The North West Collection employs around 1600 people, making it one of the largest operational regions in Customs and Excise in staff numbers terms.

Beer Duty dataset CRDA/19

NDAD currently has one dataset in this series incorporating data gathered in by HM Customs and Excise: CRDA/19. NDAD also holds copies of documents relating to the Beer Duty dataset. See the Series Catalogue for further details.

The National Archives holds records of Customs and Excise in classes with the prefix CUST. Records are also held at HM Customs and Excise under the 1958 Public Records Act. The Beer Duty dataset has been assigned the class number CUST 134.

Further information on the work of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise can be found on their web site. HM Customs and Excise have Headquarters in Liverpool, London, Manchester and Southend. Their London HQ address is New King's Beam House, 22 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PJ. Tel 0207 620 1313.

1. The following sources were consulted when preparing this administrative history: Cabinet Office, Civil Service Year Book, volumes for 1974-1997 (London: HMSO, 1974-1997); John Cannon (Editor), The Oxford Companion to British History (Oxford University Press, 1997); Sir James Crombie, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (George Allen and Unwin, 1962); J.H. Hextor (Editor), Parliament and Liberty from the reign of Elizabeth to the English Civil War (Stanford University Press, 1992); Public Record Office, Public Record Office Current Guide, Part 1: Administrative histories (Kew: Public Record Office, 1996) sections 207/2/2, 215/1/1, 217/1/1.