Customs duties paid into the EU budget

Over time, with an ever-growing EU and a globalised economy, the EU customs union expanded and continuously adapted to new challenges. Today, the more than 100 000 customs officers working in the EU handle numerous duties, among them:
 ensuring that EU standards are upheld: Customs officers check standards in the area of the environment, agriculture, fisheries, cultural heritage, market surveillance, and product compliance. For example, imported children’s toys are checked for their alignment with EU safety requirements;
 stopping the activities of criminal organisations: In 2016, EU customs officers intercepted 593 tonnes of drugs, over 1.4 million pieces of ammunition and 6 496 firearms;
 collecting customs duties and other taxes; 75 % of the customs duties collected by EU Member States go to the EU budget in the form of an EU own resource. In 2022, €25 billion in customs duties were transferred to the EU budget, representing about 10 % of the EU’s total revenue that year. As shown in the graph below, some countries raise more income from customs duties than others, with four Member States alone (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy) accounting for more than half of the customs contributions to the EU budget.
Note: *i.e. these figures do not represent the total figure of customs duties collected but only the amounts that were paid into the EU budget.