Our history

425 years of Customs in a nutshell

1. 1597: The Birth of Customs

   1. Taxes to fight the Eighty Years' War

      The history of Customs began during the Eighty Years' War (1586-1648). To pay for the fight against Spain, the rebellious regions levied taxes on the import and export of goods from 1582 onwards: the convooi- en licentrechten, duties on shipping and exports to enemy regions. The proceeds were mainly used to maintain the war fleet. A resolution of the States General on 14 June 1597 created the foundation for a national service that levies the conventions and licenses. That is why we consider 14 June 1597 as the official birthdate of today's Customs. We collected these taxes until the 19th century.

2. 1815: Start of the Customs laboratory

   1. Appointment of a state advisor for chemistry and mathematics

      In 1815, a state advisor for chemistry and mathematics was appointed. This can be seen as the first step towards the current Customs laboratory. The state-of-the-art lab in Amsterdam is now one of the leading customs labs in Europe.

3. 1917: End of excise duty on vinegar

   1. Excise duties on fewer products

      The excise duty on vinegar was abolished in 1917. Back in the day, excise duties were levied on many more goods than today. Not only vinegar but also sugar, salt and bread, for example. Customs now only levies and collects excise duties on importing oil, tobacco, wine and beer and producing these products in the Netherlands. We do this for the Dutch treasury.

4. 1930s: Butter smuggling

   1. Battle between Customs and smugglers

      From about 1930, a lot of butter was smuggled between the Netherlands and Belgium. This was attractive to smugglers because the price was much higher in Flanders. The 'butter gold' led to a battle between Customs and smugglers, involving armoured cars, caltrops, weapons and wild chases. In the 1960s, many stockings were smuggled in the other direction, from Belgium to the Netherlands.

5. After the Second World War

   1. From green to blue uniform

      Until just after the Second World War, customs officers were dressed in blue. After the war, we were given a green uniform. The reason: due to the shortages, only green fabric was available.

6. 1951: The first female Customs officer

   1. Women at Customs

      In 1951, de inspecteur der Invoerrechten & Accijnzen van Amsterdam reported that he had appointed a woman to the rank of assistant. She was probably the first woman to work for this department and therefore for the Dutch Customs. It would take until 1976 before women were admitted to the Customs Training Institute and thus received the same training as their male colleagues and thus started doing the same work.

7. From 1960 onwards: a different approach to controls

   1. Administrative controls due to increasing goods

      Customs officers were mainly concerned with physical supervision, i.e. checks on the goods themselves. But at the end of the 1960s, more and more goods were crossing the border, in container ships for example. Customs therefore had to take a different approach. Therefore, administrative controls were increasingly introduced. Those involve auditing companies' accounts. The work was no longer just at the border, at ports and at airports, but also at companies across the country that produce, import and export. In the early 1990s, Customs also started taking a risk-based control approach. That involved only checking those goods with an increased risk of smuggling or tax evasion.

8. 1966: First container ship in Rotterdam

   1. Container vessels

      In 1966, the first container ship moored in the port of Rotterdam. These days, some 15 million containers a year pass through the port of Rotterdam, one of the largest ports in the world. That makes Customs Rotterdam Port, which supervises the 'maritime' part of the flow of goods that crosses the external border of the European Union via Rotterdam, a major component of Customs.

9. 1976: First sniffer dog

   1. Sniffer dogs detect cigarettes, drugs and money

      In 1976, the first sniffer dog at Customs started work. Customs uses sniffer dogs to prevent the import of certain goods. Their excellent sense of smell makes sniffer dogs a good tool for customs work. Dogs can detect cigarettes, drugs and money. There are now about 70 sniffer dogs working for Customs.

10. 1993: Customs posts along German and Belgian border disappear

    1. Abolishment of Europe's internal borders

       In 1993, the customs posts along the border with Germany and Belgium disappeared. That was when Europe's internal borders were abolished. This was an important step in European economic and political cooperation, which started back in the 1950s. At present, 27 countries are members of the European Union.

11. 1994: Single European Customs Code

    1. European cooperation in customs policy

       ‘Brussels' increasingly determines customs legislation. Since 1994, the European Union has had a single code of customs law. That makes customs one of the European policy areas where member states cooperate intensively. The most important meeting table of Dutch Customs is therefore no longer in The Hague or Rotterdam, but in Brussels.

12. 1999: First fixed container scanner

    1. X-rays for truck containers

       During our checks, we use scanning and detection equipment. The equipment films the contents of a suitcase or container, for example. In 1999, we put Europe's first fixed container scanner into operation. We use this scanner to check entire truck containers using X-rays.

13. 2016: Launch of the Joint Inspection Centre

    1. Cargo checks at Schiphol Airport

       In 2016, the Joint Inspection Centre (JIC) started operations at Schiphol Airport. At this centre, various government services carry out checks together and at the same time. In addition to Customs, the JIC is used by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority. The cooperation between various enforcement agencies and inspection services for air cargo checks makes cargo handling at Schiphol safer and quicker.

14. 2019: 90.000 bottles of vodka intercepted

    1. UN sanctions on luxury goods to North-Korea

       Customs made world news in early 2019 when we intercepted 90.000 bottles of vodka destined for North Korea. UN sanctions on luxury goods included vodka. Customs enforces arms embargoes and sanctions laws. We do this mainly to prevent certain countries or regimes from getting their hands on goods they can use for military purposes or to punish them when they fail to comply with international law.

15. 2020: TV series Customs in Action

    1. TV series about the daily work of customs employees

       Customs plays the main role in a TV series. The reality series De Douane in Actie (Customs in Action) premiered on RTL5 in January 2020. The series followed dozens of customs employees in their daily work. 

16. 2021: Independent directorate general, Brexit

    1. 1st of January: Customs no longer part of the Tax Administration

       Customs is an independent directorate general under the Ministry of Finance since 1 January 2021. Before that, Customs was part of the Tax Administration.

    2. January: Customs is world news because of Sandwichgate

       On the 1st of January, the rules and accords from the Brexit Agreements come into effect. This creates a lot of extra work for Customs, because it soon becomes clear that not everyone is aware of those rules. The result: in early january a traveler from the United Kingdom is asked to hand in his ham sandwich at the Dutch border. Without a permit, he is no longer allowed to import animal products to the European Union. The video in which this can be seen makes headlines around the world as 'Sandwichgate'.

    3. 22nd of April: Customs gets a new uniform

       Designer Mart Visser puts our colleagues in a new uniform. The biggest difference: we're dressed in blue again, instead of green. There are ten different uniforms, from port employee to director general. Recycled and sustainable materials have also been used as much as possible.

    4. June: Customs Laboratory exists 140 years

       The renovated laboratory in Amsterdam is indispensable for customs work. We carry out about 18,000 tests a year. They often involve chemical analyses, e.g. to determine the excise rate and goods tariff.

17. 2022: 425th anniversary, sanctions against Russia

    1. 1st of January: Establishment of the Tax, Benefits and Customs Administration Inspectorate

       This new inspectorate investigates structural bottlenecks at the Tax and Customs Administration. Customs can use the results of this study to improve its services.

    2. 24th of February: Invasion of Ukraine

       On February 24th, Russia invades Ukraine from multiple sides. The first sanctions against Russia take effect on February 25th. In 2022, another 8 packages of sanctions will follow, aimed at, among other things, the import and export of iron, computer parts and luxury goods. Customs supervises compliance with the sanction measures.

    3. 14th of June: Customs celebrates its birthday

       Customs celebrates its 425th anniversary. During the celebration, Customs was presented with a royal standard.