National Patrol Service
National Patrol Service
The government established the Central Patrol Service of the Customs and Finance Guard by Government Decree No. 156/1996 (X.22). It is nationally competent, and is responsible, as defined in the Customs Act and the Decree on the implementation thereof, for the following:
• The customs control of goods and passenger traffic across the border,
• The imposition and collection of charges and other duties,
• Performing foreign policing tasks,
• The examination, either directly or indirectly, of the identity (the classification in terms of taxation, the quality, and other criteria provided by law) of products, produce, and goods of a predefined circle, and verify that such examinations have been performed,
• The monitoring of the traffic of internationally controlled products and technologies,
• Carrying out control tasks and post clearance audits, as well as the control tasks required for the adjudication of various customs preferences subjected to conditions, except the control activities required for the adjudication of a subsequent customs preferences or of a customs preference subjected to conditions,
• Performing the control duties and the tax authority’s tasks defined in the Excise Act and the legislation issued for the implementation thereof,
• Preventing, detecting and adjudicating minor financial (customs, foreign exchange, tax and excise) offences defined by law,
• Guarding, and to provide accompaniment to, physical property of a predefined circle.
As the employees of this organizational unit may perform random control activities anywhere within the country’s territory, local conspiracy cannot evolve, and the chances of detecting violations of law are better, which makes crime prevention more effective. Its unity allows the organization to carry out a single control or a series of controls at various locations at the same time, as well as demonstrative actions. In addition to performing its own duties, the service also acts as the organization’s strategic reserve.
Due to the Service’s high level of mobility, its controls are unexpected while its easy-to-plan nature makes it an effective means of supplanting illegal commerce. Their presence enhances economic stability, the fairness of competition in the market, and the payment discipline of customs duties and taxes payable to the state.
Over the recent years the patrol service has conducted more than 3,000 inspections in the course of which they detected various violations of law in 830 cases. The value involved in the offences detected exceeded HUF 800 million.
