United States Customs Service
Agency overview
Formed	July 31, 1789
Dissolved	March 1, 2003
Superseding agency	U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent agency	United States Department of the Treasury
Website
www.customs.gov

Until March 2003, the United States Customs Service was an agency of the U.S. federal government that collected import tariffs and performed other selected border security duties.

Before it was dissolved to form part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The United States Customs Service had three major missions: collecting tariff revenue, protecting the U.S. economy from smuggling and illegal goods, and processing people and goods at ports of entry.

[edit] History

Responding to the urgent need for revenue following the American Revolutionary War, the First United States Congress passed and President George Washington signed the Tariff Act of July 4, 1789, which authorized the collection of duties on imported goods. Four weeks later, on July 31, the fifth act of Congress established the United States Customs Service and its ports of entry.

For over 100 years after its birth, the U.S. Customs Service was the primary source of funds for the entire government, and paid for the nation's early growth and infrastructure. Purchases include the Louisiana and Oregon territories; Florida and Alaska; funding the National Road and the Transcontinental Railroad; building many of the nation's lighthouses; the U.S. Military and Naval academies, and Washington D.C.

In the 20th century, as international trade and travel increased dramatically, the Customs Service transitioned from an administrative bureau to a federal law enforcement agency. Inspectors still inspected goods and took customs declarations from travelers at ports of entry, but customs agents used modern police methods -- often in concert with allied agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service,U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and U.S. Border Patrol -- to investigate cases often far from international airports, bridges and land crossings.

With the passage of the Homeland Security Act, the U.S. Customs Service passed from under jurisdiction of the Treasury Department to the Department of Homeland Security.

On March 1, 2003, parts of the U.S. Customs Service combined with the Inspections Program of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine from USDA, and the Border Patrol of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to form U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Federal Protective Service, along with the investigative arms of the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, combined to form U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

[edit] Examples of illegal items

The U.S. Customs Service in the late 1800s.

• All Cuban products without a specific license for their importation, such as cigars.
• Illegal drugs
• Unscreened fruits and meats
• Excessive quantities of textiles
• Undeclared liquor over allowable limits
• Tobacco products over allowable limits
• Undeclared money or monetary instruments over $10,000
• Undeclared firearms and weapons
• Counterfeit Merchandise (i.e. cellphones, perfume and other consumer products)
• Items Violating Intellectual Property Rights
• Stolen Property
• Child pornography
• Weapons

[edit] Commissioners

This table lists all Commissioners of Customs, their dates of service, and under which administration they served.

[edit] See also

• Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• United States Customs & Border Protection
• Proposed and finalized federal regulations from the United States Customs Service