HM Customs and Excise - Customs

The Board of Customs, responsible for collecting His or Her Majesty's Customs, had a very long history. Originally, the term customs meant any customary payments or dues of any kind (for example, to the king, or a bishop, or the church), but later became restricted to duties payable to the king on the import or export of goods. The centralised English customs system can be traced to the Winchester Assize of 1203-4, in the reign of King John, from which time customs were to be collected and paid to the State Treasury. Legislation concerning customs can be traced to King Edward I. Under the nova custuma in 1275, Collectors of Customs were appointed by Royal patent and, in 1298, custodes custumae were appointed in certain ports to collect customs for the Crown. The first Customs officers were appointed in 1294, and later on included Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas Paine, Robert Burns and Richard Whittington (also known as Dick Whittington).

A Board of Customs was effectively created by ordinance on 21 January 1643, under which the regulation of the collection of customs was entrusted to a parliamentary committee.

A fleet of Customs Cutters (most recently 42 metre Damen patrol vessels) continued to operate after the merger with the Inland Revenue, throughout UK territorial waters, inspecting vessels for illicit cargoes, especially for drugs and the excessive fish catches which wreaked havoc on the European fishing community in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Although unarmed, Customs could call on the Royal Navy to assist in apprehending a non-compliant vessel; Customs also worked closely with the Royal Navy's fishery protection squadron.