Customs controls

The Customs Enforcement supervises the importation and exportation of goods according to the Customs Act. In addition to collecting import duties and charges, their responsibility is to enforce safety measures, environmental concerns, consumer protection, intellectual property rights and cultural and wildlife protection.

The most important responsibilities of Customs Enforcement are:

• Supervising the levying and collection of import charges according to the appropriate tariff heading, the origin of the good and the customs value.
• Supervising storages for uncleared goods.
• Surveillance with commerce and economic factors and gathering information for Statistics Iceland.
• Surveillance with factors regarding various security measures and public interests.
• Enforcing environmental law.
• Enforcing agricultural law.
• Surveillance with the importation of animals, disinfection and health- and quality matters.
• Surveillance with importation, transit and exportation of goods to and from the country, as well as the travelling of vessels and persons and migration to and from the country.
• Efficient surveillance based on risk management.
• The development, rationalisation and simplification of customs procedures and practices, efficient and effective customs operations and the best possible customs service so that the customs enforcement is as economically favorable as possible for the economy, the public and society in general.
• Surveillance with and stopping illegal importation of narcotics and other illegal substances. The Customs Surveillance collaborates with the Police, the Coast Guard and other relevant government bodies.