Tue, Mar 12th 2024
Swiss Customs experiences a mixed bag in 2023: a decrease in drug seizures, a spike in doping agents, and a notable rise in meat smuggling, amidst a 10% growth in trade traffic.
Swiss customs seized fewer drugs and had more doping agents in 2023. Meat smuggling has doubled year-on-year. Trade traffic grew by 10%; revenue fell by 700 million francs.
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security recorded 60.7 million customs declarations in trade today. The 10% increase in traffic is mainly due to the almost 20% increase in imports through online trade.
As a result, there were significantly more individual deliveries for private individuals. The number of counterfeit branded goods registered by the BAZG remained stable in both merchandise traffic and travel.
There was a significant drop in drug seizures. Last year, the BAZG seized 243 kilos of marijuana after 476 kilos in the previous year. The amount of heroin seized fell from 11 to 7 kilos.
The volume of cocaine remained at the same level as previous years at 110 kilos, excluding a major find in 2022. This led to a statistical “outlier” of 568 kilos.
On behalf of the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products Swissmedic, the border authorities discovered 6659 consignments of illegal medicinal products. This is slightly fewer than in 2022.
43%, the largest proportion no longer came from Eastern Europe but from India. The FOCA found doping preparations in 1422 deliveries, a significant increase compared to 2022 with 1013 deliveries.
In 2023, meat smuggling was a focus of criminal prosecution by the BAZG. The authorities detected 263 tons of smuggled meat, more than twice as much as in the previous year.
The FOCA’s revenue fell by CHF 0.7 billion to CHF 23.6 billion in 2023. This means that the Federal Office accounts for around one third of total federal revenue.
The customs authority attributes the decline compared to the previous year to a change in consumer behaviour. This explains the decrease in mineral oil tax and the CO2 levy on fuels.
The Federal Office justifies the reduction in tobacco tax with the increased purchase of cigarettes abroad or in duty-free stores due to the price difference.
Added to this are the falling number of smokers and a growing proportion of lower-taxed tobacco alternatives.
©Keystone/SDA
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