| HM Customs and Excise Detector Dog Service | HM Customs Cutters |

For Centuries the Officers of HM Customs and Excise (or its predecessors) have had a role to play in the saving of life on and around our Cornish Coast.

It has always had a close liaison with our lifeboats and a number of the RNLI medals have been awarded to members of the service for acts of bravery, especially during the 18th Century.

The Customs and Excise history is entwined with that of HM Coastguard (now part of the MCA)

At the Mayday! Mayday! Event, you will be able to visit the HM Customs and Excise stand and get a full understanding of their current role and the past achievements.

During the day you will have the opportunity to see one of the HM Customs and Excise Detector Dogs in action, during various displays.

Also subject to operational availability, you may have the opportunity to see one of the HM Customs Cutters moored in the Harbour.

What is HM Customs and Excise present role

From collecting billions in VAT and excise duties, to safeguarding endangered species, HM Customs & Excise has a unique and crucial role to play in our society.

As well as bringing in around 40 per cent of central government's total taxation yield, Customs & Excise is a front-line organisation responsible for protecting society against the growing threat of illicit drugs, firearms and paedophile material.

In the 1997-98 financial year, Customs and Excise collected more than £90 billion in revenue.

This included:

In the same year, the department seized:

· More than £3.3 billion worth of drugs
· 200 illicit importations of firearms and explosives
· almost 3,000 endangered live animals and birds

With the increasing globalisation of the trade market, the growing international drugs threat and the quickening pace of technology, these are challenging times for the department and its 24,000 staff.

To achieve continued success against these tough targets, Customs is committed to supporting and enhancing the professionalism of its people, working across government and international boundaries, and operating in partnership with business and the public.

It is on these firm foundations that Customs and Excise is moving into the new millennium and towards the realisation of its World-Class aspirations.

But what about its History

Customs and Excise is one of the oldest government departments and justifiably proud of its heritage. Over the centuries the Department has had to be flexible enough to adapt to constant change: from the constantly changing rates of customs duty to wider political and economic changes such as the Common Market and more recently the Euro.

It is very easy in our modern, hi-tech environment to lose sight of the essential and traditional purpose of the Department: to collect a range of duties and taxes accurately and on time and in a courteous and impartial manner, to protect UK and business interests through the control of imported and exported goods, and to prevent the illegal import (and export) of socially unacceptable or politically sensitive materials.

In 1809 a new "revenue" force was established called the "Preventive Waterguard". This formalised an ad hoc arrangement which appears to date from the mid-18th century when there was a distinction between the Landguard or riding officers and those who served on the water (the crews of the customs cutters and small boats). In 1822 all these "preventive" strands were brought together under Customs control and given the general title "Coastguard".

In the popular imagination, it is the "waterguard" who best sum up Customs & Excise: these are the uniformed officers who search ships and other transport and passengers' baggage. (The familiar navy-style dress was approved as early as 1777). The Waterguard was absorbed into a reorganised Customs and Excise department in 1971, but by this time the foundations of preventive control had already been lain: rummage, boarding and baggage control.

In 1849 when the patent for the new Board of Inland Revenue was granted the Board included the Excise Chairman. The reorganisation reflected a scaling down of the Excise service due to the political and economic circumstances of the time. This was now the era of free trade with the abolition of many restrictive Excise duties which were thought to hinder the development of manufacturing industries.

Customs and Excise amalgamated in 1909, although as we have seen both can trace their emergence as government departments to the reign of Charles II.

The 20th century has been characterised by dramatic changes in communication and technology. The technological revolution in the Department can probably be dated to 1963 with the introduction of "electronic automatic data-processing equipment" (a computer). This facilitated the processing of export, and subsequently, import trade statistics.

In September 1971 there was the introduction of LACES (London Airport Cargo Electronic Data Processing Scheme) which provided an automated and integrated import cargo and clearance system. A similar system was implemented, in 1978, to process maritime cargo entries.

The 20th century has also been marked by many political and economic developments which have transformed Customs and Excise's working methods. For example, the Common Market, implemented in 1972, immediately removed duties on intra-European trade. The latter part of this century has also been concerned with closer cooperation with colleagues in tax administrations around the world to seek solutions to common problems such as tax harmonisation, fraud and electronic commerce.

In 1973 the so-called "simple tax" was introduced: VAT, the scourge of businesses everywhere who were required to furnish regular returns and account for the tax on sales and the supply of services. VAT replaced purchase tax, introduced on 21 October 1940. Purchase tax was charged on the wholesale value of goods and all manufacturers and wholesalers of taxable goods with a turnover over a certain monetary limit were required to register with the Department.

It might be said that the introduction of VAT changed the popular perception of Customs and Excise. Hitherto, the Department's image (at least its earlier history) was steeped in romance with diligent Customs officers waiting to pounce on unsuspecting smugglers in hooped jerseys and sacks marked "booty". VAT changed all that, and the media gave much exposure to alleged "gestapo" tactics and regulations and rulings that apparently defied logic.

A much greater range of goods were covered by the VAT rules, and not only goods but services too.

Of the other "new" taxes now dealt with by Customs and Excise, air passenger duty was introduced in 1994, insurance premium tax in 1994 and landfill tax in 1996.

The Department has a proud and enviable history. Through time, its staff have coped remarkably well with changing circumstances and expectations. Customs and Excise is known as a department that is flexible and responsive to change, an extremely important attribute at the dawn of a new century.