Editing Customs (section)

==Privatization of customs==
[[File:Orrling of CentralHFA 15.jpg|thumb|The customs-and-duty house at the [[port of Haifa]], Israel ]]
Customs is part of one of the three basic functions of a government, namely: administration; maintenance of law, order, and justice; and collection of revenue. However, in a bid to mitigate corruption, many countries have partly privatised their customs. This has occurred by way of contracting pre-shipment inspection agencies, which examine the cargo and verify the declared value before importation occurs. The country's customs is obliged to accept the agency's report for the purpose of assessing duties and taxes at the port of entry.

While engaging a pre-shipment inspection agency may appear justified in a country with an inexperienced or inadequate customs establishment, the measure has not been able to plug the loophole and protect revenue. It has been found that evasion of customs duty escalated when pre-shipment agencies took over.<ref name="Chowdhury 2006">Chowdhury, F. L. (2006) Corrupt bureaucracy and privatization of Customs in Bangladesh, Pathok Samabesh, Dhaka.</ref> It has also been alleged that involvement of such agencies has caused shipping delays.<ref name="Chowdhury 1992">
Chowdhury, F. L. (1992) Evasion of Customs Duty in Bangladesh, unpublished MBA dissertation submitted to Monash University, Australia.
</ref> Privatization of customs has been viewed as a fatal remedy.<ref name="Chowdhury 2006" /> In many countries, import and export data are issued on the basis of national laws (Transparency Laws / ''Freedom of Information Act'').<ref>{{cite web |title=How to find new customers by using import and export data |url=https://en.abrams.wiki/blog/2020-01-17/How-to-find-new-customers-by-using-import-and-export-data?link_pos=selling-intelligence |access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref>

There have, however, been some speed bumps when transitioning customs over from the public to [[private sector]]. Factors such as an incompetent private sector, government's reluctance to change the traditional roles of customs, neglecting priority-setting and lack of transparency in the transition process have slowed the rate at which the public to private transition has taken place.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-business-and-markets/22079/challenges-of-privatizing-customs-affairs|title=Challenges of Privatizing Customs Affairs – Financial Tribune |date=28 July 2015 |access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>