The flood of parcels in international online trade is leading to significantly higher costs for German customs. Last year, almost 790 million consignments with a value of 1.4 trillion euros were cleared, announced Armin Rolfink, President of the Directorate General of Customs, at the presentation of the annual balance sheet at Leipzig/Halle Airport. In 2024, the figure was 595 million shipments worth 1.3 trillion euros.
Customs checks the contents of parcels for product piracy, species protection and prohibited medicines, among other things. It is also responsible for collecting import sales tax and customs duties.
The significant increase in goods shipments is primarily due to the e-commerce boom - particularly from mail order companies in China. In order to cope with the increasing demands on customs, it will be strengthened with 1,500 additional staff this year, said Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil (SPD). Customs currently has around 49,000 employees nationwide.
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