Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes

French Customs
Direction Générale des Douanes et Droits Indirects
Agency overview
Formed	1791
Jurisdiction	Government of France
Headquarters	11, Rue des Deux-Communes, Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Minister responsible	François Baroin, Minister of Budget
Website
www.douane.gouv.fr

The Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (French: Direction générale des douanes et droits indirects, DGDDI) is a French law enforcement agency responsible for levying indirect taxes, preventing smuggling, surveilling borders, and investigating counterfeit money. The agency acts as a coast guard, border guard, sea rescue organisation and immigration service, as well as a customs service.^[1]

The Directorate-general is controlled by the Minister for the Budget, Public Accounts and the Civil Service (French: Ministère du Budget, des Comptes publics et de la Fonction publique) at the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment. It is normally known simply as "la Douane", individual officers being referred to as "douaniers". It is an armed service.^[2]

History

The first French customs service was called the General Firm (French: Ferme générale) and operated under the monarchy. During the revolutionary period, a military customs service was formed, which provided a customs service but also fought in major wars such as the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War.^[3]

The military customs service fought in the early part of the Second World War but was disbanded in 1940 after the French defeat and was never reconstituted as a military service.^[3] Nonetheless small units of customs men from customs posts in French Indochina fought against the Japanese as guerilla units until the end of the war.^[3]

Organisation

The customs headquarters is in Montreuil (Paris). The agency consists of three types of unit:^[4]

• Administration centrale
  • Sub-directorates A to F
  • Département des statistiques et des études économiques
  • Inspection des services (IS) for internal auditing
  • Bureau de l'information et de la communication (BIC) for communications
  • Cellule de contrôle de gestion

• National Competence Services
  • Direction nationale du recrutement et de la formation professionnelle (DNRFP) based in Tourcoing
  • Direction nationale du renseignement et des enquêtes douanières (DNRED) against fraud
  • Direction nationale des statistiques et du commerce extérieur (DNSCE), a statistical service based in Toulouse
  • Centre informatique douanier (CID), an information technology service based in Osny
  • Service nationale de la douane judiciaire (SNDJ), a judicial investigative service based in Vincennes.
  • Service commun des laboratoires (SCL), providing scientific support in laboratories

Decentralised Services

France is divided into 39 customs regions, which are grouped into 12 customs "inter-regions".^[5]

A customs region typically consists of:

• Managerial, training and logistic services
• Cutoms Offices: dealing with commerce
• Customs Brigades: Squads dealing with surveillance
• A regional unit
• A wines unit

As well as the 39 customs regions there are 4 coastguard regions: Channel & North Sea, Nantes, Marseille, Antilles-Guyana).

Ranks

Customs officials of all ranks wear French rank insignia based on that of the army. However, the ranks should not be seen as equivalent to the army rank insignia used.

Customs agents (agents de constatation) wear the rank badges of French army senior NCOs:

: Customs Agent 2

: Customs Agent 1

: Principal Customs Agent 2

: Principal Customs Agent 1

Controllers are more senior and wear the rank badges of French army junior officers:

: Controller 2

: Controller 1

: Principal Controller

Inspectors are more senior and wear the rank badges of the French army ranks of commandant and lieutenant-colonel:

: Inspector

: Principal Inspector

Armament and equipment

Air

In 2010 the aircraft fleet consists of Reims-Cessna F406 maritime patrol aircraft and C-T206, Eurocopter EC-135 and Aerospatiale AS-355 helicopters manufactured by Eurocopter. Two Reims-Cessna F406 operate out of Martinique and the rest are based in metropolitain France.

6 Reims-Cessna F406 and 3Eurocopter EC-135 are assigned to the atlantic region, 4 Reims-Cessna F406 and 2Eurocopter EC-135 are assigned to the mediterranean region, 2 C-T206, 1 Reims-Cessna F406 and 2 Aerospatiale AS-355 are based in Paris (Bourget) and 2 Reims-Cessna F406 are based in Fort de France (Martinique) soon to be joined by 2 additional Aerospatiale AS-355.

From 2012 onwards 8 Beechcraft King Air 350 will replace the F406 ^[6].

Maritime

Swift boat Noroit (DF12), a Haize Hegoa type patrol boat of the French customs, moored in Saint-Malo

In 2010 the customs had 3 offshore patrol boats, 18 coastal patrol boats, 18 surveillance patrol boats and 5 speed boats. The boats are assigned as follows:

• North sea/Channel:

1 Offshore Patrol Boat

2 Coastal Patrol Boat

1 Surveillance Patrol Boat

2 speed boats

• Atlantic

1 Offshore Patrol Boat

4 Coastal Patrol Boat

3 Surveillance Patrol Boat

2 speed boats

• Mediterranean

8 Coastal Patrol Boat

8 Surveillance Patrol Boat

• Antilles/South America

4 Coastal Patrol Boat

5 Surveillance Patrol Boat

• Polynesia

1 Offshore Patrol Boat

1 Speed boat

Ground forces

As of 2008 the Customs service had 3255 vehicles (including 355 motorbikes).

Small Arms

Customs Agents are armed with the 9mm Sig-Sauer SP 2022 pistols.

References

1. ^ Missions of the DGDDI
2. ^ phttp://www.douane.gouv.fr/menu.asp?id=430 Site internet de la Douane: Son organisation]
3. ^ ^{a b c} source: Site de la Douane: L'Histoire de la douane History of the French Customs
4. ^ Site de la Douane: Son organisation Presentation of the French Customs
5. ^ http://www.douane.gouv.fr/data/file/6675.pdf Territorial organisation of the French Customs
6. ^ (French) Surveillance maritime : La Douane va acquérir 8 nouveaux avions, Mer et Marine, 14 juin 2010