The Customs Department generated revenue of €447 million, an increase of €20.4 million over 2017, the department said in a statement.

When comparing 2017 versus 2018 revenue performances, although there was a slight decrease in import duties, income from excise duties registered an increase of €10.5 million over 2017, with a sharp spike in excise duty pertaining to construction items and materials.

The VAT collected by the Customs Department on behalf of the VAT Department during 2018 also increased by nearly €12.5 million.

The department collected €13.6 million in Import Duties and €298 million in Excise duty.

It also collected €130 million in VAT.

2018 was s historic and record-breaking year for the Malta Customs Department.

The department provided a list of the total seizures of prohibited, illegal, or excise items.

The list includes over 56 million cigarettes, €113,299 in cash, 71 kilos of chewing tobacco, 3,186 wine bottles, 3,776 plastic bags, 10 unregistered weapons, 3 ivory items, 44 million counterfeit goods and 1,124 kilos of meat and dairy items (through Malta International Airport).

The Customs Department not only strengthened its operations by launching a new Canine Unit and by investing heavily in non-intrusive equipment at the Freeport, but also beefed up its human resources complement and increased the number of enforcement operations in a bid to curb illegal excise-goods importation, the department said.

The important missions of Customs’s operations in today’s modern society are twofold.  Apart from the fact that the Customs Department collects the necessary revenues contributing towards the enhancement of the public coffers and rendering the Department one of the highest Government revenue earners, Customs also protects the general public against harmful products, hampers criminal activity, facilitates commercial activity and protects the environmental and fiscal interests of the European Union.