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In 2023, the Austrian Customs Office (ZAÖ) continued to make important contributions to promoting fair competition, protecting Austria as a business location and maintaining service orientation in the areas of clearance, controls and excise taxes. The total of 310.000 checks on the cross-border movement of goods and in the area of excise taxes resulted in 6.825 reports that the ZAÖ submitted to other authorities and 2.481 administrative financial criminal proceedings were completed.
“The achievements of our customs officers over the past year not only underline the efficiency and effectiveness of our control and monitoring measures, but also our commitment to protecting our citizens, the environment and the Austrian economy. I am proud of the hard work and contribution of every single employee at the Austrian Customs Office. Their commitment and expertise are indispensable for the security and prosperity of our society,” said Finance Minister Magnus Brunner.
A total of 1.726 customs officers were employed last year, with the proportion of women being 38,5%. Thanks to the new hires as part of the BMF personnel offensive, the average age was reduced to around 44 years and the number of retirements was curbed. Through their use, taxes amounting to 2023 billion euros were collected in 8,097. Around half of this was attributable to mineral oil tax, 2,081 billion euros to tobacco tax, 843 million euros to national emission certificates, 430 million euros to import sales tax, 306 million euros to customs duties. The alcohol tax accounted for 163 million euros and the beer tax 193 million euros.
In 2023, 6,8 million customs clearances were processed in Austria and 192.000 checks were carried out with almost 9.000 findings. The range of control areas extends from the correct declaration of the assessment bases for customs, import sales tax or excise taxes to ensuring compliance with bans and traffic restrictions, which primarily serve to protect safety, life, health and the environment, as well as trade policy measures. Tax audits are intended to ensure that companies meet their tax and customs obligations and thus ensure a fair competitive situation. In 2023, 695 tax audits led to an additional result of 24,2 million euros.
All products in the European internal market must meet certain requirements that ensure a high level of consumer and environmental protection and public safety. In a total of 366 import cases, involving almost 170.000 goods, the responsible market surveillance authorities prohibited their release for the internal market. Of these, 31% were kitchen items, such as disposable tableware and cutlery, 22% were children's toys, 11% were medical products, such as condoms or medical instruments, and 9% were electronic and technical products or batteries.
An increase was also recorded in the area of product piracy: 14.061 counterfeit items were identified in 194.165 cases, which represents an increase of 48% or 61% compared to the previous year.
“The developments in global trade and the increasing tasks that customs have to ensure through controls in the international movement of goods to protect and secure the economy, society and the environment can only be achieved with the appropriate technical and methodological expertise as well as with increased national and international cooperation between everyone involved in the process the stakeholders involved can be dealt with efficiently. On the one hand, the focus is on the service orientation of the Austrian customs administration and, on the other hand, a clear risk-based control orientation and the fight against fraud and illegal cross-border trade in goods. “Thank you to all customs officers for their contribution,” said Heike Fetka-Blüthner, head of the Austrian Customs Office.
Combating fraud and illegal trade in goods Mobile controls and the monitoring of travel traffic and thus combating fraud and protection against illegal trade in goods continued to be a central part of customs activities with 296.778 and 110.277 controls, respectively, which led to a total of 16.028 and 6.739 findings. In the 2.481 completed administrative financial criminal proceedings in 2023, penalties amounting to 2.551.765 euros were assessed.
Species protection, animals and animal products, plants The import of live animals and products of animal origin, but also of plants and parts of plants, poses a great risk of introducing epidemics that threaten the animal and plant world. Epidemics such as swine fever, bird flu and foot-and-mouth disease are particularly widespread worldwide.
During 2023, 227 illegally smuggled animals were apprehended. Customs also confiscated 16,6 tons of plants and around 17 tons of animal products. These products included around 10 tonnes of meat and meat products, around 1,5 tonnes of honey and around 1,7 tonnes of milk and milk products. The majority of live animals that were illegally brought into Austria are pets such as dogs and cats. These are often bred abroad in facilities that are not officially approved and monitored under often desolate conditions for illegal sale within the EU. It is not uncommon for these animals to be sick or infected with pathogens that cause diseases.
Species protection Last year, the customs authorities recorded 77 species protection arrests. The seizures included a total of 2.899 goods but also 34 live animals. The majority of the seizures occurred in e-commerce shipments and mainly concerned medicinal products with ingredients from protected animals and plants, but also, among other things, alligator heads and their claws. During travel, animal parts such as horns, bones, skins and leather from endangered species, corals and caviar were primarily confiscated.
Customs authorities also managed to seize 89 reptiles, including geckos, snakes and scorpions, as well as insects with an estimated total value of 46.800 euros, as well as a further seizure of 49 protected seahorses. But the customs investigation was also able to uncover violations of the Wildlife Trade Act based on their investigations. 18 yellow-headed parrots were seized in Lower Austria, although the criminal proceedings have not yet been completed.
In another case, a total of 3,2 kilograms of ivory sculptures were illegally offered for sale on an online sales platform by a person living in Upper Austria. Due to the customs investigation, the sculptures were confiscated by the responsible court and the criminal proceedings were disposed of in a diversionary manner. Customs investigators, including experts in the Internet investigation department of the Austrian customs office, were caught online again in 2023 by precisely that perpetrator, as this perpetrator again illegally offered 57 figurines made of ivory or ivory parts for sale on the Internet. For these offenses, the court sentenced the man to a conditional prison sentence of 2024 months in February 3. The ivory figures were confiscated by the court.
More pharmaceuticals, tobacco and narcotics seized In the area of illegal import of pharmaceuticals, the number of seizures fell by around 27% compared to the previous year, but the number of illegally imported medicinal products seized has increased dramatically. In total, the customs officers made 6.734 arrests. Of these, 798.858 pieces, 1.908 packages and 234 kilograms (ointments, creams or solutions) of medicines were seized. The majority of these seized drugs were sexual enhancers, lifestyle preparations, psychotropic drugs and performance-enhancing drugs.
During checks at the airport, 1.200 fake potency pills were confiscated from one traveler and 4.990 from another. 1.330 medicinal products, including ivermectin, were seized in one postal shipment.
In the area of tobacco products, 1.429.278 cigarettes, 16.063 cigars and cigarillos and 957 e-cigarettes were confiscated. In addition, 375 kilograms and 13.697 pieces of various other tobacco products were seized.
During a check at Vienna Airport, not only 49.000 cigarettes but also 2.100 illegally imported potency pills were confiscated from two travelers. Cigarette smuggling in particular is often carried out by groups of perpetrators operating internationally and requires cross-border cooperation to effectively combat fraud.
The customs investigation by the Austrian customs office, together with the customs authorities of Hungary and Great Britain, uncovered the illegal transport of a total of 9.830.960 untaxed cigarettes from Austria to Great Britain. The cigarettes, illegally produced in Slovakia and Hungary, were sent from Austria to Great Britain over a period of 15 months in 622 packages that were declared as shipments containing advertising lights or infrared panels. A total of 217.000 cigarettes were seized in Austria. Based on the investigative findings from Austria, the mastermind of the illegal activities was arrested by domestic authorities in Hungary, with 2.700.000 cigarettes being seized. The case of the two main perpetrators, who have been reported in Austria for intentional tax evasion, is currently before the responsible public prosecutor's office. The two expect high fines and prison sentences.
The fight against drug smuggling is a control priority for the Austrian customs office, also with the active support of the customs drug detection dogs. A total of 217 kilograms of narcotic drugs were seized. Cannabis made up the largest share at 112 kilograms, followed by around 33 kilograms of psychotropic substances, around 26 kilograms of new psychoactive substances (NPS) and khat at 28 kilograms. Opiates and cocaine were seized in quantities of 10,6 and 7,10 kilograms, respectively. Drug reports increased by 24% to 1.705 compared to the previous year.
While checking a courier shipment from Australia, customs officers discovered 3,56 kilograms of ketamine hidden in toy balls. In another courier shipment from Italy, they seized 8,78 kilograms of cannabis. 9,78 kilograms of cannabis herb were discovered in 2 courier shipments at Vienna Airport. In all cases, the seized drug was handed over to the security authorities for further investigation. These arrests demonstrate continued efforts in the fight against drug trafficking and the crime associated with it.
Smuggling and tax fraud In the spring of 2022, the customs investigation in Vorarlberg uncovered the smuggling of two high-quality wristwatches with a total value of more than 280.000 euros from Switzerland to Austria. The explosive detail in this case is that the smuggler not only wanted to save himself around 56.000 euros in taxes in Austria, but had also applied for a refund of the VAT in Switzerland. He planned to bring the watches to Hungary. The man was sentenced to a fine of 30.000 euros and a fine of 100.000 euros.
After several years of international investigations, the case of a Polish citizen who was caught in 2019 smuggling gold jewelry weighing more than 10 kilograms worth 257.000 euros from Turkey to Austria at Vienna Airport was closed. For this, the court ultimately sentenced him to a fine of 25.000 euros and the jewelry was declared forfeited in favor of the Republic.
Just one month later, a Polish national, the mother-in-law of the first perpetrator, was caught smuggling almost 6 kilograms of gold jewelry worth around 188.000 euros at Vienna Airport. The jewelry that the woman kept hidden in a bodice on her body also came from Turkey. Only about two weeks later, the woman, accompanied by another person, wanted to take around 61.000 euros in cash with her when she left Turkey without declaring this to customs. The two women were ultimately found to have carried out a total of 10 smuggling shipments from Turkey to Austria.
Tax fraud in connection with mineral oil tax. An internationally active group of perpetrators wanted to save themselves more than 10 million euros in mineral oil tax using a clever business model. The perpetrators caused diesel fuel and mineral oil tax-free lubricating oil to be mixed. By using an incorrect commodity number, the mixture could then be taken from a tax warehouse tax-free and sold as fuel to customers in more than 10 EU member states. A joint investigation team carried out several multilateral inspections.
After several years of investigations, the financial criminal proceedings in Austria have now been concluded. One perpetrator was sentenced to a prison sentence of almost 6 years and to pay a fine of 1 million euros and a compensation penalty of 4 million euros. Two other people involved in the crime were each sentenced to a prison sentence of almost 5 years and a fine of 1 million euros each. One person is currently being searched for.
In another customs investigation, gang evasion of mineral oil tax of around 2,3 million euros was uncovered. The group of perpetrators was found to have sold untaxed diesel to various buyers in Austria using fictitious transactions and straw men and not properly completing excise tax procedures. After several years of investigation, two main perpetrators have now been sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to pay compensation of 650.000 euros. The hearing regarding another perpetrator is still pending. Here too, international cooperation and the perseverance of all investigative authorities were an important success factor.
