Customs laboratories provide the scientific expertise required for customs and tax authorities as well as to other authorities and stakeholders when needed. The EU is currently equipped with 85 customs laboratories and 27 mobile laboratories spread across the 27 EU countries.
List of addresses, phone numbers and websites
Role of EU customs laboratories
The main tasks of EU customs laboratories include:
- chemical analyses to determine the tariff classification of goods, level of duties and other taxes,
- control of substances and goods regulated by health, environmental and consumer protection legislations (e.g., pesticides, pollutants, narcotics, illegal medicines, etc.),
- determining the authenticity of products and tracking counterfeit goods,
- providing overall scientific expertise to customs and tax departments, as well as other administrations (e.g., police, justice, environment).
As such, EU customs laboratories are essential in the fight against illegal activities, including the trafficking of drugs and contraband, combating fraud, protecting consumers and their health, safeguarding the environment, helping the fight against terrorism, and ensuring border integrity.
Activities of EU customs laboratories
EU customs laboratories have a diverse range of responsibilities, with tax provision and tariff nomenclature tasks accounting for approximately two-thirds of their workload. In addition, their activities extend to investigations on drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS), product quality and authenticity, and environment and consumer protection.
EU customs laboratories analyse an average of over 250 000 samples per year, related to customs and excise tasks. They perform around 780 000 analytical determinations annually (data collected from the European customs laboratories in 2021). These samples are:
In addition to their analytical work, some EU customs laboratories organise training activities. These training sessions cover topics such as sampling methods, drugs and unknown samples management, mobile detection techniques, or the use of handheld equipment.
Accreditation
Most EU customs laboratories are accredited to the ISO 17025 standard, which demonstrates their technical competence and ability to perform accurate and reliable testing, with over 2850 accredited methods.
| Number accredited customs laboratories in the EU | ||
|---|---|---|
| International Standard | Description | Countries accredited |
| ISO 17025 | General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories | 24 |
| ISO 9001 | Quality management systems | 5 |
| ISO 17020 | Conformity assessment – Inspection bodies | 3 |
| ISO 17043 | Conformity assessment – Proficiency testing | 3 |
Customs Laboratories European Network
To ensure effective cooperation and coordination among EU customs laboratories, the Customs Laboratories European Network (CLEN) was established. CLEN aims to rationalise, coordinate and optimise the use of human and technical resources among European customs laboratories. Read more about the various activities on our dedicated CLEN webpage.
CLEN Actions
| CLEN Action 1 – Inter-Laboratory Inventory of Analytical Determination (ILIADe) | CLEN Action 4 – Communication & strategy |
| CLEN Action 2 – Inter-comparisons and method validations | CLEN Action 5 – Scientific expertise |
| CLEN Action 3 – Networking on quality | CLEN Action 6 – European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances (ECICS) |
CLEN and DG TAXUD maintain three databases used by customs authorities, customs laboratories and economic operators:
The ILIADe database (Inter Laboratory Inventory of Analytical Determination) provides a compilation of analytical methods required for customs and excise purposes, authenticity and quality controls. Additionally, CLEN has developed CLEN methods whose aim are to provide a harmonised approach to analysis and classification issues, when no other official method is available or when a method with known performance is required.
Samancta is a sampling manual which aims to harmonise procedures across Member States and provides constructive guidance to customs officers on the sampling methods to be used for each type of product.
The ECICS database (European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances) is a guide to the classification of chemicals in the Combined Nomenclature.
Customs Laboratories Expert Team (CLET)
CLEN is supported by a Customs Laboratory Expert Team (CLET) of ten EU countries, whose mission is to:
- analyse specific samples on behalf of another Member State or Candidate Country,
- conduct proficiency tests and collaborative studies for the CLEN.
History of EU Customs Laboratories
While some were established relatively recently, most laboratories involved in customs and excise in the EU have a long history. The oldest was created in the mid-19th century – starting in 1848 with the Austrian customs laboratory in Vienna – but most of the laboratories came into being before the mid-20th century.
Today, 85 customs laboratories and 27 mobile laboratories are spread over the 27 EU countries. Most EU countries have a single central laboratory, often located in the capital city or close-by, while others also have a network of laboratories spread over their territory and often located at strategic points (e.g. seaports, airports, borders).
