Customs duties are a source of income for the EU budget and the budgets of EU countries. As traditional “own resources”, they constitute around 15% of the EU budget.
In 2025, from the EUR 30.7 billion collected by customs authorities at import, EUR 23 billion were transferred to the EU budget - the remaining 25% being kept by the Member State of entry.
Source: DG Taxation and Customs Union, DG Budget (preliminary)
Customs authorities ensure the correct and efficient collection of duties and other taxes at the EU borders; they detect, investigate and prosecute fraud. Customs tariffs and other trade measures are decided at EU level.