customs

/ˈkʌstəmz/

/ˈkʌstəmz/

Customs are taxes, or duties, that you sometimes have to pay when you import goods from another country.

When you return home from a trip to another country, you have to clear customs by talking to a customs officer and declaring everything you bought or got as a gift while you were traveling. If you're bringing in a lot of stuff, you may have to pay customs — the duty on imports. Customs are a source of income for a country, and they also provide control over what’s coming in.

Definitions of customs

1. noun

   the government agency that oversees and collects duties on imported goods
   types:

   Bureau of Customs, Customs Bureau, Customs Service, USCB

   the agency of the Treasury Department that enforces import tariffs

   type of:

   agency, authority, bureau, federal agency, government agency, office

   an administrative unit of government
2. noun

   the place at an airport or port where officials screen incoming travelers and goods
   type of:

   place, property

   any area set aside for a particular purpose
3. noun

   money collected under a tariff
   synonyms: custom, customs duty, impost

   types:

   ship money

   an impost levied in England to provide money for ships for national defense

   type of:

   duty, tariff

   a government tax on imports or exports