Customs, excise and VAT assurance officers work for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). They are perhaps best known for their work in fighting drug trafficking and illegal trade, although their role is much broader. The work involves three main areas:

Customs
Customs officers usually work in airports, sea ports, freight terminals and postal customs locations. They:

• examine passengers, luggage, freight and mail to make sure that there are no excess goods
• check and process customs documents.

Some customs officers specialise as anti-smuggling officers, where the job may involve undercover or surveillance work. 

Excise
Excise officers make sure that businesses (such as importers, distilleries and oil refineries) follow excise regulations and pay the right amount of duty. They visit and inspect businesses, collect information from suspects and witnesses and prepare reports.

VAT
VAT assurance officers inspect local businesses to make sure that they are accounting for VAT correctly. They also advise businesses to make sure they understand the relevant laws.

All officers sometimes need to take legal action against and attend court when necessary. They work closely with other agencies like the police and the Home Office.

Customs, excise, and VAT assurance officers are Executive Officers (junior managers) in the Civil Service.

Hours and Environment

Most officers work around 36 hours a week over five days, although overtime may sometimes be necessary. Uniformed customs officers work shifts including evenings, nights and weekends. Flexitime, job sharing or part-time work may be available.

VAT and excise officers are office-based but also travel around their region to visit businesses. Uniformed customs officers will sometimes work from customs halls and interview rooms at airports and ports. Officers may also need to attend court.

Skills and Interests

To be a customs and excise officer, you should:

• be able to analyse information and make decisions
• work accurately and pay attention to detail
• be able to work alone and also as part of a team
• have good listening and questioning skills
• be able to present information in a clear and logical way
• be tactful and polite
• be honest and fair in applying rules
• have good mathematical skills, for examining accounts and making calculations.

Entry

HM Revenue and Customs sometimes recruits customs, excise and VAT officers directly into Officer grade. They also recruit centrally through the Civil Service Fast Stream open competition.

The minimum qualifications that you will need are:

• Officer grade - five GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3) including English and maths, plus two A levels/Highers, or equivalent.

• Fast Stream - a second class honours degree or equivalent. If you join the Fast Stream you could be posted to any Civil Service department, so although you can ask to join HMRC, this is not guaranteed.

You could also join HMRC at a lower level at Administrative Assistant or Assistant Officer grade, and be promoted to the higher grades as you gain experience. You will usually need two GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3) for Administrative Assistant, and five GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3) including maths and English for Assistant Officer. If you do not have these qualifications, you can still apply to HMRC and you will be given a selection test.

For all jobs, you must meet HMRC's nationality requirement. All jobs are open to British nationals and many are also open to Commonwealth citizens or European Union nationals - please check entry requirements for each vacancy.

Contact HMRC or see the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway website for more information about jobs.

Training

You will be trained on the job through a mixture of structured in-house training courses and learning from experienced staff. Training usually lasts around nine months, and may include some residential training courses.

You will be encouraged to identify your own training needs throughout your career, as part of an appraisal and staff development programme.

Opportunities

HM Revenue and Customs has around 23,000 staff based all over the country, working in tax, customs, excise and VAT. There are frequent opportunities at all levels.

Jobs are advertised on the HMRC and Civil Service Recruitment Gateway websites, in the local and national press and in Jobcentre Plus.

There is a clear promotion structure in the Civil Service. There may also be opportunities to move into specialist areas such as computing or auditing. Officers may be expected to move to other parts of the country.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Salaries at the administrative grades are between £12,300 and £18,000 a year.
Officers at junior management level earn around £19,500 to £25,000 a year.
Senior officers can earn from £23,000 to £37,000 a year.

Additional allowances are paid for working unsocial hours. People working in London will receive an additional cost of living allowance.

Further information

No central telephone number for information, please see website for contacts for individual departments 9 Riverside Court
Don Road
Sheffield
S9 2TJ