Public organizations have the power, almost the obligation, to self-organize in order to provide the public service they are entrusted with in the most efficient way possible.

In the area of management of customs, excise and environmental taxes, this effort to adapt the administrative structure to current needs has led to the creation of the National Office for Customs and Excise Management in January of last year.

But what were these needs and why was a national competition management body created?

It is always important to analyse the reason behind the different decisions taken, without losing sight of the objective, which in this case is none other than to provide better and greater service to foreign trade taxpayers, excise taxes and the already famous green taxes.

From this perspective, it can be noted that the reasons for its constitution and, therefore, the functions entrusted to this office are the following:

• Firstly, it was important to ensure the uniform and efficient application of legislation on authorisations of significant national relevance and validity. For this reason, the Office manages some authorisations provided for in the regulations on excise duties, as well as others related to environmental taxes and important simplifications in customs matters. The following serve as an example of this variety of authorizations: the authorised economic operator, the authorisation for registration in the declarant's records, the approval of specific partial denaturants in alcohol or the centralisation of payments in the tax on fluorinated greenhouse gases. Similarly, the search for economies of scale advised the centralization of the management of foreign trade authorizations valid multinationally. This Office maintains fluid communication with the customs authorities of the other member countries of the European Union, an essential requirement for granting multi-state customs authorisations.

• Secondly, society demands that public administrations make efforts in the field of dissemination and information, which will enable citizens to form their own opinion of the obligations incumbent upon them and the rights attributed to them. This informational function must be provided, of course, in the new channels that society uses. In this sense, it is no surprise to note the significant relevance of digital channels. The National Office coordinates information and assistance provided through non-face-to-face means (chat with questions regarding foreign trade, telephone appointments for the new tax on plastic packaging, etc.).

• Finally, the National Office also has the ambitious function and the great responsibility of coordinating customs clearance to guarantee an adequate service provision to foreign trade companies, under a unified approach between the different customs offices at the territorial level.

In recent years, the use of information technologies has introduced substantial changes in this process, allowing for the delocalization and specialization of services.

Furthermore, international freight traffic has undergone a significant transformation marked by the evolution in the type of goods, logistical changes that have affected supply chains and, in the case of the European Union, increasing regulation in relation to the requirements that goods entering the Union market must meet, with the aim of protecting consumers and users. These factors make it necessary for customs to adapt to new regulations and to have increasingly specialized knowledge.

These reasons invite the customs authority to take full advantage of the opportunities offered to increase the efficiency of customs clearance at a national level, contributing to specialization and always in a coordinated manner throughout the entire national territory.