Sovereign Base Areas Customs
Encyclopedia
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 HM Revenue & Customs Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support.... |
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| Fiscal Officer | Geoffrey Pitts |
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| Deputy Fiscal Officer | Neil Furber |
| Area | Akrotiri and Dhekalia |
| Size | 254 km² |
| Population | 15,000 |
| HQ | SBAA, Episkopi Garrison |
| Officers | 49 |
| Crossing Points | 2 |
| Coastline | 46.5km |
| SBA Customs Vehicle |
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Sovereign Base Areas
Sovereign Base Areas
The Sovereign Base Areas are military bases located on territory in which the United Kingdom is sovereign, but which are separated from the ordinary British territory....
Customs is a semi-autonomous branch of UK Customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
with jurisdiction over Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two British-administered areas comprising a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus administered as Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom...
, a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, administered as a Sovereign Base Area, and home to British Forces Cyprus
British Forces Cyprus
British Forces Cyprus is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK sovereign base areas of Dhekelia and Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus...
. It is managed by the MoD
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
and around 3500 military personnel are posted there at any one time. In contrast with other customs forces the SBA Customs has a much wider role of responsibility, like most branches within the territory, successfully administrating many areas including but not limited to; immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, imports, exports, tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
, births, marriages, divorces and deaths.
Overview
The senior and local management officers are on loan from the Her Majesty's Revenue and CustomsHer Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....
in the UK and assist with operational management and training and development of the locally employed officers of SBA Customs and Immigration service. SBACI officers monitor two crossing points at Pergamos and Strovilia in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area at the Green Line Border between the Republic of Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Turkish Controlled Area of the North of Cyprus. Between the North and South areas of the island there are formal customs and immigration controls at these crossing points and the UN Buffer Zone
United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus
The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus runs for more than along what is known as the Green Line and has an area of . The zone partitions the island of Cyprus into a southern area effectively controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus , and the northern area...
remains along most part of the Green Line. SBA Customs are frequently involved in preventing smuggling and illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
into SBA territory. There are regular mobile patrols along the ESBA section of the Green line and training exercises and operations are accomplished with the close cooperation of SBA Police and UK Military units based in Cyprus at the time.
Businesses based within territory must be licenced by the SBA Customs to conduct trade and there are various guidelines and restrictions for various types of business. The administration also produces birth, marriage and death certificates for UK Dependants
Dependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
based within the territory.
Working in unison with the Cyprus Joint Maritime Unit comprising the Royal Navy Cyprus Squadron and 417 Maritime of the RLC, the Sovereign Base Area Administration (SBAA) now operate a combined maritime unit comprising joint working of SBA Police
Sovereign Base Areas Police
The Sovereign Base Areas Police is the local civilian police force for the British controlled Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus. Established in August 1960, the force has responsibility for all 15,000 residents of the SBAs, including military personnel...
and SBA Customs to operate patrols within territorial waters and along the coastline within the territory to prevent illegal immigration, illegal fishing, and smuggling. Their enforcement has allowed for the fish reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
at Akrotiri to remain prosperous as due to extensive over-fishing much of the fish life in the waters in other areas of the island is very low in numbers. In conjunction to this SBA Customs also liaise closely with UK military resources and the Republic of Cyprus Government Departments to combat pollution in SBA waters and along the coastline whilst controlling ports
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and fisheries. The Fiscal Officer is also designated the Queens harbourmaster
Harbourmaster
A harbourmaster is an official responsible for enforcing the regulations of a particular harbour or port, in order to ensure the safety of navigation, the security of the harbour and the correct operation of the port facilities.-Responsibilities:Harbourmasters are normally responsible for issuing...
of the mole
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
Personnel
SBA Customs and Immigration OfficersPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
are a uniformed organisation and wear a uniform with the style of Royal Naval rank insignia
Royal Navy officer rank insignia
-Officers:Uniforms for naval officers were not authorized until 1748. At first the cut and style of the uniform differed considerably between ranks and specific rank insignia only sporadically used...
but are distinguished by a cap badge which contains the portcullis
Portcullis
A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...
underneath the Sovereign’s crown, enclosed within a pair of golden fronds. The ranks of SBA Customs are worn as follows: the Fiscal Officer wears the insignia of a RN Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
whilst the Deputy Fiscal Officer and Officer in Charge at Dhekelia wear the rank braid of RN Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
. Locally employed uniformed operational officers at RAF Akrotiri and the military station at Dhekelia and the ESBA crossing points wear badges of rank with one or two rings of braid according to their substantive grade.
Responsibilities
SBA Customs control taxTax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
free imports at the airports and the crossing points within the territory by regulating the value and amount of goods such as cigarettes or alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
that can be carried through the control and entry points without declaration. The main airport is RAF Akrotiri
RAF Akrotiri
Royal Air Force Station Akrotiri, more commonly known as RAF Akrotiri , is a large Royal Air Force station, on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which comprise Akrotiri and Dhekelia, a British Overseas Territory, administered as a...
which has many regular flights to and from the UK and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The SBAs in Cyprus also provide the opportunity for a stop off point for 36 hours for soldiers that have recently experienced combat to participate in decompression activity
Decompression party
A decompression party, decom or decomp is a local reunion for Burning Man participants to help ease themselves back into everyday society after the "big event". It is not uncommon for Burning Man participants to experience "post-burn blues", and decompression events can help alleviate the feelings...
before returning home. In April 2004 over 100,000 cigarettes were seized and the largest isolated attempt to smuggle cigarettes involved a Turkish Cypriot man from Lapithos
Lapithos
Lapithos or Lapethos is a town of Kyrenia District on the northern coast of Cyprus. According to Strabo, the settlement was founded by Spartans. In Assyrian inscriptions, Lapithos is mentioned as one of the eleven Cypriot kingdoms. During the Persian rule, Lapithos was settled by Phoenicians...
, who tried to smuggle a total of 29,200 across the Pergamos checkpoint near Larnaca
Larnaca
Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...
.
With regard to the control of tax free schemes SBA Customs regulate, among other things, the sale of goods with limited imported stocks at Ermes
Sodexho
Sodexo is a French multinational corporation headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. Sodexo is one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world, with 380,000 employees, representing 130 nationalities, present on 34,000 sites in 80 countries...
stores on the island which supply the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
residents with familiar products all tax free to entitled persons serving in the SBAs. SBACI also control the mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
es and clubs. All mail posted to BFPO addresses on the island is subject to inspection by the SBA Customs and they can, for example, question the legitimacy of parcels marked as "gifts" and charge duties and tax as appropriate.
Ranks
| Ranks of the SBA Customs | |||
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| Commander Commander Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval... "The Fiscal Officer" |
Lieutenant-Commander "Deputy Fiscal Officer" "Officer in Charge of Dhekalia" |
Grade 1 Officer/ Team Leader Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... |
Grade 2 Officer Sub-Lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of... |
Operating procedure
The territory of Akrotiri and DhekeliaAkrotiri and Dhekelia
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two British-administered areas comprising a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus administered as Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom...
was formed in 1960 as a military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
to be administered as a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Sovereign Base Area rather than an ordinary colonial territory. In a declaration by Her Majesty's Government in 'Appendix O' to the 1960 treaty with Cyprus
Cyprus dispute
The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....
, the Sovereign Base Areas Administration have to follow specific rules of governance to which the SBA Customs enforces and adheres to including:
- Not to develop the Sovereign Base Areas for other than military purposes.
- Not to set up and administer "colonies".
- Not to create customs posts or other frontier barriers between the Sovereign Base Areas and the Republic.
- Not to set up or permit the establishment of civilian commercial or industrialIndustryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
enterprisesBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
except insofar as these are connected with military requirements, and not otherwise to impair the economic commercial or industrial unity and life of the Island. - Not to establish commercial or civilian seaports or airports.
- Not to allow new settlement of people in the Sovereign Base Areas other than for temporary purposes.
- Not to expropriate private property within the Sovereign Base Areas except for military purposes on payment of fair compensation.
The bases have their own legal system, distinct from the UK and Cyprus. This consists of the laws of the Colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
of Cyprus as at August 1960, amended as necessary. The laws of Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two British-administered areas comprising a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus administered as Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom...
are kept, as far as possible, the same as the laws of Cyprus. The Court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
of the Sovereign Base Areas is concerned with non-military offences committed by any person within Akrotiri and Dhekelia, and law and order is maintained by the Sovereign Base Areas Police
Sovereign Base Areas Police
The Sovereign Base Areas Police is the local civilian police force for the British controlled Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus. Established in August 1960, the force has responsibility for all 15,000 residents of the SBAs, including military personnel...
, while military law is upheld by the Cyprus Joint Police Unit
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
.
See also
- Akrotiri and DhekeliaAkrotiri and DhekeliaThe Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are two British-administered areas comprising a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus administered as Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom...
- British Overseas TerritoriesBritish overseas territoriesThe British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
- Crown Dependencies
- CustomsCustomsCustoms is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
- Cyprus Police
- HM Revenue & Customs
- Inland RevenueInland RevenueThe Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
- Sovereign Base AreasSovereign Base AreasThe Sovereign Base Areas are military bases located on territory in which the United Kingdom is sovereign, but which are separated from the ordinary British territory....