PNG Customs Service

What PNG Customs Service does

PNG Customs Service is the sovereign customs and border authority of Papua New Guinea, operating as a government state agency under the National Government since 1888, with statutory powers under the Customs Act 1951, Customs Regulations 1951, and Import & Excise Tariffs Acts. It administers customs duties, excise, and trade facilitation across PNG's 5,152 km coastline and 820 km of land borders, deploying approximately 500 officers across 21 office locations including the headquarters at Moale Haus, Waigani (Port Moresby) and three regional operations centers in Port Moresby (Southern), Lae (Northern), and Kokopo (Islands). The agency serves importers and exporters, licensed customs brokers, warehouse and depot operators, international travelers, and aircraft and ship operators, and customs revenue collection constitutes approximately 30% of the PNG National Budget annually.

The agency's core technology platform is ASYCUDA World, the UNCTAD-developed electronic customs data processing system that handles all import, export, and excise declarations. PNG migrated from ASYCUDA 2.7 to ASYCUDA++ and then to ASYCUDA World, which was implemented in 2017 and fully rolled out across all declared ports by 2019. The platform integrates with the Bank of Papua New Guinea for electronic duty payments via interbank transfer, with the Internal Revenue Commission for importer/exporter TIN registration, and with the Immigration & Citizenship Authority for passenger and cruise ship processing. Supporting service lines include the Customs Web Portal, Trusted Trader Program, Counter Clearance, tariff classification and binding rulings, customs broker licensing (PGK 1,000/year; PGK 500 for CBA members), warehouse licensing (PGK 2,000/year), depot approvals, and cross-border currency/valuables reporting under FATF-aligned AML/CTF standards.

Revenue is generated through three streams: transaction-based customs duties and excise on imports (ad valorem on CIF value, excise on alcohol, tobacco, petroleum, plus 10% GST); recurring annual license fees for brokers and warehouse operators; and administrative penalties of 50–200% of unpaid duty for non-compliance. The go-to-market is institutional and mandatory rather than commercial: trade participants must register through ASYCUDA World and transact declarations through either direct lodgement or a licensed broker network of 133+ intermediaries acting as the channel for smaller importers and exporters lacking in-house capability. Distribution is anchored at all international airports, seaports, and land border crossings.

Name

PNG Customs Service

Legal name

Papua New Guinea Customs Service

Website

https://customs.gov.pg

Company type

Private

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

PNG Customs Service is Papua New Guinea's sovereign customs and border agency, operating the ASYCUDA World electronic declaration platform across 21 locations to collect duties, regulate trade, and enforce border security for importers, exporters, brokers, travelers, and carriers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Customs and Border Administration

NAICS

National Security and International Affairs (928), Regulation and Administration of Transportation Programs (92612), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Clearance & Border Trade Facilitation (BPAIADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Import Customs Clearance (Entry Filing & Release) (TLACAFAA), Customs, Immigration & Border Processing Services (TLAHAEAF), Port Call Clearance & Documentation (Arrival/Departure, Customs/Immigration/Health) (TLAHAJAA), Customs Brokerage & Trade Compliance Management (TLAIANAD), Interagency/International Information Exchange & Cooperation (BPAIADAN), Port Dues, Permitting & Regulatory Clearances (TLAHAFAD)

Keywords

• Customs clearance services
• Border management
• Trade facilitation
• Customs duty collection
• ASYCUDA electronic processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Port Moresby

HQ country

Papua New Guinea

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Customs Duty Collection: Collection of import and export duties and taxes on goods entering or leaving Papua New Guinea, including excise duties on locally manufactured and imported excisable products
2. Fees and Licenses: Fees from customs broker licenses (K1,000/year), warehouse operator licenses (K2,000/year), depot approvals, and customs entry processing fees
3. Penalties and Fines: Administrative penalties (50-200% of duty unpaid) and fines for non-compliance with customs legislation, false declarations, and smuggling

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PNG Customs Service is the Papua New Guinea government agency responsible for customs administration, border security, and trade facilitation. It processes import, export and excise declarations through the ASYCUDA World electronic platform, collects customs duties and taxes (constituting approximately 30% of National Budget), licenses customs brokers, warehouses, and depots, and enforces border controls at 21 regional office locations across the country's airports, seaports, and land borders.

Product overview

PNG Customs Service is a government border agency providing customs and trade facilitation services. The core platform is ASYCUDA World, an electronic customs data processing system for import, export, and excise declarations. Services are accessed through the Customs Web Portal and include: e-payment of duties via Bank of PNG, counter clearance procedures, trusted trader programs, tariff classification and binding rulings, importer/exporter registration, customs broker licensing, warehouse and depot management, and cross-border currency reporting. The ASYCUDA system is the central platform connecting all services including declaration lodgement, payment processing, and compliance management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ASYCUDA World Electronic Customs System Electronic customs data processing and reporting system for all import, export and excise entries, supporting electronic declaration lodgement, duty payment processing, and cargo management for importers, exporters, customs brokers, and warehouse operators.
• Counter Clearance Service Streamlined customs clearance process designed to expedite cargo and passenger processing at ports of entry for importers, exporters, and travelers.
• Trusted Trader Program (TTP) Trade facilitation program providing preferential treatment and expedited clearance for approved trusted traders in partnership with logistics operators.
• E-Payment System for Customs Duties and Taxes

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 30% of National Budget funded through customs revenue collection
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Australia Border ForcecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Joint Cross Border Patrol operations in the Torres Strait between PNG and Australia to strengthen border security cooperation
• EastWest TransportflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2025PNG Customs and EastWest Transport signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) for trial implementation of the Trusted Trader Program (TTP) to enhance trade facilitation and security for approved operators
• Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG)coreTechnology or Integration · 30 November 2022Joint launch of Cross Border Movement of Currency & Valuables (CMCV) Form with BPNG's Financial Analysis Supervision Unit (FASU) to implement AML/CTF requirements under FATF standards
• Immigration & Citizenship Authority (ICA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompliance Agreements for cruise ship passenger processing enabling faceless clearance through advance electronic manifest submission
• Fisheries AuthorityminorOthersIssues export licenses for fish and fishery products - part of the export permit ecosystem coordinated through customs
• PNG Forest AuthorityminorOthersIssues timber export permits - part of the controlled export commodities ecosystem
• Mineral Resources Authority (MRA)minorOthersIssues export licenses for minerals including gold and copper - coordinates with customs on mineral export controls
• Coffee Industry CorporationminorOthersIssues export licenses and contract registration for coffee exports - part of commodity export ecosystem

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Solomon Islands Customs and Excise Division: Pacific neighbor customs authority with comparable small-state scale, similar revenue-collection dependency, and analogous reliance on ASYCUDA for declaration processing. Useful regional comparator for measuring PNG's relative digital and facilitation maturity.

Others

• Singapore Customs: Highly digitized Asia-Pacific customs authority and TradeNet single-window operator. Functions as a global best-practice benchmark for trade facilitation, AEO/Trusted Trader implementation, and API-driven broker integration that PNG Customs may benchmark against in modernization.
• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): Sovereign customs and border enforcement agency managing one of the world's longest land borders. Offers comparable mandate (revenue collection plus enforcement), comparable Trusted Trader (PIP/CTPAT) program design, and benchmark for interagency coordination at scale.
• HMRC (UK Border & Customs): UK customs and revenue authority with deep historical roots similar to PNG Customs' 1888 origins. Operates at much greater scale but provides a benchmark for legacy-cum-digital modernization of statutory monopoly customs operations.
• Indonesia Directorate General of Customs and Excise: Large Southeast Asian customs agency sharing a land border with PNG (Papua/West Papua region). Operates at significantly greater scale but addresses comparable border enforcement, ASYCUDA deployment, and excise collection challenges in a neighboring jurisdiction.

Direct peers

• Australian Border Force: Sovereign customs and border enforcement agency of Australia; PNG Customs' most direct regional counterpart with which it conducts joint cross-border patrols in the Torres Strait. Operates with similar statutory mandate, ASYCUDA-adjacent systems, and revenue-collection mission at significantly larger scale.
• Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS): Pacific Island customs and revenue agency combining tax and customs administration. Similar mandate to PNG Customs, similar geographic and economic challenges, and serves as a regional benchmark for Pacific customs modernization and trade facilitation programs.
• New Zealand Customs Service: Pacific-region customs agency performing import/export clearance, revenue collection, and border enforcement for New Zealand. Comparable mandate, similar ASYCUDA-era digital infrastructure modernization trajectory, and similar small-population service territory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/papuacustoms
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PNG Customs Service