Dozens of Romanian Customs Authority chiefs to be reassigned to enforcement positions

The Romanian Customs Authority (AVR) announces through a press release that it is „initiating a broad institutional reorganization process, with the objective of optimizing the internal structure, increasing operational efficiency and achieving significant savings to the state budget, without affecting the activity of personnel in the enforcement area”.

The reorganization aims to streamline customs control, digitize processes and optimally use human and technical resources, the release also says.

Specifically, over 300 vacant enforcement positions will be filled by redistributing people who lose their management positions. Reducing management positions from 68 to 39 will generate annual savings of over 6.2 million lei in salary expenses, AVR determined.

The reorganization does not involve staff cuts, but a rebalancing of resources in favor of operational activities, AVR also reported.

“Customs activity cannot be done only from the office. The reorganization aims to streamline customs control and supervision, increase transparency, improve services for economic agents and citizens, and make more efficient use of human and technical resources to strengthen operational capacity, combat illicit trafficking, and protect the economic interests of the state,” said Alexandru Bogdan Bălan, president of the Romanian Customs Authority.

The main measures of the reorganization include merging and restructuring customs departments, strengthening control structures, implementing digital solutions for faster and more transparent customs clearance, and optimizing the use of human and technical resources.

The AVR President stated that the priority of the new management is to support customs enforcement workers, who face daily difficulties in the field. A concrete example is the redistribution of special vehicles previously used by the central management to the territorial offices, where the lack of means of transport affects the daily activity of customs personnel.

“I know well the problems of customs enforcement workers, because I come from their ranks. In the Port of Constanta, inspectors travel dozens of kilometers daily between offices and scanners, having at their disposal only a few old cars, maintained from their own resources. Similar situations exist in many offices in the territory, while in Bucharest dozens of special vehicles were at the disposal of the central management”, added Bălan.

The activity of the customs offices will proceed normally throughout the entire period of reorganization.