(a) Explain five functions of the Customs Authority
(b) State five advantages of international trade
Explanation
(a) Functions of the Customs Authority:
(i) The Customs are charged with the responsibility of supervising bonded warehouses.
(ii) The Customs collects revenue in form of duties for the government.
(iii) The customs enforces ban put in place by government.
(iv) They provide quarantine facilities to ensure unhealthy livestock are not brought into the country.
(v) Computation of trade (import and export) statistics.
(vi) The Customs put in place prevention measures to ensure that goods are not smuggled into the country.
(vii) They issue clearance certificate for goods where duties have been paid.
(b) Advantages of International trade:
(i) It leads to specialization and as a result improves world production.
(ii) It fosters good relationships among countries of the world.
(iii) It expands the world market.
(iv) It creates employment opportunities across continents.
(v) It improves standard of living by making variety of goods and services available in the country.
(vi) It generates revenue for countries who charge duties on goods.
(vii) It brings about economies of scale in production which results in cheaper goods.
(viii) It promotes/encourages foreign investment.
(ix) It provides foreign exchange for countries to enable the country to buy more capital goods.