|United States Customs Service| |Dissolved||March 1, 2003|
|Superseding agency||U.S. Customs and Border Protection|
|Jurisdiction||Federal government of the United States| |Parent
Agency||United States Department of Homeland Security| In March
2003, it was rolled into form part of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The United States
Customs Service had three major missions: collecting tariff
revenue, protecting the U.S. economy from smuggling and illegal
goods, and processing people and goods at ports of entry.
Responding to the urgent need for revenue following the American
Revolutionary War, the First United States Congress passed and
President George Washington signed the Tariff Act of July 4,
1789, which authorized the collection of duties on imported
goods. Four weeks later, on July 31, the fifth act of Congress
established the United States Customs Service and its ports of
entry. As part of this new government