Custom house

A custom house or customs house was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country. Customs officials also collected customs duty on imported goods.

The custom house was typically located in a seaport or in a city on a major river with access to the ocean. These cities acted as a port of entry into a country. The government had officials at such locations to collect taxes and regulate commerce.

Due to advances in electronic information systems, the increased volume of international trade and the introduction of air travel, the custom house is now often a historical anachronism. There are many examples of buildings around the world whose former use was as a custom house but that have since been converted for other use, such as museums or civic buildings.

In the United Kingdom since 1386, the phrase custom house has been in use over the term customs house. This was after a "Custom House" was erected at Wool Wharf in Tower Ward, to contain just the officials of the Great Custom on Wool and Woolfells. The singular form was used even though in later years the Custom House was the location of other Customs officials as well.

Custom House (disambiguation)

A Custom House was a building housing the offices for the government officials who processed the paperwork for the import and export of goods into and out of a country.

Custom House or Customs House may also refer to:

Buildings

  • Customs House, Brisbane in Queensland, Australia
  • Customs House, Sydney in New South Wales, Australia
  • Fremantle Customs House in Western Australia, Australia
  • Custom House, Montreal, Canada
  • Customs House, Shanghai, China
  • The Custom House, Dublin, Ireland
  • Customs House, Porsgrunn, Norway
  • Custom House, City of London, a building in the City of London next to Old Billingsgate Market, UK
  • The Customs House, South Shields, a theatre and arts centre in Tyneside, England, UK
  • Boston Custom House, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
  • Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House in Manhattan, New York, U.S.
  • Customs House (Sodus Point, New York), U.S.
  • Other uses

  • Custom House (global payments), a global payments and foreign exchange company
  • Custom House, London, a district of the London Borough of Newham, UK
  • Custom House (global payments)

    Custom House was a Canadian foreign exchange and money transfers company based in Victoria, British Columbia. Providing small businesses and individuals with services that included wire transfers, foreign currency drafts, and forward exchange contracts. It was acquired by Western Union in 2009 and now forms part of that company's "Western Union Business Solutions" division.

    History

    The company was founded in 1992 as a small tourist currency exchange kiosk titled "Custom House Currency Exchange" in Victoria’s old waterfront customs house. In 1993, the company opened its first corporate foreign exchange office.

    After expanding in Canada, it began a US operations in 1997 and an Australian operations in 2000. The company was later renamed "Custom House Global Foreign Exchange", then renamed again to "Custom House".

    In 2009, Western Union bought the company for $370 million USD. The company was renamed "Custom House, A Western Union Company", and later re branded as a Western Union Business Solution.

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    The Observer 23 Mar 2025
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    Michigan Live 23 Mar 2025
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    Ireland's 'best contemporary art' to be showcased at Dublin fair

    RTE 23 Mar 2025
    A piece by celebrated sculptor Rowan Gillespie, who is widely known for his Famine Trilogy, the commemorative sculptures on Custom House Quay in Dublin, will also be among the major attractions of the show.
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    The Daily Mail 23 Mar 2025
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    Chris Martin cuts a low key figure in jeans and a baseball cap as he ...

    The Daily Mail 23 Mar 2025
    Apple wowed the crowd as she posed for photos in a custom blue Valentino Haute Couture gown that took the Italian luxury fashion house 750 hours to craft, according to Vogue ... He appeared in high spirits after enjoying the show ... .
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    Cryptopolitan 22 Mar 2025
    The company also added that the new payment options are available for customers to purchase the whole range of properties they offer, from residential houses to condominiums and one-room apartments.
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    LDP lawmakers elected in 2012 handed coupons from Shinzo Abe

    Asahi News 22 Mar 2025
    Some ruling party politicians said Abe presented gift certificates to them after they were first elected to the Lower House in December that year ... In the Lower House election in 2012, 119 LDP politicians won their first seats.
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    After concessions from PG&E, San Jose pauses plan to create municipal utility

    The Mercury News 22 Mar 2025
    ... replace PG&E but rather to service new customers in growth areas like the northern parts of the city that have seen interest in business and housing expansion, deputy city manager Kip Harkness said.
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    I don't 'feel safe': How Trump is hurting tourism in America

    Alternet 22 Mar 2025
    Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, reports of tourists and visitors from Canada, Europe and other parts of the world being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are growing.
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    US decision to limit Canadian access to border-straddling library prompts outpouring of emotion

    The Associated Press 22 Mar 2025
    ... House without having to cross a checkpoint or show a passport. That custom is now ending.
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