During 2018, the revenue generated by Customs Department totaled €447,399,157, registering a €20.4 Million increase over the revenue collected during 2017. When comparing 2017 versus 2018 revenue performances, although there was a slight decrease in import duties, income from excise duties registered an increase of €10.5 million over 2017, with a sharp spike in excise duty pertaining to construction items and materials. The VAT collected by the Customs Department on behalf of the VAT Department during 2018 also increased by nearly €12.5 million.
The table below provides the breakdown of the 2018 revenues in aggregate form:
| | Revenue 2018 |
| Import Duties | 13,655,000 |
| Excise | 298,509,000 |
| Vat | 130,832,157 |
| Others | 4,403,000 |
| Total Revenue | 447,399,157 |
Last year has been a historic and record-breaking year for the Malta Customs Department. Below is a list of the total seizures during last year pertaining to prohibited, illegal, or excise items. The Customs Department not only strengthened its operations by launching a new Canine Unit and by investing heavily in non-intrusive equipment at the Freeport, but also beefed up its human resources complement and increased the number of enforcement operations in a bid to curb illegal excise-goods importation.
The Department's I.P.R. section, whose work has already been recognised internationally through the winning of the Global Award, has been hard at work, with the seizure of nearly 48 million counterfeit cigarettes together with nearly 45 million of other counterfeit items.
The list below provides a breakdown of the items seized both at Malta's borders and from the local market through outlet searches:
| | 2018 SEIZURES |
| CIGARETTES | 56,612,956 |
| NARCOTICS | 16,209,2kgs |
| CASH | €113,299 |
| CIGARETTES MARKED WITH A HIGHER PRICE | 41,160 |
| WATER-PIPE TOBACCO | 2kgs |
| CHEWING TOBACCO | 71kgs |
| SMOKELESS TOBACCO | 62kgs |
| WINE BOTTLES | 3,186 |
| ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES | 203 |
| BEER BOTTLES | 348 |
| UNFIXED EXCISE STAMPS | 3,485 |
| PLASTIC BAGS | 3,766 |
| UNREGISTERED WEAPONS | 10 |
| IVORY ITEMS | 3 |
| VEHICLES WITHHELD PENDING INVESTIGATIONS | 3 |
| SPEED CRAFTS WITHHELD PENDING INVESTIGATIONS | 2 |
| COUNTERFEIT GOODS I.P.R. | 44,319,809 |
| MEAT AND DAIRY ITEMS THROUGH M.I.A. | 1124,47kg |
The important missions of Customs’s operations in today’s modern society are twofold. Apart from the fact that the Customs Department collects the necessary revenues contributing towards the enhancement of the public coffers and rendering the Department one of the highest Government revenue earners, Customs also protects the general public against harmful products, hampers criminal activity, facilitates commercial activity and protects the environmental and fiscal interests of the European Union.