Interview by Henry Habegger, published on 10 February 2026 in the Swiss media of the CH Media group. Italian translation by Franzosini SA. The original in German is available as an attachment.
Mr Tepoorten, you are a freight forwarder active internationally in Ticino and one of the few who openly criticises the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS). You recently spoke of 'chaos' and a system that 'invites fraud'. Where does your criticism come from?
For me, the turning point was 2022, with the transformation of the former Federal Customs Administration into the current FOCBS. It was not a simple name change, but the start of profound structural changes: merging of professional bodies, new IT systems, a new philosophy in the relationship between customs and economic operators.
Since then, procedures have not become simpler, as promised, but more complex and prone to malfunctions. Processes that previously worked reliably now have to be continuously adapted, corrected and reworked. For those of us who work with customs on a daily basis, this is a concrete problem.
What does this mean for you as a freight forwarder?
Instead of an orderly introduction, we experienced an exercise with continuous corrections. Declarations were blocked or rejected, procedures were opened on incorrect bases and subsequently corrected, mandatory blocking fields were introduced without clear instructions, and the handling of goods at the border became opaque. There was no systematic training from the FOCBS, nor any structured support for the companies involved.
How has your daily collaboration with customs changed?
In the past, there were clearly separated competences and extensive specialist knowledge in goods traffic. Before the reform, there were two distinct training paths: customs officers, specialised in tariff classification, duty calculation and declaration management, and border guards, responsible for security and the movement of persons.
These professional profiles were merged — in your view, a mistake?
Yes, absolutely. In practice, specialisation has been lost, particularly in the commercial goods sector. In many customs offices, border guards have replaced specialised customs officers without having the training or the experience.
The consequences are increasing transit times, documents delivered incorrectly and the shifting of competences to distant customs offices. We sometimes receive documents intended for other operators, and vice versa. The system is effectively no longer controlled locally.
It is argued that digitalisation should lead not only to simplification and savings, but also to a more efficient fight against abuse.
The opposite has happened. The new system invites abuse. Because digital customs administration without human expertise, as currently implemented, is 'blind'.
In the past, the customs officer specialised in goods was at the border, seeing the actual merchandise. In Switzerland today, declaration and physical control are systematically separated: data is centralised, controls are delegated elsewhere or reduced. Those who declare correctly are identifiable and subject to penalties. Those who operate in opacity are not.
Those who declare everything fully and immediately can be checked and penalised. Those who declare only the minimum or complete the declaration later effectively evade any efficient control. This is a system that penalises those who work correctly and rewards those who exploit the gaps.
Why do you insist on complete customs declarations and border controls? A layperson might think that freight forwarders benefit from systems with loopholes.
You are completely wrong. As a serious freight forwarder, I need completed and reliable documents to be able to demonstrate to clients and authorities that everything has been correctly cleared through customs. A system without guarantees creates problems for me, because criminal and administrative liability ultimately falls on the company.
Because they require two interventions: at the time of border crossing and at the time of subsequent completion. This doubles the work of the freight forwarder and transfers the entire criminal and administrative liability to the companies.
Is Switzerland therefore becoming more attractive for criminal organisations?
I cannot prove that this is already happening on a large scale, but I can see that the conditions are being created: reduced controls at the borders, simplified and deferred declarations, less specialist expertise, customs credits without real guarantees. For fraudsters, this system is a perfect assist.
Is Switzerland therefore opening the door to abuse, to the transit and importation of undeclared goods?
Yes. My assessment is not based on theory, but on daily practical experience: I work in the customs and logistics sector with companies in Italy, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom and I see the systems in comparison. The British case is particularly instructive.
What exactly happened in the United Kingdom?
After Brexit, the United Kingdom effectively had to rebuild its customs system. The transition from the old to the new system took place under strong time pressure, with the political aim of simplifying and digitalising as much as possible. There too, the focus was on deferred declarations, reduced controls and insufficient guarantees.
The National Audit Office, the equivalent of the Swiss Federal Audit Office, has repeatedly flagged insufficient Border Force capacity, gaps in controls and instability of the new IT systems.
What is the United Kingdom doing about it?
London is now responding with a massive increase in staff and technology. Switzerland is moving in the opposite direction and is thus sending a clear signal to dishonest operators. At the latest when other countries strengthen their controls, illicit traffic will seek the path of least resistance — and that risks being Switzerland.
What do you expect from politics in Switzerland?
There is no going back on the law itself; that opportunity was lost after the departure of Director Bock. Now the implementing ordinances are decisive. Simplified and deferred declarations must be limited to justified exceptional cases. Customs credits require clear guarantees. And those who assume customs responsibilities in Switzerland from abroad must demonstrate a real and verifiable presence in the country.
Marco Tepoorten (*1970) is the owner and chairman of Franzosini SA, an internationally active freight forwarding and logistics company based in Chiasso. He has been working in international freight forwarding between Switzerland, Italy, France and the United Kingdom for decades.
Source: CH Media, 10 February 2026. Interview by Henry Habegger. Italian translation by Franzosini SA.