The Institute of Customs and International Trade Law (ICTL) is the successor to the Department of Customs and Excise, which formed part of the Institute of Tax Law at the University of Münster. It was founded in October 2016 as an affiliated insitute of Münster University.

The main activities of the ICTL include customs research, government advice, collaborative projects and provision of the MCA programme. A list of completed research projects is available on the ICTL website here. 

The ICTL collaborates with the World Customs Organisation and European Commission in promoting university Customs education. It is a co-founder of the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) which connects universities and other institutions involved in Customs research, education, development and capacity building activities. It has also fostered close partnerships with the universities of Canberra, Warsaw, Valencia and Riga amongst others. 

The ICTL also runs the postgraduate course “Master of Customs, Taxation and International Trade Law” in collaboration with Münster University and the AWA Foreign Trade Academy. It is responsible for the academic aspects of the MCA programme, namely accreditations, applications, lectures and examinations.