No, but impex transactions may give rise to a tax liability, so it is simply ensuring that taxable goods are accounted for. Without any paperwork, anybody could claim an item was their property originally and avoid paying any taxes due. Yes it is ball-ache for the individual, but for a business, the directors have a legal responsibility to trade within the law. Any business transaction has tax implications.
The paperwork is just recognition of the fact that not everyone has a moral compass, plus it simplifies the aggregation of data for financial transfers between countries via the banking system. It would be impossible to operate if all the info was only held individually.