The privileged entrepreneur, or AEO in supply chains – part 2
Flow of goods – limitations and benefits of AEO
The global economy offers every entrepreneur opportunities that are hard to underestimate. In the European Union, the increasing number of goods transported across internal and external borders has not gone unnoticed by customs authorities. The customs authorities of individual countries had to face the dilemma of how not to hinder the growing trade while simultaneously ensuring the security of the flow of goods across borders. In particular, security, due to the rise in the terrorist threat, has become a priority for EU authorities. These two conflicting issues – the need for facilitation and the provision of security – were reconciled in a single mechanism: the institution of the “Authorised Economic Operator” (AEO). EU law (European Commission Regulation (EC) No 1875/2006 of 18 December 2006 (OJ EU L 360)) defines an AEO as any participant in the supply chain who has met specific conditions. These conditions are nothing more than a series of criteria that the entrepreneur must meet, and which will be meticulously verified by customs services before the AEO title is granted. Upon meeting these criteria, EU customs services will be certain that the AEO entrepreneur is a reliable partner and is capable of ensuring the security of the supply chain. This will translate into the customs services taking this reliability into account in lower risk assessments carried out by customs officers. Lower risk translates directly into less interest from customs services. Since 1 January 2008, companies based in our country have also been able to apply for AEO status. What can be gained by receiving such status? Summarizing the many benefits indicated in the regulations, it can be assumed that, above all, time, which is the most valuable asset in logistics operations, is the most important of them. The entrepreneur can count on the following facilitations from customs services:
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a smaller number of physical and document controls
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priority treatment of the shipment if selected for control
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entering less data for the purpose of the summary declaration
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the possibility for the entrepreneur to request a change in the place of control
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in some cases, the entrepreneur will be notified in advance of the selection of a shipment for control.
The provisions of legal acts and related documents indicate that AEO status should be of interest to every entrepreneur participating in the supply chain. This applies not only to shipping and transport companies that often perform customs formalities, but also to entrepreneurs producing goods that are later sent abroad. They also have a direct impact on the security of the packed products. In practice, a shipment from, for example, a furniture manufacturer without AEO status may be “suspicious” from the point of view of customs services, even if all formalities and the transport of the goods are carried out by an enterprise holding the AEO title. Only obtaining AEO status by the manufacturer gives customs services the certainty that a given shipment is secure from the moment of its production until it reaches the recipient. AEO status can be obtained in two areas:
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customs simplifications
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security and safety.
Different groups of requirements apply to each of these areas. It is possible to obtain a certificate only in the scope of customs simplifications, only in the scope of security and safety, or a combined one in the scope of customs simplifications, security and safety. Each of these certificates is associated with a different range of privileges.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2/2008.