The world vs. the Authorized Economic Operator

During the last years the Registration in the Business Certification Scheme, AEO modality (Authorized Economic Operator), under its various headings of Importer and / or Exporter, Controller, Aircraft, SECIIT, Textile, Regime of Audited Enclosure andStrategic outsourcing and Logistics Outsourcing, has taken a boost in companies, for its implementation of minimum standards in terms of safety,  which seek to mitigate illegal acts that violate the security of the country. Atthe same time, it should be noted that at least 97 countries worldwide have implemented the Authorized Economic Operator program, as it is a figure promoted by the World Customs Organization aimed at the various actors that participate directly or indirectly in activities related to foreign trade operations.

As a result of the increase in foreign trade operations, importing and/or exporting companies have been affected by the handling of their goods, since the supply chain could be affected at some point; since a large percentage of companies lose visibility of their goods once they leave their warehouse, relying only on logistics operators, as well as the competent authority, the latter determining whether the vessels comply with the applicable legislation.

Worldwide it is considered as an accreditation certified by the Customs Authorities of each of the member countries. Toverify that the applicants comply with the requirements demanded by the AEO Relieve Programbefore the country, the Customs Authority grants the AEO accreditation as a guarantee of its reliability to carry out operations before the Customs; in this sense, the requirements of a general but non-limiting way to obtain said registration, are the following:

• Compliance with customs requirements.
• Have an adequate management system for commercial records and , where appropriate, transport records, which allows appropriate customs control.
• That the applicants haveaccredited financial solvency.
• They must have adequate levels of security.

The AEO program is regulated by the World Customs Organization, is incorporated into the WCO SAFE package, which is a resource that contains several tools to help establish and administer AEO programs on a regular basis, monitoring the evolution of customs compliance in the various programs;  thus creating the so-called AEO compendium, which is the reference point of information forcustoms administrations, the private sector and other interested parties. The information contained in the Compendium is provided and verified by the Members of the World Customs Organization.

In this way it has become a program that links companies and Customs, since the latter provides the opportunity for Customs to share their security responsibilities with the private sector, while rewarding them with a series of additional benefits of facilitation in trade andxterior. The programme has proved to be very beneficial to customs because it allows more to be achieved with less effort, and ensures sustainable and long-term compliance as a primary objective through incentives, such as reduced levels of cooperation, simplified procedures, periodic reporting, deferred payments and high reliability, as well as cross-border facilitation benefits.

The World Customs Organization supports the progress of its members in establishing and improving AEO programs, as it generates close cooperation with organizations, whenever necessary, through national, international and regional activities.

Therefore, these actors have chosen to be certified as an Authorized Economic Operator, obtaining a competitive advantage, a high degree of security in the transfer of their goods, reducing costs and delivery times, the above due to thereliability that exists in the members for being a certification regulated by the World Customs Organization; receiving priority treatment at the crossing by customs, as well as greater facilities for the export and import of goods.

The implementation of the Authorized Economic Operator in various countries in recent years has shown that it not only marks a new milestone for the relationship between the customs of two or more countries, but also consolidates the trust between the foreign trade operations of the actors, since in it companies and customs are glimpsed interacting with each other. ; so this program and / or certification opens the opportunity to establish foreign trade links between various countries, allowing an agile flow of goods in 97 countries, adding little by little more action.

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