Companies with the status of an authorized economic operator (AEO) at the moment cannot yet take advantage of all its opportunities, since bylaws and algorithms for the implementation of preferences granted to AEO status holders have not been developed.
Director General of PrJSC JT International Ukraine (Kremenchuk, Poltava region) Viktor Ivanov told Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday about the influence of this status on the activities of the tobacco manufacturer JTI Ukraine, the first and only holder of the AEO status in the country.
“The AEO status has not yet become a real competitive advantage, although there is indeed an image advantage in relations with the customs authorities. Even before the AEO status was obtained, we had a constructive dialogue and effective cooperation with the customs. Now, there are new mutual opportunities. We are waiting for customs simplifications begin to be fully realized,” Ivanov said.
Legally, possession of the status of the AEO, as a kind of “certificate of trust” to the enterprise from the side of customs, provides it with significant advantages and simplifications in its work. In particular, the out-of-turn registration of customs declarations, a simplified declaration procedure by the customs authority, the use of a specially defined traffic lane at a checkpoint, etc.
Ivanov said that this status provides exclusively logistical advantages, and affects production indirectly through the acceleration of logistics (customs clearance and delivery of necessary materials, spare parts, tobacco, etc.). “In terms of logistics, in recent months we have felt that customs clearance of our goods is a priority and comes first. Also, the number of occurrences of automatic risks when importing/exporting our goods has decreased, therefore, the number of more thorough procedures for checking or inspecting goods has decreased. We believe that it was the AEO status that made it possible to reduce the number of automatic risks,” the director general said.
Ivanov said that apart from the right of priority customs clearance of goods and reduction of automatic risks during customs clearance, the company did not feel any other changes. So, for example, the announced separate traffic lanes for the transport of companies with the AEO status at customs points have not yet been equipped.
“As far as we know, there are still no bylaws, the algorithms for the implementation of these simplifications have not yet been developed. According to our information, they are still under development. Therefore, we cannot use all the advantages that the AEO status gives,” the director of JT International Ukraine said.
According to him, to improve the situation, it is necessary to accelerate the development and implementation of bylaws that provide benefits for companies with AEO status.
Ivanov also said that JTI Ukraine has repeatedly received offers from various organizations to participate in roundtables or seminars to share the experience of preparing for the assessment and the very assessment of compliance with the AEO criteria. Customs representatives also took part in these events, shared their experience and talked about the aspects that need to be paid attention to when submitting an application and self-assessment questionnaire, and the assessment procedure.
As reported, the AEO authorization program was launched in Ukraine in August 2020.
