The Government Defined the Procedure for Launching the AEO Program

Today, July 29, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the Resolution "On some issues of functioning of authorized economic operators", developed by the Ministry of Finance together with the State Customs Service, which settled all the formalities for the launch of the AEO program in Ukraine.

The Government decision approved the procedure and algorithm for assessing compliance with the criteria of an authorized economic operator (AEO), the form of documents to be submitted by enterprises and issued by customs authorities to obtain the status of AEO.

The implementation of the AEO program will provide significant simplifications of customs formalities for enterprises with a high degree of trust, will allow for future mutual recognition of AEO status by authorized bodies of other countries, will enable Ukrainian enterprises to participate in forming secure supply chains and increase their competitiveness in foreign markets. 

To date, AEO programs have been implemented in 83 countries, another 19 countries are in the process of their active implementation.

The AEO program provides for businesses the following:

- acceleration of customs procedures (reduced level of risk; simplified declaration procedure);

- improving customs services quality (possibility of receipt of goods immediately at the company's warehouse; warning about the physical inspection of cargo);

- cost savings (reduction of delays at the border; reduction of costs for customs terminal services);

- predictability of doing business (transparent and pre-understood customs clearance procedures; increasing the level of security and improving communication between partners in the supply chain).

The CMU Resolution was developed taking into account the EU AEO Guidelines and the comments of business associations, the European Commission, and international experts. In the future, this will allow the implementation of agreements on mutual recognition of AEO status (AEO MRA).

"We are taking another step towards business - we are introducing the AEO program, which will be a tool to increase the efficiency of doing business, improvement the marketing status of the company, which will be able to take advantage of AEO status. 
We are gradually implementing our Customs Reform Action Plan - simplifying and automating customs procedures as much as possible, increasing the efficiency of the risk analysis system. The practical implementation of the AEO program in Ukraine also opens up such opportunities. Also, obtaining AEO authorization will allow bona fide companies to reduce the time and material costs associated with the implementation of customs formalities for goods, up to approximately 30%", - said Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko.

The implementation of the AEO program in Ukraine and the conclusion of agreements on mutual recognition of AEO status will facilitate the entry of Ukrainian business involved in international supply chains into the EU markets and, potentially, 56 other countries.

The Resolution comes into force from the date of its publication.