AEO Consultant

WHAT IS AEO

Authorised Economic Operator Programme seeks to provide tangible benefits in the form of faster Customs Clearance and simplified Customs procedures to those businesses who offer high degree of security. This Is recognised by WCO. Indian businesses can be benefited worldwide by Mutual recognition Agreement of India with other countries.

AEO programme is open to all importer/exporters :-

• The Applicant must be established in India
• Have business activities since last three years
• Have filed at least 25 Bills of entries or Shipping Bills in the last financial year.
• No SCN issued to them in last three financial years.

Type OF AEO, Applicability and Validity period

CERTIFICATION	WHO CAN APPLY	VALIDITY PERIOD
AEO-T1 Certificate	Only Importer and Exporter can have T1, T2 & T3 certificate.	3 Year
AEO-T2 Certificate	Only Importer and Exporter can have T1, T2 & T3 certificate.
AEO-T3 Certificate	Applicant must have continuously enjoyed the status of AEO-T2 for at-least a period of two years preceding the date of application for grant of AEO-T3 status.	5 Year
AEO-LO Certificate	Other than importers and exporters, namely Logistics Providers, Custodians or Terminal Operators, Customs Brokers and Warehouse Operators.	5 Year

BENEFITS OF AEO T-1, T-2, T-3

Benefits	AEO-T1 Certificate	AEO-T2 Certificate	AEO-T3 Certificate
High level of facilitation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Direct Port Delivery import/export container	Yes	Yes	Yes
ID cards to authorized personnel for hassle free entry to Custom Houses, CFSs and ICDs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Separate space earmarked in Custodian’s premises	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reduction on Bank Guarantee	50% reduction	75% reduction	100% reduction
Investigations, if any, would be completed, in six to nine months	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dispute resolution within six months	Yes	Yes	Yes
E-mail regarding arrival/ departure of the vessel carrying their consignments	Yes	Yes	Yes
24/7 clearances on request at all sea ports and airports	Yes	Yes	Yes
Seal verification/scrutiny of documents by Custom officers would be waived	Yes	Yes	Yes
Deferred payment of Duty	No	Yes	Yes
BEs/SBs will be processed on priority	Yes	Yes	Yes
Faster completion of Special Valuation Branch (‘SVB’)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Shorter cargo release time	Yes	Yes	Yes
Facility to paste MRP stickers	No	Yes	Yes
Access to their consolidated import/export data	No	Yes	Yes
Paperless declarations with no supporting documents in physical form.	No	Yes	Yes
Client Relationship Manager”(CRM at the level of Deputy / Assistant Commissioner available at port who will act voice of AEO holder	Yes	Yes	Yes
Expedite refund of IGST	-	45 Days	30 Days
No Merchant Overtime Fee (MOT)	No	Yes	Yes

Benefits For AEO-LO Certificate

Logistic Service Providers, Custodians or Terminal Operators, Customs Brokers, Warehouse Operators

Waiver of bank Guarantee. Facility of Execution of running bond. Exemption from permission in case of transit of goods. Faster approval for new warehouses within 7 days Waiver of solvency certificate. Waiver of security Waiver from fee for renewal of license.

There will be OSPCA after three years in T-1 and T-2 and after 5 years in LO and T-3 at the time of review of AEO Status.

Conclusion:
After the finance bill 2011 there has been a shift in Assessment in Customs as Section 17 has been amended, any BOE/SB filed is SELF ASSESSED by you, as per Circular 17/2011 and vide the BOE regulation 2011 and Shipping Bill Regulation 2011, Now since it is your assessment, It is time to come forward and accept that it is your assessment and register as AEO.

CIRCULAR 33/2016 DATED 22.07.2016 AMENDED BY CIRCULAR NO.3/2018 DATED 17.01.2018
Simplification and rationalization of processing of AEO-T1 application- reg Circular No. 26/2018-Customs