It is up to you to decide (on economic grounds) whether or not to apply for an AEO Certificate. Applying for an AEO Certificate is not compulsory. Customs does not advise businesses whether an AEO Certificate is of extra value for your business.

No, unless this concerns cross-border permissions.

No, that is not required.

No, whether or not a business has any customs permissions is not relevant.

No.

Yes. The business must ensure that Customs & Excise of the member state in which it is situated has electronic access to the records kept in another member state or third country.

No, such inquiries are not conducted by Customs. The importer’s responsibilities are included in the AEO guidelines. By making arrangements with the trading partners, importers can upgrade the safety of the incoming flow of goods.

The applicant is responsible for monitoring and evaluating all warranties and safety procedures. Where necessary he should adjust these procedures. You can use the application form for informing Customs of any changes.

If an AEO Certificate application is rejected you may lodge and objection or an appeal taking into account the relevant statutory terms.

Customs does not offer individual support to businesses in relation to implementing the AEO self-assessment or filing an AEO Certificate application. It is possible to ask the client coordinator general questions.

The AEO guidelines give examples of Group applications. These do not cover all forms of Groups. At present European legislation does not allow a business to file 1 Group application with Customs. In consultation with the corporate sector and other member states it is attempted to find solutions for Group applications.

Yes, Customs takes these into account insofar the criteria for the issue of such certificates are identical or similar to the criteria laid down in Council Regulations (EC) No. 1875/2006. The AEO guidelines include possible references to internationally accepted standards.

You can state the presence of such certificates in box 15 of the application form, section B, certificates.

No. You can state what certificates you have in box 15 of the application form, section B, certificates.

No. If Customs decides that further details are required it will contact the applicant.

Stating the role of the supply chain is necessary because in the AEO guidelines a link is made between the role in the chain and the relevant subjects. Based on the role of the business in the supply chain you can determine what subjects are relevant for your business.

To apply for the AEO status you must carry out a complete AEO self-assessment. The result thereof must be recorded in the AEO self-assessment summary.

Yes, you must always send a complete application consisting of:

• application form with enclosures.
• The statement accompanying the AEO application signed on behalf of your business.
• The AEO self-assessment summary form completed on behalf of your company.

Below you will find a description of the level of internal control associated with each AEO self-assessment summary score.

• 0: no control measures applied.
  The relevance of applying internal control measures for the operational processes is not recognized. Errors or incidents do receive attention but no structural measures are taken aimed at preventing errors.
  
• Level 1: the internal control of operational processes is organized on an ad hoc basis.
  There is some awareness of the relevance of internal control measures but the application thereof takes places on an ad hoc basis and not according to a fixed schedule. There is no wide-based communication on the essential importance of adequate internal control as a result of which staff members are not aware of this. The risk that errors are not or not timely discovered is high. Safeguards to prevent incidents from occurring are lacking.
  
• 2: fixed pattern of internal control of operational processes
  The operational processes are subject to internal control measures. However, there is no description or other form of recorded material. Because the internal procedures have not been laid down, the implementation of control measures depends on the knowledge and willingness of individual staff members. In this situation it may also occur that staff members are not fully aware of the importance of internal control of the operational processes. The adequacy of the internal control measures is not sufficiently evaluated. As a result, there is still a risk in this situation that errors and incidents are not prevented or not observed in a timely fashion.
  
• Level 3: the internal control of operational processes is described and known.
  The operational processes are subject to internal control measures and these have been adequately described or otherwise documented. Staff members are aware of the importance of internal control of operational processes. Adequacy of the international control measures is periodically evaluated but the findings are not documented. This prompts the risk that the management may be unaware of weak spots in the internal control and that these may therefore continue to exist.
  
• Level 4: operational processes are controlled and evaluated internally.
  An effective, well-documented system of internal control measures is in operation. The adequacy of the internal control measures is frequently evaluated. This evaluation process takes place in a formalised fashion and is properly documented. Acknowledged weaknesses in the internal control systematically lead to modifications or supplements to the internal control measures in order to prevent future weak spots.
  
• Level 5: internal control measures have been integrated in the operational processes and are continuously evaluated.
  There is an all-encompassing control programme covering the entire business. The internal control measures are integrally incorporated in the operational processes. This also includes the computerized continuous monitoring of these operational processes. Evaluation of control measures is taking place continuously. Realizing modifications or ensuing improvements form part of this evaluation process.

Correct, this should be ISO 9001:2000.

It concerns the entire set of measures aimed at protecting the business premises perimeters. Physical protection is one of the measures. Other measures involve: camera surveillance and/or movement sensors. There are no fixed standards for separate, individual measures but open standards are used instead. The greater the risks, the stricter the combination of measures will become. In your AEO self-assessment it is up to you to review the combination of measures taken for protecting the perimeters.

Section 1.2.5.3. of the AEO self-assessment summary must be referred to in this assessment.

It concerns the combination of measures taken to safeguard that staff do not present a safety risk and are therefore trustworthy and honest. These measures could be in the field of e.g. personnel management, examination of the safety background of staff, education and training. This may involved own staff and temporary staff. Screening staff is only 1 of these measures. There are no fixed standards for separate, individual measures but open standards are used instead. The greater the risks, the stricter the combination of measures will become.

In your AEO self-assessment you yourself must judge the combination of the safety measures you took with respect to the staff.

It concerns the whole range of measures the applicant has taken to satisfy the statutory requirements. Obtaining a statement of good conduct is part of this.

HACCP pertains to food safety. When implementing the AEO self-assessment you can take account of any measures already taken.

The measures taken in the HACCP framework will not cover all safety aspects.