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Customs broker and an AEO logistics operator transports goods to the Customs area, they
have the right to submit an export declaration and hence they are given export permission
without placing goods into the Customs area. This helps non-AEO exporters and importers
benefit from the preferential treatment and increases their incentive to become AEOs.
 For AEO manufacturers: if a non-AEO exporter lodges an import declaration for cargo
manufactured by AEO manufactures, they are granted the ability to file an export
declaration and therefore they are given export permission without placing goods into
Customs area.
 Finally, it is important to note also that while AEOs are eligible to lodge import/export
declaration to any Customs offices, other non-AEOs have to lodge import/export
declaration in the Customs office where the goods are stored.
Implementation of the AEO Program
At the legal level, four acts determine the legal structure of the AEO program in Japan:
 Customs Act : specifies facilitations provided to an AEO, requirement (eligibility) to be an
AEO, issuance of administrative order for improvement to an AEO, and revocation of the
status as an AEO.
 Cabinet Order: determines procedures for Customs clearance with benefits and application
procedures for authorization.
 Ministerial Ordinance: specifies the details to be set forth in the compliance program.
 Order of the Director-General of the Customs and Tariff Bureau, Ministry of Finance :
encompasses Customs clearance procedures, characteristics of compliance program, and
guidelines for reviewing the application at Customs.
Figure 2.7. Regional Customs H eadquarters in Japan
Source: Customs and Tariff Bureau and Ministry of Finance (2018).
At the implementation level, the governmental body responsible for the AEO program is the
Customs and Tariff Bureau affiliated to the Japanese Ministry of Finance. The latter also
develops internal guidelines for the proper implementation of AEO program. As it is shown in