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 Customs simplifications (AEOC): AEOC members benefit from easier admittance to
simplifications under the Customs legislation. In 2018, there are 7,027 AEOC (44.5
percent of total AEO) in the EU.
 A full authorization AEOF: full authorization a full scale of benefits from AEOC and
AEOS. In 2018, there are 8,111 AEOF members (51.5 percent of total AEO) in the EU.3
Application, Verification and the Authorization Process
Application Criteria
On the basis of Article 39 of the Union Customs Code, the AEO status can be granted to any
economic operator if a number of criteria are met. Table 2.1 illustrates these criteria while
pointing out the differences between conditions for AEOC and AEOS.
Table 2.1. Conditions and Criteria for AEO in the EU
Criteria AEOC AEOS Reference in UCC Guidelines
Part
Establishment in the Customs Territory
of the Union
X X Art. 5(31)UCC 1.II.2
Compliance X X Art. 39 a)UCC
Art.24 UCCIA
2.I
Appropriate Record Keeping X X Art. 39 b)UCC
Art. 25 UCCIA
Financial Solvency X X Art. 39c) UCC
Art. 26 UCCIA
2.III
Practical Standards of Competence and
Professional Qualification
X Art. 39d)UCC
Art. 27 UCCIA
Security and Safety X Art. 39e)UCC
Art. 28 UCCIA
2.V
Source: European Commission (2016)
Application and Verification Procedure
Figure 2.10 summarizes the application process and it is composed of the following steps:
 Economic operators who wish to apply for the AEO status are required to submit the
application to their AEO section/competent Customs Authority of an EU Member State.
The application is accompanied by a questionnaire for self-assessment providing the
authorities with as much information about the applicant as possible. By completing
the questionnaire, a trader can determine the risks and can try to remove or reduce
them.
 The competent AEO Section carries out various checks before the application is
formally accepted.
3 Source: Taxation and Customs Union online database, last update: 12-06-2018. To our knowledge, data on the type of
operator (position in supply chain) are publicly unavailable. Statistics on the yearly evolution of the number or AEOs is also
publicly unavailable.