Page 39 - Linkline Yearbook 2018

Following Brexit, the UK and EU will likely agree to an AEO recognition agreement between each other providing trade facilitation measures for AEO certified businesses both in the UK and in the EU. Non-AEO businesses will not benefit. There are two stages in the application process to become AEO Certified as follows:
1. The application
2. The evaluation
The time frame for the completion of the package of documents associated with the applications to the point of submission would normally be in the region of three months. The evaluations can take up to four months to complete. That is the time limit customs have by law to complete the assessment phases and to make the decisions. Usually there are three or four site visits made by customs officials to evaluate applications.
AEO and the Union Customs Code (UCC)
Changes brought about by the Union Customs Code (UCC), introduced across the EU in May 2016, aim to achieve greater legal certainty for businesses and also increased clarity for customs officials. “It seeks to improve and simplify customs rules and procedures,” says Conor Anderson of Analytiqa, a business intelligence consultancy specialising in supply chain. “It also looks to further harmonise decision-making procedures and lead to more efficient customs transactions. Some of the key amendments include changes to the areas of centralised clearance, self-assessment, penalties, and decisions relating to binding information and valuation. Amongst the fundamental changes is the introduction of mandatory guarantees for customs procedures, which could increase operating costs for trading businesses and significantly affect cash flows. Businesses with AEO status will be able to obtain guarantee waivers or guarantee reductions of up to 100% on any bond guarantees or bank guarantees they currently have with customs.”
Why should I apply for AEO accreditation?
The broad objective of AEO accreditation is that organisations that achieve AEO status will be given benefits that will lessen the impact of increasingly tighter and more restrictive security measures in the supply chain, compared to non-AEO accredited businesses. Used effectively as part of a marketing and communications strategy, AEO accreditation is a highly valuable differentiator that sets an organisation apart from its competitors. Additionally, benefits of achieving AEO accreditation include:
• Provides a logistics service provider the ability to
respond to increasing numbers of tenders from
International companies that require AEO specification; • Facilitates greater efficiency of processes within local
operations, improving lead times;
• Subject to less physical inspection and document checks
by customs and organisations gain priority in times of heightened security, strikes or other supply chain disturbances;
• Encourages the effective management of, and reduction in, the risk of theft, counterfeiting, contamination or grey market shipments;
• Improved delivery times, customer satisfaction and client retention;
AEO status brings with it the ability to apply for a single community authorisation to use simplified declaration procedures across the EU and the ability to apply for a special procedures authorisation involving more than one Member State.
Education is Key
“As a consequence of Brexit,” says Aidan Flynn of the Freight Transport Association (FTA), “the supply chain is being forced to review and rethink how goods can get to the market, principally due to the hard line position the UK have taken at the time of writing. Managing change is a daunting prospect as it requires, time, clear guidelines, ‘buy in’ from employees, collaboration and commitment from all. We all want to know, what can be done now in preparing for Brexit Day? The common answer at the moment is nothing! Or will we wait and see how the negotiations go? Is this sensible?” he asks. “Should you in the first instance, review your business and determine how exposed and reliant you are on business to and from the UK/ Northern Ireland market? Would it not be sensible to start this conversation with your clients, suppliers, haulage contractors, freight forwarders, shippers?”
A rules-based trading environment
Over the past 20 years or so the ‘just-in-time’ principle of distribution of goods has established itself as meeting the demands of the market. This has been facilitated by membership of the Customs Union and the single market.
If one or the other is removed there will be ‘friction’ at borders, customs checks and delays, administrative burdens and red tape. It is increasingly likely that the UK will not be part of the Customs Union or the single market post-Brexit. The white papers published by the UK on Ireland, Customs & Trade detail their proposed thinking on future trading and customs arrangements with Ireland and the EU. They want to pursue a ‘rules based trading environment’ as they believe this will ‘enable economic and security cooperation,
Authorised Economic Operators by Country - November 2017
Country
Number of Operators
Growth from Feb-2012
Germany
6,116
42.7%
France
1,549
158.6%
Netherlands
1,545
94.3%
Italy
1,241
161.8%
Poland
814
62.5%
Spain
714
93.5%
UK
609
127.2%
Belgium
461
135.2%
Hungary
360
64.4%
Austria
316
50.5%
Sweden
289
-8.5%
Czech Rep
246
153.6%
Ireland
140
94.4%
Portugal
110
46.7%
Source: European Commission
The CharTered InsTITuTe of LogIsTICs & TransporT 39
BREXIT SOLUTIONS