ST Microelectronics (Malta) Ltd recently became the ninth organisation to be awarded authorised economic operator status by the Customs Department.
Certification was granted after the company reached the required standards of safety, security and compliance with customs regulations required by the EU regulations.
AEO certification is one of the elements of the security amendment of the Community Customs Code Regulation (EC) 648/2005.
Article 5a of the security amendments empowers member states to grant AEO status to any economic operator meeting a set of common criteria: customs compliance, appropriate record-keeping, financial solvency and, where relevant, security and safety standards.
There are three types of AEO certificates: ‘AEO C’ – access to customs simplifications; ‘AEO S’ – compliance with security requirements; and ‘AEO F’ – which incorporates both certificates.
AEO certification is granted to any economic operator involved in the international supply chain, including manufacturers, import-ers/ exporters, customs brokers, carriers, ports and terminal operators.
ST Microelectronics (Malta) is now recognised by customs as a trusted partner and is entitled to benefits in customs-related procedures. One of the major benefits for an export-oriented company like ST Microelectronics (Malta) Ltd is the mutual recognition of this certificate by third countries.
Since the launch of the AEO programme in 2008, the European Commission has worked relentlessly to establish mutual recognition of its certificate by major trading partners outside the EU.
On May 25, mutual recognition was established with Japan, which also operates a similar AEO programme. EU exporters to third countries covered by mutual recognition arrangements shall benefit from less customs controls on their products and a faster delivery to their consignees.
The ultimate goal is to have all national programmes mutually recognised, meaning that AEO accreditations have the same value everywhere.
So far, the Customs Department has granted AEO status to three manufacturers (Actavis Co Ltd, Thomas de la Rue Co Ltd, and Playmobil Co Ltd), three Customs brokers (Carmelo Caruana Co Ltd, BAS Ltd and S. Mifsudand Sons Ltd), and two express freight agents (DHL International Ltd and Airsped Express Ltd, the local agents for Fedex).
Information on the AEO programme is available through the Customs website at finance.gov.mt/page.aspx?site=CUST&page=default. An AEO e-learning tool is also available online which is designed to help traders understand the facts about the legislation and how to become an AEO.