SPE03020 - Criteria and conditions to be met by economic operators applying for a Special Procedure authorisation: basic conditions - AEO (Authorised Economic Operator)

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Full details of the criteria and conditions for all customs procedures (including the Special Procedures) can be found in the Customs Authorisations and Approvals Manual:

Criteria and conditions of authorisation/CAA07000

Basic conditions

Authorised Economic Operator (AEO)

Applicants for a Special Procedure authorisation are required to fulfil the criteria of Authorised Economic Operator applicants for the following:

  • financial solvency
  • record-keeping standards
  • customs and other tax compliance (related to the economic activities of the applicant)
  • practical standards of competence or professional qualifications.

Full details of the conditions can be found in: Authorised Economic Operator Status (C)/CAA03030

Applicants for a Special Procedure must demonstrate that they meet these conditions but economic operators should consider, dependent on the extent to which the AEO criteria needs to be met for the customs procedure applied for, whether it would be beneficial to apply for full AEO status.

Role of Special Procedure Authorising Office in checks

The authorising office will be responsible for the checks on the conditions (apart from the solvency check which will, in most cases, be undertaken by the Office of Guarantee during their assessment).

Further information can be found in:

Impact of AEO status on other authorisations - contents/CAA06000

Impact of AEO(C) on other authorisations/CAA06030

Please see CAA08050 and the Authorised Economic Operator - guidelines for details on applying for full AEO Status.

Note: Northern Ireland (NI) customs authorisations will continue to fall within the provisions of the Union Customs Code (UCC), as retained by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and CEMA 1979.