An applicant need not be established in the customs territory of the Community in the following cases:
where an international agreement between the Community and a third country in which the economic operator is established provides for mutual recognition of the AEO certificates and specifies the administrative arrangements for carrying out appropriate controls on behalf of the Member State's customs authority if required;
where an application for the granting of an AEO certificate referred to in point (b) of Article 14a(1) is made by an airline or a shipping company not established in the Community but which has a regional office there and already benefits from the simplifications laid down in Articles 324e, 445 or 448.
In the case referred to in point (b) of the first paragraph, the applicant shall be deemed to have met the conditions set out in Articles 14h, 14i and 14j, but shall be required to meet the condition set out in Article 14k(2).
1. The record of compliance with customs requirements referred to in the first indent of Article 5a(2) of the Code shall be considered as appropriate if over the last three years preceding the submission of the application no serious infringement or repeated infringements of customs rules have been committed by any of the following persons:
(a) the applicant;
(b) the persons in charge of the applicant company or exercising control over its management;
(c) if applicable, the applicant's legal representative in customs matters;
(d) the person responsible in the applicant company for customs matters.
However, the record of compliance with customs requirements may be considered as appropriate if the competent customs authority considers any infringement to be of negligible importance, in relation to the number or size of the customs related operations, and not to create doubts concerning the good faith of the applicant.
2. If the persons exercising control over the applicant company are established or resident in a third country, the customs authorities shall assess their compliance with customs requirements on the basis of records and information that are available to them.
3. If the applicant has been established for less then three years, the customs authorities shall asses his compliance with customs requirements on the basis of the records and information that are available to them.
To enable the customs authorities to establish that the applicant has a satisfactory system of managing commercial and, where appropriate, transport records, as referred to in the second indent of Article 5a(2) of the Code, the applicant shall fulfil the following requirements:
maintain an accounting system which is consistent with the generally accepted accounting principles applied in the Member State where the accounts are held and which will facilitate audit-based customs control;
allow the customs authority physical or electronic access to its customs and, where appropriate, transport records;
have a logistical system which distinguishes between Community and non-Community goods;
have an administrative organisation which corresponds to the type and size of business and which is suitable for the management of the flow of goods, and have internal controls capable of detecting illegal or irregular transactions;
where applicable, have satisfactory procedures in place for the handling of licenses and authorisations connected to commercial policy measures or to trade in agricultural products;
have satisfactory procedures in place for the archiving of the company's records and information and for protection against the loss of information;
ensure that employees are made aware of the need to inform the customs authorities whenever compliance difficulties are discovered and establish suitable contacts to inform the customs authorities of such occurrences;
have appropriate information technology security measures in place to protect the applicant's computer system from unauthorised intrusion and to secure the applicant's documentation.
An applicant requesting the AEO certificate referred to in point (b) of Article 14a(1) shall not be required to fulfil the requirement laid down in point (c) of the first paragraph of this Article.
1. The condition relating to the financial solvency of the applicant referred to in the third indent of Article 5a(2) of the Code shall be deemed to be met if his solvency can be proven for the past three years.
For the purposes of this Article, financial solvency shall mean a good financial standing which is sufficient to fulfil the commitments of the applicant, with due regard to the characteristics of the type of the business activity.
2. If the applicant has been established for less then three years, his financial solvency shall be judged on the basis of records and information that are available.
1. The applicant's security and safety standards referred to in the fourth indent of Article 5a(2) of the Code shall be considered to be appropriate if the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a) buildings to be used in connection with the operations to be covered by the certificate are constructed of materials which resist unlawful entry and provide protection against unlawful intrusion;
(b) appropriate access control measures are in place to prevent unauthorised access to shipping areas, loading docks and cargo areas;
(c) measures for the handling of goods include protection against the introduction, exchange or loss of any material and tampering with cargo units;
(d) where applicable, procedures are in place for the handling of import and/or export licenses connected to prohibitions and restrictions and to distinguish these goods from other goods;
(e) the applicant has implemented measures allowing a clear identification of his business partners in order to secure the international supply chain;
(f) the applicant conducts, in so far as legislation permits, security screening on prospective employees working in security sensitive positions and carries out periodic background checks;
(g) the applicant ensures that its staff concerned actively participate in security awareness programmes.
2. If an airline or shipping company which is not established in the Community, but has a regional office there and benefits from the simplifications laid down in Articles 324e, 445 or 448, submits an application for an AEO certificate referred to in point (b) of Article 14a(1), it shall fulfil one of the following conditions:
(a) be the holder of an internationally recognised security and/or safety certificate issued on the basis of the international conventions governing the transport sectors concerned;
(b) be a regulated agent, as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) , and fulfil the requirements laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 622/2003 (2) ;
(c) be the holder of a certificate issued in a country outside of the customs territory of the Community, where a bilateral agreement concluded between the Community and the third country provides for acceptance of the certificate, subject to the conditions laid down in that agreement.
If the airline or shipping company is the holder of a certificate referred to in point (a) of this paragraph, it shall meet the criteria laid down in paragraph 1. The issuing customs authority shall consider the criteria laid down in paragraph 1 to be met, to the extent that the criteria for issuing the international certificate are identical or correspond to those laid down in paragraph 1.
3. If the applicant is established in the Community and is a regulated agent as referred to in Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 and fulfils the requirements provided for in Regulation (EC) No 622/2003, the criteria laid down in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be met in relation to the premises for which the economic operator obtained the status of regulated agent.
4. If the applicant, established in the Community, is the holder of an internationally recognised security and/or safety certificate issued on the basis of international conventions, of a European security and/or safety certificate issued on the basis of Community legislation, of an International Standard of the International Organisation for Standardisation, or of a European Standard of the European Standards Organisations, the criteria provided for in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be met to the extent that the criteria for issuing these certificates are identical or correspond to those laid down in this Regulation.]
Textual Amendments