The second enterprise in Ukraine received the status of AEO

On June 29, 2023, the State Customs Service of Ukraine granted the status of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) to the company “Epicenter K”. This enterprise became the second in Ukraine to receive AEO authorization.

The AEO program, which complies with EU standards, was introduced in Ukraine in August 2020. This was one of Ukraine’s obligations under the Association Agreement with the EU. The EU provided technical and advisory assistance to the Ukrainian government through the EU4PFM and RST programs in the preparation of the necessary legislation and by-laws, informing staff and business, expertise, and providing technical and IT tools.

The first Authorized Economic Operator appeared in Ukraine on March 18, 2021. Currently, according to the State Customs Service, 14 applications for AEO authorizations are being considered at various stages.

According to Vytenis Ališauskas, EU4PFM international key expert on customs “Increasing the number of authorized economic operators is very important for Ukraine, as increasing the level of use of the AEO program is among the priority tasks in the customs sphere in the context of Ukraine’s application to join the EU.” According to him, this is stated in the Opinion of the European Commission dated February 1, 2023.

The AEO status gives the enterprise the possibility of priority and faster access to the simplifications provided for by the Customs Code of Ukraine and the Convention on a common transit procedure. Among the advantages are the fulfilment of customs formalities as a matter of priority, and the reduction of the forms and volumes of customs control over the company’s goods through an automated risk management system.