"AEO" is not as simple as a certification.

In recent years, a very eye-catching word has inadvertently entered people's sight, that is "AEO", which is also called "licensed operator" in Chinese and "law-abiding operator". Although it is a simple three-letter combination, CEO, CFO, CTO, CEO Cao and CEO are all common in enterprise management. It has its own unique field and connotation, and it is a set of protection and convenience measures under the framework of global trade safety and convenience standards formulated by the World Customs Organization to protect and facilitate the growing international trade.

The framework includes four core elements, two pillars, 17 standards and technical clauses under the standards. The four core elements include: the requirement of submitting electronic information of import, export and transshipment goods in advance; Adopt consistent risk management methods; At the reasonable request of the importing country, the customs of the exporting country shall inspect the exported high-risk containers and goods, and require the customs to provide corresponding convenience measures to the business circles that meet the standards. Based on these four core elements, the framework puts forward two pillars to ensure the security of supply chain, namely, the cooperation arrangement between customs and the partnership between customs and business. The first pillar, namely, the cooperation arrangement between the customs and the customs, includes 1 1 standards such as "the customs shall operate according to the customs supervision procedures stipulated by the World Customs Organization in the Guidelines for Comprehensive Supply Chain Management", and involves all aspects of customs supervision such as supply chain management, inspection power and inspection technology, risk and control, electronic information exchange, performance and safety assessment, and staff integrity. These standards will also encourage cooperation between customs and other government departments, help the government to implement unified border management and control, and enable the government to expand the power and responsibility of customs in this field by taking necessary measures. The second pillar is the cooperation between customs and business circles, including six standards. Enterprises should implement self-assessment procedures with safety standards set by customs as parameters, security measures that supply chain operators should take, acquisition of authorization and certification, adoption of new technologies, cooperation and exchange with customs, and acquisition of trade terms. Among them, for enterprises engaged in international trade, it is probably the most important to obtain the status of "certified operator" and be recognized by other parties in the supply chain. This will enable it to gain the trust of all parties and benefit from various trade facilitation measures, such as speeding up the customs clearance of goods due to the reduction of inspection rate, achieving consistency and predictability through the establishment of a set of international standards, and reducing diverse and complicated reporting requirements, thus greatly saving time and money costs.

In order to better implement these standards, the framework has also formulated detailed implementation rules (also known as technical regulations) for each standard. For example, the detailed rules for the implementation of the second pillar standard stipulate that regarding the partnership, "the customs-business partnership document with AEO should start written and verifiable security steps and procedures according to the business model of AEO as far as possible, so as to ensure that AEO's business partners, including manufacturers, product suppliers and ordinary businessmen, declare their intention to abide by the standard clauses within the framework of standards to ensure the safety and convenience of global trade"; Regarding security, "trade-sensitive data should be protected by necessary automatic backup methods, such as assigning password accounts to individuals who need to update their certificates regularly, appropriate information system security training and preventing unauthorized access or abuse of information"; Regarding authorization certification, "the customs authorities should work with enterprise representatives to design a confirmation system or qualification evaluation system to encourage enterprises by obtaining the qualification of certified operators" and "all customs should recognize the status of AEO". Most of the standards and implementation rules of the framework come from the relevant conventions formulated by the World Customs Organization and some successful practical experiences of its members.

According to the requirements of the framework, when considering granting the enterprise "AEO" certification qualification, the customs should first prove that there is no record of violating customs laws and regulations, and require the "AEO" certification enterprise to have no record of violating national customs laws and regulations within the time limit stipulated by the customs AEO system, otherwise it will not be granted the AEO enterprise qualification; If the establishment time of the enterprise is less than the time stipulated in the System, it shall be judged according to other real relevant data and records; Or its legal representative/investor has an acceptable law-abiding record within the time period stipulated in the System. At the same time, enterprises are required to have the corresponding ability to manage and maintain business operation records. "AEO" enterprises shall record their import and export activities in a timely, accurate and true manner. The management and maintenance of real business data is the basic guarantee for the security of international trade supply chain. The customs requires AEO enterprises to ensure the maintenance of data systems so that the customs can conduct necessary audits on import and export goods; According to national laws, customs are allowed to make inquiries in the data system necessary for enterprise supervision; The internal access and management system of AEO enterprise data shall meet the approved customs requirements;

Save the power of attorney, certificate of entrustment and license related to import and export goods in an appropriate way, and ensure that the customs can inquire; According to national laws and regulations, archive the data in an appropriate way so as to provide it to the customs in the future; Can use enough information technology security measures to ensure that the data system is not illegally invaded. Economic reliability is an important index to measure whether an enterprise has the ability to implement and improve supply chain security measures. AEO enterprises are required to have reliable economic ability in order to undertake corresponding responsibilities in various commercial activities that are suitable for their business nature. Customs, other competent authorities and AEO enterprises should hold regular consultations at international, domestic and local levels on issues involving common interests such as supply chain safety and convenience measures without affecting law enforcement. The results of the consultation should be taken into account when implementing the customs development and risk management strategy. Therefore, AEO enterprises are required to designate and clearly indicate to the customs the contact person or company contact person at the place where the customs is located. Through this contact person, they should be able to get in touch with the contact person at the place where the customs is located immediately, so as to handle customs law-abiding and law-enforcement related matters (goods account books, goods tracking, employee information, etc.). ); Being able to conduct open and continuous data exchange with the customs alone or through trade associations, except for data that are sensitive to law enforcement, restricted by law and cannot be exchanged for other reasons; Report suspicious cargo documents or abnormal cargo information to the responsible customs officials through the specific mechanism stipulated in the domestic AEO system; Report the illegal, suspicious or unreliable goods found to the customs or other institutions in time through the specific mechanism stipulated in the domestic AEO system. And take appropriate measures to preserve these goods. Customs and AEO enterprises must establish a training mechanism to train employees in safety policies, the discovery of safety problems and measures to prevent safety loopholes. AEO enterprises are required to train their employees as much as possible according to their commercial nature or to train their trading partners on the risk awareness of supply chain cargo transportation when necessary;

Provide educational information, expert guidance and training on how to identify suspicious goods to all relevant staff of AEO enterprises, including security personnel, document preparation and operation personnel and delivery personnel; Record the education, guidance and training, and form relevant files; Make employees master the procedures for AEO enterprises to find and report suspicious events; Can train employees how to protect the safety of goods, find internal security risks and prevent illegal invasion; If feasible, get familiar with the relevant internal information, safety systems and procedures from the customs according to the requirements of the customs, and assist the customs in training the methods of freight transportation, business operation and office location investigation; As a part of the overall strategy to protect information security, customs and AEO enterprises must formulate and strengthen corresponding security measures to ensure that information will not be used for illegal purposes or to avoid unauthorized modification. Require customs and AEO enterprises to:

Ensure the confidentiality of sensitive information related to business and security, and ensure that the information provided is only used for the purposes stated when requested; According to the relevant data confidentiality laws and regulations, we will strive to realize the electronic exchange of goods release data in all relevant units in a comprehensive and timely manner. Paper or autographed materials to prove their authenticity are not encouraged; Electronic data format, submission deadline and data content of international standards; The data elements necessary for security reasons must meet the requirements and restrictions of commercial operations, and the necessary data elements related to security cannot exceed the items specified in the framework; Customs and AEO enterprises should cooperate to realize electronic cargo information declare in advance for risk assessment. AEO enterprises are required: importers should adopt corresponding systems to ensure that the customs clearance information of goods is clear, complete and accurate, and avoid dislocation, omission and information input errors. Similarly, the carrier should use the corresponding system to ensure that the contents recorded in the warehouse receipt can accurately reflect the information provided by the shipper and its agent to the carrier, and declare it to the customs in time; Incorporate information security policies, systems or security controls (such as firewalls and passwords) into rules to protect enterprise electronic systems from unauthorized intrusion; Establish system and backup system to prevent information loss. Customs and AEO enterprises must establish and support measures to ensure the safety of goods and higher-level access control, and formulate daily management systems to protect the safety of goods. Require AEO enterprises to refer to the World Customs Organization's cargo safety guidelines and formulate cargo safety manuals or other feasible operational guidelines for enterprises to ensure cargo safety; By formulating a written system, AEO enterprises and their trading partners responsible for sealing can ensure timely sealing and maintain the safety of transportation tools; Ensure that the seals imposed by AEO enterprises and their trading partners meet or exceed the ISO standards at that time; How to seal and inspect the loaded containers, how to find and report the damaged seals and containers to the customs and relevant foreign institutions, and form a written system; Considering the safety factors, the enterprise should have a special person responsible for the issuance of container seals and ensure their legal use; Establish procedures for checking the reliability of freight vehicles, including their "access control" devices. It is suggested to check the following seven parts according to different freight vehicles: front block, left side, right side, ground, top/top, inner/outer door, outer side/chassis; Through the special mechanism stipulated in the domestic AEO system, regularly evaluate its safety and control system to ensure that unauthorized people cannot easily approach the goods, and authorized people cannot easily improperly operate, move or load and unload the goods; Take good care of the goods or means of transport, and formulate corresponding custody systems, so that when the storage places of goods and means of transport are found to be illegally invaded, they can report to the responsible law enforcement personnel in time; If commercial procedures permit, verify the identity of the carrier and means of transport for transporting goods, and if there is no such power, take prompt measures to obtain relevant authorization as soon as possible; If feasible, check the actual goods with their documents or electronic information, so that individual goods are consistent when they are declared to the customs; Formulate the inventory and management system of goods storage places; Formulate a management system to comprehensively monitor the removal of goods from storage places; Formulate a system for managing, protecting and monitoring the transportation process of goods and the process of goods entering and leaving the means of transport. Customs and AEO enterprises must * * * formulate a supervision system that is not stipulated in other domestic and international regulations to ensure the effective maintenance and protection of means of transport. Require AEO enterprises to ensure that the safety of all means of transport in their supply chain is effectively protected within the scope of their rights and responsibilities; Ensure the safety of unattended means of transport in the supply chain and check whether their safety is violated when they return; Ensure that the operators of all means of transport are trained to ensure the safety of means of transport and goods under their supervision; According to the provisions of China AEO system, operators are required to report discovered and suspected illegal incidents to the designated enterprise security department and customs in time for further investigation. And record the report for customs inspection; Summarize the parts of the means of transport that are easy to hide and transport illegal goods, and carry out routine inspection on these parts to ensure the safety of the inner and outer compartments, mezzanines and gaps of the means of transport. Records should be made after inspection, and records should be made for the inspection parts; Report all suspicious, abnormal and real violations of the safety of means of transport to the customs or other authorities. On the premise of soliciting the opinions of AEO enterprises, and considering the compliance of enterprises with other international standards, customs must formulate a security agreement, which requires enterprises to implement according to their own conditions, so as to protect the safety of office buildings and monitor their internal, external and surrounding security environment. AEO enterprises are required to take safety measures to monitor the safety around the office building according to the requirements of business model and risk analysis, so as to prevent illegal invasion of its facilities, means of transport, loading and unloading terminals and cargo storage areas and ensure the safety of the supply chain links they are responsible for. If access control cannot be achieved, other corresponding measures should be taken. The safety of the office environment should include the following measures according to the risk situation: the building must have facilities to prevent illegal intrusion; The normal operation of the facilities must be maintained through regular inspection and maintenance; All internal and external doors, windows and fences should have locking devices or take other access monitoring measures; Locking devices and keys must be uniformly distributed by managers or safety personnel; Install adequate lighting systems inside and outside the facility, including the following areas: entrance and exit, cargo loading and unloading and storage locations, fences and parking lots; Someone must be on duty at the entrance and exit of vehicles and personnel to monitor or take other measures to prevent illegal entry. AEO enterprises should ensure that vehicles that need to enter their restricted areas should be parked in special places, and the license plate numbers can be recorded for customs enquiries; Only personnel, vehicles and goods confirmed or authorized by the security department can enter the facility; Set up necessary peripheral and peripheral isolation facilities; The storage area of documents or articles should be restricted, and adequate measures should be taken to prevent unauthorized or certified personnel from entering; Formulate necessary security systems, such as burglar alarm or access control system; The restricted access area shall be clearly marked for easy identification; If necessary, the customs can inquire about or use its monitoring system to ensure the safety of the office environment. Customs and AEO enterprises should investigate the background of relevant employees within the scope permitted by law. In addition, measures should be taken to prevent unauthorized access to related facilities, vehicles, unloading terminals and goods storage places that may affect the safety of the supply chain. Require AEO enterprises to take possible preventive measures when hiring employees within the scope permitted by domestic laws to prove that they have no previous customs or other criminal records related to safety; Regularly investigate the background of employees in safety-sensitive positions; There is an employee identification program, which requires all employees to carry ID cards issued by the company to ensure the unique authentication of employees and units; Have procedures for identifying, recording and handling unauthorized or unidentified visitors and suppliers, such as installing photo readers at all entrances and establishing a registration system; Timely recall and cancel the original ID card of expired employees and the authorization to enter the company and information system. Customs should establish a set of standards and mechanisms for AEO enterprises, so that global supply chain security can be strengthened through voluntary improvement of safety measures by enterprises, which can be supplemented by national standards. AEO enterprises are required to encourage trading partners to evaluate and improve supply chain security when negotiating contracts with them. If necessary, within the business model, it can also be specified in the contract. In addition, AEO enterprises should keep the proof documents of their efforts in strengthening the safety of trading partners and provide relevant documents when required by the customs; Before signing the contract, verify the relevant information of the trading partner. In order to reduce the impact of disasters and terrorist attacks, risk management and post-disaster reconstruction procedures should include pre-planning for special situations and establishing emergency work mechanisms. Require AEO enterprises and customs to work with relevant departments to study and formulate plans to deal with emergency security situations such as terrorist attacks and post-disaster reconstruction when necessary; Regular personnel training and emergency plan testing. AEO enterprises and customs should take corresponding tracking, evaluation and analysis measures to achieve the consistency of evaluation guidelines; Ensure the integrity and adequacy of the safety management system; Find the aspects that need to be improved in the safety management system, so as to improve the safety of the supply chain. Require AEO enterprises to regularly assess the security risks of their business and take appropriate measures to reduce these risks according to the provisions of the domestic AEO system; Establish and implement self-assessment of safety management system; Clearly define the self-assessment procedures and responsible parties; The evaluation results, feedback and possible improvement suggestions are integrated into a plan to provide necessary reference for the adequacy of the enterprise's future security system. AEO enterprises and customs will benefit from the frequent use of automation and information technology, including customs clearance concessions based on improved technology, the use of security data portals by AEO system participants and WCO members who implement the standard framework, the simplification of information requirements for transactions, the use of advance information for security risk assessment (to achieve the long-term goal of conducting risk assessment on information exchanged only in electronic form in advance), and the collection of performance data by customs and AEO enterprises. AEO enterprises and customs are required to continuously improve efficiency, increase the incentive mechanism for customs clearance, and realize the voluntary use of higher-level technology. These benefits should be determined in the national AEO system. This requires the two sides to maintain an open dialogue in applying new technologies and taking measures to effectively deal with and reduce the damage caused by safety accidents; Establish a mechanism through a secure electronic model to identify AEO enterprises in the global trade supply chain and existing customs that are committed to implementing the standard framework. This requires both parties to consider establishing an automation platform. Based on this platform and global mutual recognition, AEO enterprises can be clearly identified and given corresponding status and benefits. While achieving safety through risk management, we will support actions and efforts to simplify trade-related procedures under legal protection, and ultimately reduce the data requirements for goods release through necessary capacity building, speed up the processing and release of low-risk goods, and use advanced technology. This requires both sides to further facilitate trade-related transactions by seeking to implement the AEO system and other trade facilitation projects around the world; Encourage the collection of performance indicators and other relevant data, so as to track the implementation of the framework for a long time, and publish the findings deemed necessary. This requires both parties to collect data about companies that have been approved for AEO qualification, and the impact of their AEO qualification on their freight during a continuous period, at least for internal analysis, and release non-confidential data internally or externally as appropriate. AEO enterprises can take additional measures to design high-security seals and/or other safety devices for containers to prevent illegal intrusion, provided that these additional voluntary actions should bring more practical benefits to the provision of this method; Providing advance electronic declaration information to the customs will enable the customs to conduct unified standard risk assessment as soon as possible, and on the basis of reviewing the above information, it will also enable the customs to further speed up the release of goods.

Once an enterprise successfully obtains the "AEO" certification, it marks that the enterprise has reached the "AEO" certification standard. As a certified law-abiding operator, you can naturally enjoy the customs clearance facilities for import and export goods, and as many as a dozen convenient measures from the National Development and Reform Commission, commerce, finance, industrial credit, social security, land, environmental protection, market supervision, banking, taxation, production safety, foreign exchange and so on. It basically covers all units that need to be contacted in the process of business operation. With the help of so many units, it is probably difficult for a normal enterprise to do well. Let's take a look at other certifications. Most of them are certification matters of a single department. Whether ISO 1400 1 environmental management system or ISO9000 quality management system, each has its own emphasis. Which certification can have such a wide impact? It can be seen that the gold content of "AEO" certification has already surpassed its significance as a certification itself, and it is not just a certification.

Through the AEO certification process, people, finance, goods, production, supply and sales involved in enterprise operation, and even the whole supply chain of upstream and downstream are fully controlled by chain. It is a real upgrade of enterprise comprehensive management system from quantitative change to qualitative change, and realizes the full cooperation of all departments. Fully mobilized the active participation consciousness of enterprise employees. Coupled with the continuous compliance internal audit every year, we will gradually realize the transformation from quality management to normalization awareness. What we want to build is a benchmark for the success of future enterprises, a bright spot to lead the competition of future enterprises and a powerful lever to trigger the development of future enterprises.

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