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The Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme of the General Authority of Customs (GAC) has registered around 47 companies, as the programme serves as a cornerstone in the relationship between the GAC and the public and private sectors.
The programme launched in 2019 has 39 companies in the import and export category registered to it and eight companies in the customs clearance category, with many more set to join soon, Head of the Facilitation and Commitment Department, Operations Management and Risk Analysis Administration at the GAC, Jassim Yaqoub Al Romaihi has disclosed.
In an interview in the Customs monthly bulletin, Al Romaihi said the Authorised Economic Operator Programme is a national initiative in line with the Authority’s vision of “global customs commitment, facilitation and leadership” aimed at facilitating trade and securing the supply chain by providing benefits to parties involved in the supply chain of international trade.“The department always develops partnerships and communication with the private sector, especially in the Authorised Economic Operator programme, which is the cornerstone of this relationship. It is also important to partnership and communication with the public sector.
“The public and private sectors are fundamental pillars within the framework of security and facilitation of the global supply chain, enabling international trade exchanges to achieve a balance,” Al Romaihi said.
AEO aims to enhance international supply chain security and to facilitate legitimate trade and is open to all supply chain actors based on the Customs-to-Business partnership using the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade (SAFE).
The AEO programme in Qatar is commensurate with the Authority’s vision of facilitating trade and securing the supply chain by providing benefits to the parties involved.
Al Romaihi listed some requirements for companies to join the programme, including the availability of a proper customs position for the previous three years, a stable financial system following the accounting rules and principles generally accepted in the country for the last three years, availability of a system acceptable for the General Authority of Customs for keeping commercial records, and availability of safety and security requirements as per international standards of the World Customs Organisation to secure and facilitate the supply chain in international trade.
Speaking about the functions of the Facilitation and Commitment Department, Al Romaihi said the department’s task is to achieve a balance in the GAC’s operation by applying WCO standards of the World Customs Organisation in this area when companies are accredited with facilitation programmes, their commitment and continuous monitoring are ensured.
Meanwhile, the GAC also disclosed that it recorded 270,751 declarations in April, with Air Cargo and Private Airports administration bagging 236,575 completed data. The Maritime Customs completed 11,923 data while the Land Customs reached 5,462. The GAC released 99% of its data within an hour – 23,145 statements were transferred to other government agencies.
The USA and India remained the top import and export countries respectively. In April, the GAC recorded 157 seizures as the Ministry of Environment’s wildlife protection department emerged as the best agency in terms of release time, completing its processing within 1.2 hours.
