Authorised Economic Operator Criteria - Customs Competence - AEOC Only
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-17)

Information on Authorised Economic Operator Criteria - Customs Competence - AEOC Only.

10.1 General

This section sets out the conditions that applicants must meet and the tests that HMRC will carry out to ensure that they comply with the practical standards of competence directly related to their customs activity. This section concerns those applying for an Authorised Economic Operator Customs Simplification (AEOC) status.

HMRC will consider the criterion to have been fulfilled if the applicant or the person in charge of the applicant’s customs matters has proven practical experience of a minimum of 3 years in customs matters.

If the business uses a contracted person to complete their customs work, this criterion will be considered met if the contracted person holds AEOC status. Businesses are required to provide clear written instructions to the contracted party regarding the goods, including, for example, a description of the goods, the value, commodity code, procedure code, appropriate licenses or certifications and so on.

Businesses who use a contracted person to meet the competence criterion must keep accurate records and carry out checks on the accuracy of declarations. Businesses remain responsible for the accuracy of customs declarations made on their behalf.

Small business must have at least one person with responsibility for customs matters. This can be part of their role, and they do not need to be dedicated solely to customs.

10.2 Practical standards of competence

When considering evidence of a proven practical experience of a minimum of 3 years in customs matters, HMRC will only be looking at the duration of the professional experience. Compliance infringements do not affect the 3 years professional experience. HMRC will consider these when examining the fulfilment of the compliance criteria.

It is the responsibility of the person in charge of customs matters to ensure:
- the company stays informed of changes in customs legislation
- regularly updates internal policies and procedures
- provides training and upskilling
- undertakes Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status compliance reviews
- ensuring the correct due diligence and governance checks are regularly performed on areas such as valuation, classification, origin and or licences
These checks must be on the ground and performed on an ad-hoc basis.
- checks on logistics, transport records and stock in warehouse to ensure the full international supply chain is secure must also be regularly maintained along with checks on internal IT systems and customs brokers
- errors must be disclosed to HMRC immediately and it will need to demonstrate that corrective action was taken to eliminate future errors
Although not exhaustive, the following are examples of the sort of information HMRC will consider as evidence for the fulfilment of practical standards of competence by the applicant:
- regular customs activities or formalities carried out for a period of at least 3 years – the applicant’s EORI number on customs declarations or the payment or securing of customs duty may provide evidence of this
- holding a customs authorisation and regularly entering goods under that authorisation for at least 3 years
- as a customs broker, evidence the business has been carrying out this service for at least 3 years could be established through customs declarations and evidence of payment and guarantees
- as a carrier or transporter of goods, the 3-year evidence could be in the form of contracts, bills of lading, air waybills etc
This evidence can be provided by the applicant or the person in charge of the applicant’s customs matters such as the manager of the applicant’s import and/or export office. In this case, the person must be employed within the business and not acting as a customs agent or representative. Where more than one employee is in charge of the customs activities, the condition has to be met by all the employees in charge.

10.3 Businesses established less than 3 years

If the business has been established for less than 3 years as a result of a company reorganisation, HMRC will consider the customs activities carried out by the previous company provided the activities are consistent.

If an employee in charge of customs matters has been employed by the business for less than 3 years, HMRC will accept evidence of similar previous employment with another business.

10.4 Using intermediaries

If a business uses a representative such as an agent or freight forwarder for their customs formalities, they will need to ensure that the knowledge and competencies required to provide the service are consistent throughout the contracted period. Although it is possible to outsource the customs activity, the responsibility remains with the applicant. The business must be able to give accurate information and instructions to their agent so the agent can complete declarations on their behalf.

More information can be found at Get someone to deal with customs for you - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (http://Get%20someone%20to%20deal%20with%20customs%20for%20you%20-%20GOV.UK%20(www.gov.uk))

To evidence the minimum 3 years experience HMRC will need to see contracts or agreements between the business and the agent/freight forwarder that states the customs operations and responsibilities they have performed on behalf of the business during the past 3 years.

If the business has not used the services of the agent or freight forwarder for a minimum of 3 years, HMRC will need to see evidence that the agent or freight forwarder have an authorisation for customs simplification and or have carried out customs formalities over the last 3 years.

HMRC will consider the criterion of ‘practical standards of competence’ to be met if the agent or freight forwarder holds AEOC status.

If the business use more than one agent and or freight forwarder for their customs activities, the criterion will have to be fulfilled by all of them.

It is sufficient to demonstrate that either the applicant, their employee in charge of customs matters or a contracted agent or freight forwarder fulfil the criterion.

10.5 Professional qualifications

If the business or the person in charge of customs matters holds an available quality standard adopted by a European Standardisation body, give details of this quality standard.

If you or the person in charge of your customs matters have received training, give details if it was provided by a:
- customs authority of an EU member state (if your authorisation covers Northern Ireland)
- recognised educational establishment
- recognised professional or trade association