General information
Source: gov.uk (2025-07-17)

General information on the handbook.

2.1 Who can become an Authorised Economic Operator

To apply for Authorised Economic Operator status a business must:
- be a legal entity
- be established in Great Britain or Northern Ireland
- be actively involved in customs operations and international trade
- have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number
To apply for Authorised Economic Operator status in Northern Ireland applicants need all the above and also need to be:
- established in Northern Ireland
- have an EORI number beginning with XI
- a person who in the course of their business is involved in activities covered by customs legislation in Northern Ireland
2.2 Definition of an economic operator

In the context of customs legislation, an economic operator is a “person” involved in activities covered by customs legislation.

In law a person is defined as:
- a natural person
- a legal person
- any association of persons who are not a legal person but are recognised under UK law as having the capacity to perform legal acts
A group of companies must submit separate applications for each legal entity.

There is no provision to grant AEO status to a specific site, division or branch of a legal entity. The application must cover all the activities and locations of the legal entity involved in the international supply chain. The AEO criteria will be applied across all those activities and locations.

A business can apply regardless of the size and nature of the business. They will need to demonstrate the processes and procedures that are in place to show they meet the AEO criteria.

Businesses are still eligible to apply if they use the services of an agent for their customs matters.

2.3 Customs activities

Applications for AEO authorisation can only be accepted from an economic operator who in the course of their business is involved in activities covered by customs legislation.

They need to be part of the international supply chain, which starts from the manufacturing process through to delivery of goods using import and export procedures.

An economic operator would not be considered to be involved in customs activities if the goods they manufacture or move are in free circulation, unless the goods are destined for export.

2.4 Stakeholders in the International Supply Chain

Some examples of the types of businesses and their responsibilities in the international supply chain are:

Manufacturer

In the international supply chain, a manufacturer is an economic operator who in the course of their business produces goods destined for export.

A manufacturer’s responsibility in the international supply chain can be to ensure:
- a safe and secure manufacturing process for its products
- a safe and secure supply of its products to its clients
- the correct application of customs rules with regard to the origin, classification and valuation of the goods
Exporter

An exporter is a person who is established in the customs territory of the UK

who, when a customs declaration is accepted, holds the contract with the consignee in the third country

the person who has the power to determine and has determined that the goods are to be taken out of that customs territory

An exporter’s responsibilities in the international supply chain can include:
- responsibility for the accuracy of the export declaration and for its timely lodgement, if the export declaration is lodged by the exporter
- responsibility for lodging an export declaration with the correct data requirements
- applying the legal export formalities in accordance with the customs rules, including commercial policy, prohibition and restriction measures and where appropriate, export duties ensuring a secure and safe supply of the goods to the carrier or freight forwarder or customs agent
Freight Forwarder

For international trade purposes a freight forwarder organises the transportation of goods on behalf of an exporter, an importer or another person.

A freight forwarder’s typical activity can include obtaining, checking and preparing documentation to meet customs requirements.

A freight forwarder’s responsibility in the international supply chain can be to:
- apply the rules on transport formalities
- ensure, if relevant, a secure and safe transport of goods
- apply, where appropriate, the rules on summary and full declarations in accordance with the legislation
Warehouse keepers and other storage facility operators

A warehouse-keeper is a person authorised to operate a customs warehouse or a person operating a temporary storage facility.

A warehouse-keeper’s responsibility in the international supply chain can be to:
- ensure that while the goods are in a customs warehouse or in a temporary storage facility, adequate procedures are in place ensuring that they are not removed from customs supervision and to fulfil other obligations that arise from the storage of goods covered by the customs warehousing procedure or by the rules on temporary storage
- comply with the conditions specified in the authorisation for the customs warehouse or for the temporary storage facility
- provide an adequate protection of the storage area against external intrusion
- provide an adequate protection against unauthorised access to, substitution of and tampering with the goods
Customs agent/representative

A customs representative acts:
- on behalf of a person who is involved in customs related business activities, for example, an importer or an exporter
- may act either in the name of this person (direct representation) or in their own name (indirect representation)
Some examples of a customs agent’s responsibility in the international supply chain;
- ensuring the customs declaration is correct
- paying import duties so that goods can move across borders smoothly and without disruption
Businesses that make declarations on behalf of others need to provide evidence they have:
- understood their contractual responsibilities and obtained written instructions from business partners
- understood their legal responsibilities if acting in the capacity as an indirect or direct representative
- processes for choosing business partners
- documented procedures to validate the valuation, classification and origin of goods
- procedures to manage or review relationships with clients who are non-compliant
Carrier

In general, a carrier is the person actually transporting the goods or who has undertaken a contract, and issued, for example, a bill of lading or air waybill, for the actual carriage of the goods.

The carrier’s responsibility in the international supply chain can be to;
- ensure a secure and safe transport of goods while in the carrier’s custody, in particular avoiding unauthorised access to and tampering with the means of transport and the goods being transported
- provide timely transport documentation as required by law
- apply the necessary legal formalities in accordance with customs law
- apply, where appropriate, the rules on summary declarations in accordance with the legislation
Importer

An importer is a person or company who engages in bringing in goods into the UK from a third country for the purposes of trade.

An importer’s responsibility in the international supply chain can be:
- responsible in their dealings with the customs authorities, for assigning the goods a customs approved treatment or use
- where the importer is the person lodging the entry summary declaration, they are responsible for the correct application of the rules on summary declarations
- apply the necessary legal formalities in accordance with customs rules relevant to the import of goods
- apply commercial policy and prohibition and restriction measures
- ensure a secure and safe receipt of goods, in particular avoiding unauthorised access to and tampering with the goods.
Others

For example, terminal operators - services provided at a port, rail, road terminal or station including cargo handling to vessels trains and vehicles, stevedores and cargo packers, secure freight parking operatives.

2.5 Establishment in the United Kingdom (UK)

For AEO purposes, we consider establishment in the UK to be:
- in the case of a natural person, any person who has their habitual residence in the customs territory of the United Kingdom
- in the case of a legal person or an association of persons, any person having its registered office, central headquarters, or a permanent business establishment (PBE) in the customs territory of the United Kingdom
A PBE is considered to be a fixed place of business where both the necessary human and technical resources are permanently present and through which a person’s customs related operations are carried out.

A parent company outside the UK can apply for AEO in the UK with a branch authorised as a permanent business establishment. A branch may apply if it proves to be a legal person in its own right, for example if it is authorised to enter into contracts independently from its parent company in a third country. If contracts are with the parent company in the third country rather than the office or branch in the UK, the parent company should make the application for AEO on the basis that it has a permanent business establishment in the UK.

Businesses applying for AEO to cover Northern Ireland must show that they have premises in Northern Ireland whose activities are covered by customs legislation.

2.6 Businesses not eligible to apply for Authorised Economic Operator

Businesses that are not involved in customs related activities will not be entitled to apply for AEO. This means any business in the following categories will not normally be eligible to apply for AEO status:
- banks
- insurance companies
- consultants
- software houses
- any other similar trade categories who are not generally involved in the international supply chain unless they are, or are acting in the name of, an importer or exporter
Similarly, any businesses that are only involved in internal trade within the UK will not normally be entitled to apply. This would include a manufacturer who only supplies goods to UK customers and the carrier who only transports those goods.

Bureaus and buying and selling agents will not normally qualify for AEO status unless they also act as customs agents for their clients.