Earlier this week, India’s Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) awarded the first set of authorized economic operator (AEO) certificates to three different entities.

The AEO certificates were handed out to LG Electronics, Ennore Container Terminal and IBM by the CBEC Chairman, Mr S.K. Goel, at a function held at New Customs House in New Delhi.

Under the AEO program, approved economic operators are given preferential treatment in terms of faster clearance and less physical inspections along with other benefits subject to their conformance of prescribed security standards and compliance with tax laws.

India’s AEO program is consistent with World Customs Organisation (WCO) SAFE framework of standards. Development was started on pilot basis in August 2011 and is applicable to all economic operators such as importers, exporters, logistic service providers, customs house agents, warehouse owner etc. Indian Customs has expressed its intent to seek to enter into Mutual Recognition Agreements with other Customs administrations for its AEO program in the near future.

On the occasion, Mr Goel also launched CBEC’s interactive customs tariff website.

The purpose of the application is to enhance public access to information on duty payment and other regulatory requirements for clearance of goods, when imported into India. The application is designed to show various customs and other applicable duties. It helps the importers in calculation of actual effective duty applicable by taking into account the various exemption notifications. It also provides alerts related to anti-dumping duties and MRP based abatements and displays Compulsory Compliance Requirements (CCRs).