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2016 OAS Guidelines

Section II: Compliance history

[Article 39, letter a), of the CAU, article 24 of the AE CAU(22);AEO Guidelines, Part 2, Section I; Annex 2 to the AEO Guidelines, point 1]

Note: Pursuant to Article 14 of the AE CAU, the compliance history with customs and tax legislation of your company and the persons referred to in questions 1.1.2, 1.1.3, and 1.1.8 will be based on the three years prior to the application. During this period, you must not have committed any serious or repeated violations of customs and tax laws. However, the compliance record will be considered acceptable if the violations are minor in relation to the number or magnitude of the related transactions or activities and do not raise concerns about overall compliance levels.

To do so, the customs authority must consider:

  • irregularities and errors as a whole and cumulatively,
  • their frequency, in order to determine whether there is a systematic problem,
  • if there has been fraudulent intent or negligence,
  • If you have voluntarily notified the Customs Administration of any errors or irregularities that you have detected,
  • if you have taken any steps to avoid or minimize future errors.

Article 24 of the AE CAU also requires that the person identified in questions 1.1.2, 1.1.3 and 1.1.8 has not received any conviction for a serious crime related to his or her economic activity.

2.1 a)

Examples of detected customs violations:

  • March to September 2015: Incorrect use of the currency code on imports from China resulted in an over-declaration of customs duties and VAT amounting to €5,500.
  • December 2015: The quarterly declaration of the active improvement suspension regime was not sent.

Examples of detected tax violations:

  • January 2016: illegal manufacturing or refining of mineral oil and theft.

If multiple violations were committed, please provide the total number and a brief summary of the main reasons for the error.

2.1 b)

Examples of quality control measures taken following the two cases mentioned above under 2.1 a):

  • 6.10.2015: Changes to the computer system to prevent entries from being completed until a check on the declared currency has been carried out.
  • Submission of the pending declaration. The procedures for declaring the inward processing suspension regime were revised to include quarterly management controls and communicated to the relevant staff.

Typically, your quality control measures should include:

  • the appointment of a contact person within your company who is responsible for reporting any irregularities or errors detected, including any suspected criminal activity, to Customs or other government departments;
  • the requirements, including frequency, for the execution and documentation of checks to be carried out on the accuracy, completeness and timeliness of information records and their maintenance, for example, declarations made to Customs and other regulatory authorities, compliance with the requirements of approvals or authorizations granted;
  • the use of internal audit resources to test or ensure its procedures;
  • the manner in which staff are notified of any requirements or changes made;
  • the frequency of future reviews,
  • management controls to ensure that procedures are followed.

2.2

For example:

May 2015: Denial of a customs warehousing application due to lack of economic need.

June 2016: Withdrawal of authorization for the direct debit procedure due to repeated failure to submit summary declarations.

The denial/suspension/withdrawal of any customs decision application/authorization will not automatically result in the denial of your AEO application.

(22) COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code.(Back)