Authorised Economic Operator programmes in East Africa

What the AEO programme is

The EAC regional AEO programme is a customs scheme in which customs focuses on traders rather than on each consignment ¹. It follows the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards, which the WCO Council adopted in 2005 ^1,3.

Sources differ on when the programme began. The EAC says customs commissioners of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda conceived it in 2006 ¹. A Tanzania Revenue Authority document of February 2019 gives 2008 ³. A WCO News article of 21 June 2017 says development began in 2008, with a pilot of 13 AEOs from 2008 to 2013 and a second phase from 2014 ⁷.

The EAC procedure manual says the programme draws its mandate from the trade provisions of the EAC Customs Management Act, 2004 and the EAC Compliance and Enforcement Regulations, 2012 ². The EAC says the same criteria, process and benefits apply in all five Partner States, with plans to extend it to South Sudan ¹.

National and regional AEOs

Kenya has a national AEO tier, with benefits only in Kenya, and an East African regional tier recognised across the EAC ⁵. Tanzania uses the same two tiers ³. Uganda's revenue authority says regional applicants are expected to have been national AEOs first ⁴.

Who qualifies

The EAC manual says an applicant must be a legal entity incorporated in the EAC and established in at least one Partner State ². It sets these criteria ².

• Compliance record: no contraventions of customs, domestic tax or other government rules in the three years before applying. Firms in business for one to three years are assessed over that period ².
• Financial solvency over the past three years, no bankruptcy proceedings and duties and taxes paid ².
• Records kept as the law requires, plus company details, security and safety standards, nature of goods and volume of business ².
• No minimum volume of business, though volume feeds the risk assessment ².

How approval works

The EAC describes four stages ¹. The applicant applies to its national customs administration ¹. That administration checks the applicant's record with the other Partner States and approves the application ¹. The applicant signs a memorandum of understanding executed on behalf of the EAC ¹. The EAC Secretariat then issues a certificate ¹.

In Uganda the steps run from a written expression of interest to the Commissioner of Customs, through a self assessment form, vetting and an onsite inspection, to authorisation ⁴. URA asks for at least three years of good compliance history ⁴.

Customs can issue a warning of up to six months or a suspension of up to 30 days for non compliance, and can revoke the status if problems are not fixed ². A revoked company may reapply three years after revocation ².

Benefits for clearing agents and others

Kenya Revenue Authority's renewal notice for 2027 says customs agent licences expire on 31 December 2026, except three year AEO licences ⁶. URA's 2026 licensing notice says AEO companies only need to file an automatic renewal application after paying the fees ⁸. WCO News reported 46 regional AEOs in June 2017 and said pilot firms reported savings of US$100 to US$400 per consignment ⁷.