AEO Annual Activity Report Consultancy

According to Article 158 of the Customs Procedures Facilitation Regulation, the holder of an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certificate must review whether the customs procedures conducted under the certificate have been carried out in compliance with regulations at the end of each twelve-month period following the date of certification. This review must be completed by the end of the third month following the end of the relevant period. The records of this review are documented in the Annual Activity Report.

The certificate holder may also have this review conducted through an external service provider. However, the individuals conducting the review must have expertise in both customs regulations and foreign trade accounting audits. Companies holding an AEO certificate are required to prepare or have an Annual Activity Report prepared each year.

The scope of the Annual Activity Report is defined as the verification of the company's customs procedures for compliance with the relevant legislation. The methodology and aspects of this verification are clearly outlined in the applicable regulation. In general, the core objective of this audit is to compare customs declarations with their supporting documents and assess their compliance with customs regulations (origin, tariff classification, valuation, etc.). The preparation of an AEO Annual Activity Report requires extensive technical expertise. One of the key aspects that must be considered in this process is that the audit or review should provide a comprehensive reflection of the company’s foreign trade transactions over the past year. For instance, the audit should not be limited to imports from EU countries or only certain types of import transactions; rather, it should represent the company's overall foreign trade activities.

The inspection of import and export declarations of an AEO certificate holder is conducted according to a standardized format specified in the relevant regulation. This report format includes details on which transactions and declarations were reviewed, any identified deficiencies or errors, and recommendations for corrective actions. If requested, companies are required to present their Annual Activity Reports to the customs authorities.

ConsultSight Consulting is a leading company in preparing Annual Activity Reports. With extensive experience in compiling hundreds of reports, our firm guarantees the highest quality service through its expert team.

Yücel KARADİŞ

General Manager / Former Chief Trade Inspector / Department Head