China and Costa Rica Customs Implement Mutual Recognition of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)

The Arrangement between the General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China and the Customs Administration of the Republic of Costa Rica on the Mutual Recognition of the Enterprise Credit Management System of the Chinese Customs and the Authorized Economic Operator System of the Costa Rican Customs (hereinafter referred to as the Mutual Recognition Arrangement) signed by the customs of China and Costa Rica in January 2023 was officially implemented as of July 1, 2023.

According to the provisions of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement, the customs of China and Costa Rica will mutually recognize each others Authorized Economic Operator (AEO for short), and provide customs clearance facilitation for goods imported from each others AEO enterprises. Among them, the Costa Rican customs regards the high - level certified enterprises of the Chinese customs as mutually recognized AEO enterprises, and the Chinese customs regards the enterprises certified by the Costa Rican customs AEO system as mutually recognized AEO enterprises.

When importing goods for customs clearance, the customs of China and Costa Rica will mutually grant the following customs clearance facilitation measures to each others AEO enterprises: apply a lower inspection rate; give priority to inspecting goods that need physical inspection; appoint customs liaison officers to be responsible for communicating and handling problems encountered by AEO enterprises in customs clearance; and give priority to customs clearance after the interruption and resumption of international trade.

When Chinese AEO enterprises export goods to Costa Rica, they need to inform the Costa Rican importer of the AEO code (AEOCN + 10 - digit enterprise code registered and filed with the Chinese customs, for example, AEOCN1234567890). The importer shall declare in accordance with the regulations of the Costa Rican customs. The Costa Rican customs will confirm the identity of the Chinese customs AEO enterprise and grant relevant facilitation measures.

When Chinese enterprises import goods from Costa Rican AEO enterprises, they need to fill in the Costa Rican AEO enterprise code in the Overseas Shipper Code column in the Overseas Shipper section of the bill and in the Shipper AEO Enterprise Code column of the water and freight manifest respectively. The filling method is: Country code (CR)+AEO enterprise code (12 - digit number), for example, CR123456789012. The Chinese customs will confirm the identity of the Costa Rican AEO enterprise and grant relevant facilitation measures.Import Customs DeclarationThis new mutual recognition arrangement will further optimize the trade process between China and Costa Rica, provide more efficient and convenient customs clearance services for enterprises, and help promote economic exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.Air TransportationPIL newly opens an intra - Asian route, connecting 9 major ports in countries such as China, South Korea, and Singapore

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