THE procedure for Au­thorized Economic Op­erators was announced by the Ministry of Planning and Finance through Notification 21/2018 on 30 March 2018.

As stated in the Procedure for Authorized Economic Oper­ators, an Authorized Economic Operator is a company or organ­ization officially recognized by the Customs Department that meets the criteria outlined in this Procedure and operates within the international trade chain. The international trade chain refers to the system that includes the organizations, processes, technologies, and resources involved in transfer­ring goods or services from the seller to the consumer.

The criteria for recognition as an Authorized Economic Op­erator require that a person wishing to operate as an Au­thorized Economic Operator must comply with the company registration requirements and the business licence regula­tions specified by the Minis­try of Planning and Finance, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. The period between the date of reg­istration under the Myanmar Companies Act and the date of application for registration as an Authorized Economic Operator must be at least 3 years. The applicant must also continuously comply with the Sea Customs Act, rules, reg­ulations, orders, instructions, and procedures. The company must publish official financial statements and reports annual­ly from the date of its establish­ment. The accounting records and business-related financial information must be maintained for seven years. There must be a good record-keeping system and an effective internal con­trol system which is acceptable to the Customs Department in maintaining financial matters, business records, systems, pro­cesses, and any issues related to the Customs service agent.

All taxes and duties im­posed by the Customs Depart­ment, as well as any other tax­es payable to the State, must be paid on time. The applicant must be financially sound. Be­fore applying as an Authorized Economic Operator and before the issuance of the recognition certificate, the applicant must have no record of Customs-re­lated offences or penalties with­in the past three years, must not be blacklisted, must accurate­ly declare import and export transactions, and must have no record of economic misconduct or fraud. If prior notice is given for inspection when required, it must be possible to undergo inspection at any location.

The benefits available to an Authorized Economic Opera­tor include the right to process Customs declarations with pri­ority status, the right to pre-file import and export declarations before the arrival of goods, the right to obtain customs clear­ance without inspecting the documents or goods (except in cases involving potential risks for preventing illegal imports or exports), the right to receive priority inspection when re­quired, the right to obtain cus­toms services related to goods at the importer or exporter’s premises or other locations permitted by the Customs De­partment, the right to operate under the Deferred Duty Pay­ment System within one month, as outlined in Section 41 of the Sea Customs Act, the right to receive the Customs Depart­ment’s recognition certificate and display the recognized logo as per requirements, and the right to enquire about Customs procedures with the Customs Department and the Authorized Economic Operators Division.

Therefore, I urge all eco­nomic operators throughout Myanmar to cease engaging in illegal trade and apply for a certificate of recognition as an Authorized Economic Operator, which offers the benefits of legal trade. This will allow them to follow the right path of legal trade and operate as “Author­ized Economic Operators”.