EAC AEO pilot project

Workshop in Kampala

During some intense days from 28th to 31st of January, the WCO Secretariat and the partner countries of the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) conducted a workshop in Kampala, Uganda. The workshop consisted of analyzing the physical flow of goods across the borders related to the regional Authorized Economic Operator Program to prepare for the implementation of the pilot operation, which is in the focus of a SIDA-funded multi-year regional WCO Columbus project. As a supplement to visits to the selected pilot border posts already undertaken, coordinated border management and interaction with other cross border regulatory agencies were high on the agenda.

Using the risk management based approach of an AEO-scheme provides opportunities not only to facilitate Customs procedures but also procedures enforced by other regulatory authorities being a part of the international supply chain. A regional perspective of this could lead to significantly simplified processes.

With the support of the donor, Sida, the building blocks for the regional pilot have been developed and the launch of the regional AEO pilot is approaching. The benefits have been chosen and detailed, the capacity to undertake verification, monitoring and audit is being built, the present processes have been mapped, the pilot operators have been selected as have the pilot border posts. The next step is to move the existing program into a pilot implementation mode for which the foundation has now been laid.