India has close to 6000 AEO certified entities, Andhra Pradesh 118
CII in collaboration with Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) recently organized a Seminar on Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) in Visakhapatnam wherein Mr Sanjay Rathi, IRS, Chief Commissioner of Customs & Central Tax, Visakhapatnam Zone, highlighted the growing importance of the Authorized Economic Operator programme in strengthening India’s trade ecosystem.
He shared that the number of AEO-certified entities in the Visakhapatnam Zone has increased to 118, up from 46 earlier, reflecting the industry’s awareness and trust in the scheme.
Underscoring India’s broader logistics progress, Mr Rathi pointed out that India has climbed to 38th position in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2023, a significant jump from the 54th rank in 2014.
He also noted that India’s port turnaround time now stands at 0.9 days, better than several developed nations including the USA (1.5 days), Australia (1.7), Belgium (1.3), Canada (2.0), and Germany (1.3).
Mr Rathi expressed confidence that India is firmly on track to become one of the top 10 trading nations globally in the next few years and urged participants to fully engage with the AEO outreach programme as a step toward this goal.
Mr Akil Kumar Khatri, IRS, Principal Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs, Delhi noted that AEO helps reduce delays, speeds up clearances, and offers global recognition through mutual agreements with other countries, making trade safer, faster, and more efficient for compliant importers, exporters, and logistics providers.
He emphasized that the programme is built on trust between Customs and trade, underpinned by strong compliance and verification standards.
Mr Khatri informed that over 5,947 entities in India are AEO-certified and India has signed Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA) with 9 countries, extending AEO benefits globally.
In the Visakhapatnam Zone, 115 entities have been certified, with Tier 1 clearances completed for 56 entities and overall processing completed faster in 174 days than national timelines. Mr Rajesh Grandhi, Immediate Past Chairman, CII Visakhapatnam emphasized the need for continuous policy improvement and shared key industry suggestions, including extending the deferred duty payment window to 30 days, simplifying renewal processes for Tier 2 and Tier 3 AEO members, and easing participation criteria for MSMEs.
He also proposed enhanced benefits for Logistics Service Providers (LSPs), faster signing of MRAs with global trade partners, and the introduction of a dedicated grievance redressal platform.
Mr G Sambasiva Rao, Past Chairman of CII Visakhapatnam, highlighted the growing role of Andhra Pradesh in global trade. Mr N Sridhar, IRS, Principal Commissioner, Custom House, Visakhapatnam; Dr Pradeep Kumar, IRS, Joint Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs, Delhi; Mr G Krishna Mohan, Vice Chairman, CII Visakhapatnam and other senior officials from the Visakhapatnam Customs department shared valuable and insightful perspectives.
