EU to Require AEO Applications Electronically via Trader Portal Beginning Oct. 1

The European Union will require all authorized economic operator applications be submitted electronically through its EU trader portal beginning Oct. 1, EU customs said in a press release. AEO applications submitted together with self-assessment questionnaires on or before Sept. 30 may still be submitted on paper, and applications initiated on paper before Oct. 1 will continue to be processed via paper. But for electronic applications submitted on or after Oct. 1, processing will occur electronically, EU customs said. The Oct. 1 rollout marks phase 1 of the transition for AEO, consisting of the “application and the decision-taking process,” the release said. Phase 2, to be released Dec. 15, will include all “other subsequent processes,” it said.