The UAEO Program – a modern AEO program
2016-12-13 13:31:12The UAE AEO Program (UAEO) was launched on October 16, 2016, by Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The program has been developed by KGH Border Services in close collaboration with Dubai Customs and UAE Federal Customs, and it will be implemented throughout the United Arab Emirates.
KGH are global market leaders on Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programs and Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRA). The successful development and implementation of the UAEO program is another evidence of our strong track record.
The UAE AEO program, the first in GCC, is based on global World Customs Organisation standards. The program represents the new generation of holistic AEO programs that is open to all roles in the supply chain and provides importers, exporters, brokers and logistics providers significant benefits in terms of speed, predictability, cost reduction, compliance and marketing competitiveness. All modes of transport (sea, air, land) and Customs procedures are included. As the first AEO program in the world, the UAEO program aims to include transhipment in the AEO flow.
The official launch of the UAEO Program was performed during day one at GITEX 2016. This was a major milestone of the project that started on 1 September 2015. In record time, the project has designed, developed, implemented the program and performed a pilot with 15 companies. The companies received their AEO certificates during a certification event on October 30.

The first 15 certified companies received their AEO certificate in the presence of His Excellency Commissioner Ali Al Kaabi, Head of the Federal Customs Authority, The CEO and Chairman of DP World and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director of Dubai Customs.
The extensive benefit package will enable traders to save time, costs and achieve a more predictable supply chain. The non-exhaustive list of benefits includes:
- Grace period for declaration amendments
- Elimination of post-filing submission of paper documents
- No inspection required after declaration modifications
- Extended period for re-exports
- Faster clearance
- Inspection prioritization
- Reduced post-clearance audits
- Self-disclosure of errors without penalties
- Use of non-intrusive Inspections technology
- Priority consignment pick-up
- Dedicated key account manager
- Key Account Manager Coordination with Other Authorities
- AEO Self guarantee
- Penalty mitigation
- Award of AEO certificate
- Publication on Customs AEO website
- Free use of Dubai AEO in marketing
Additional 30 benefits, 47 in total, have been identified and these will be introduced continuously.
Becoming an AEO is voluntary and the company needs to fulfil a number of eligibility criteria that determine their level of compliance, security, financial viability and record keeping.
The process starts with an application submitted to Customs. After the application has been approved, a tailored Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is provided to the company. The SAQ is an extensive set of questions and sections where the company provides information about how they manage and fulfil the eligibility criteria. When the SAQ have been submitted,
Customs analyses the content and performs several site visits to confirm and validate that the company meets the level of required standard. If successful, the company can be certified as an AEO and will receive the benefits.
After certification, the monitoring and management of the AEOs by Customs ensures that the AEO companies remain at the required level of standards.
The key success of project has been an excellent collaboration between Dubai Customs, Federal Customs and KGH. The strong leadership of Dubai Customs and Federal Customs have supported and facilitated the project from the start.

Director of Customs Declaration Management and Project Owner of AEO, Ms. Eman Badr-Al Suwaidy, together with KGH CEO Lars Börjesson, President KGH Border Services, Lars Karlsson and the rest of the Dubai Customs and KGH project team at the certification event.
To learn more about the UAE AEO program, please visit:
www.aeo.ae
KGH Border Services, as part of KGH group, is an independent Swedish consultancy company, specialized in Trade, Customs and Border Management, assisting governments and companies all over the world with Customs and cross-border trade efficiency, security and compliance.
With more than 50 years of experience and headquartered in Gothenburg Sweden with offices in Europe and UAE, KGH is one of the leading companies in facilitating cross-border trade. KGH employs more than 700 customs experts and serves more than 14,000 companies.
Please contact us if you are a Government Administration or a company, interested in improving your Customs efficiency and compliance.
The extensive benefit package will enable traders to save time, costs and achieve a more predictable supply chain. The non-exhaustive list of benefits includes:
- Grace period for declaration amendments
- Elimination of post-filing submission of paper documents
- No inspection required after declaration modifications
- Extended period for re-exports
- Faster clearance
- Inspection prioritization
- Reduced post-clearance audits
- Self-disclosure of errors without penalties
- Use of non-intrusive Inspections technology
- Priority consignment pick-up
- Dedicated key account manager
- Key Account Manager Coordination with Other Authorities
- AEO Self guarantee
- Penalty mitigation
- Award of AEO certificate
- Publication on Customs AEO website
- Free use of Dubai AEO in marketing
Additional 30 benefits, 47 in total, have been identified and these will be introduced continuously.
Becoming an AEO is voluntary and the company needs to fulfil a number of eligibility criteria that determine their level of compliance, security, financial viability and record keeping.
The process starts with an application submitted to Customs. After the application has been approved, a tailored Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is provided to the company. The SAQ is an extensive set of questions and sections where the company provides information about how they manage and fulfil the eligibility criteria. When the SAQ have been submitted, Customs analyses the content and performs several site visits to confirm and validate that the company meets the level of required standard. If successful, the company can be certified as an AEO and will receive the benefits.
After certification, the monitoring and management of the AEOs ensures that the AEO companies stays at the required level of standards.
The key success of project has been an excellent collaboration between Dubai Customs, Federal Customs and KGH. The strong leadership of Dubai Customs and Federal Customs have supported the project from the start.
The extensive benefit package will enable traders to save time, costs and achieve a more predictable supply chain. The non-exhaustive list of benefits includes:
- Grace period for declaration amendments
- Elimination of post-filing submission of paper documents
- No inspection required after declaration modifications
- Extended period for re-exports
- Faster clearance
- Inspection prioritization
- Reduced post-clearance audits
- Self-disclosure of errors without penalties
- Use of non-intrusive Inspections technology
- Priority consignment pick-up
- Dedicated key account manager
- Key Account Manager Coordination with Other Authorities
- AEO Self guarantee
- Penalty mitigation
- Award of AEO certificate
- Publication on Customs AEO website
- Free use of Dubai AEO in marketing
Additional 30 benefits, 47 in total, have been identified and these will be introduced continuously.
Becoming an AEO is voluntary and the company needs to fulfil a number of eligibility criteria that determine their level of compliance, security, financial viability and record keeping.
The process starts with an application submitted to Customs. After the application has been approved, a tailored Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is provided to the company. The SAQ is an extensive set of questions and sections where the company provides information about how they manage and fulfil the eligibility criteria. When the SAQ have been submitted, Customs analyses the content and performs several site visits to confirm and validate that the company meets the level of required standard. If successful, the company can be certified as an AEO and will receive the benefits.
After certification, the monitoring and management of the AEOs ensures that the AEO companies stays at the required level of standards.
The key success of project has been an excellent collaboration between Dubai Customs, Federal Customs and KGH. The strong leadership of Dubai Customs and Federal Customs have supported the project from the start.
The extensive benefit package will enable traders to save time, costs and achieve a more predictable supply chain. The non-exhaustive list of benefits includes:
- Grace period for declaration amendments
- Elimination of post-filing submission of paper documents
- No inspection required after declaration modifications
- Extended period for re-exports
- Faster clearance
- Inspection prioritization
- Reduced post-clearance audits
- Self-disclosure of errors without penalties
- Use of non-intrusive Inspections technology
- Priority consignment pick-up
- Dedicated key account manager
- Key Account Manager Coordination with Other Authorities
- AEO Self guarantee
- Penalty mitigation
- Award of AEO certificate
- Publication on Customs AEO website
- Free use of Dubai AEO in marketing
Additional 30 benefits, 47 in total, have been identified and these will be introduced continuously.
Becoming an AEO is voluntary and the company needs to fulfil a number of eligibility criteria that determine their level of compliance, security, financial viability and record keeping.
The process starts with an application submitted to Customs. After the application has been approved, a tailored Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) is provided to the company. The SAQ is an extensive set of questions and sections where the company provides information about how they manage and fulfil the eligibility criteria. When the SAQ have been submitted, Customs analyses the content and performs several site visits to confirm and validate that the company meets the level of required standard. If successful, the company can be certified as an AEO and will receive the benefits.
After certification, the monitoring and management of the AEOs ensures that the AEO companies stays at the required level of standards.
The key success of project has been an excellent collaboration between Dubai Customs, Federal Customs and KGH. The strong leadership of Dubai Customs and Federal Customs have supported the project from the start.