Harbin-headquartered AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co was recently granted the AEO designation by Harbin customs, meaning that the company will enjoy preferential policies on import and export procedures in 49 categories.

AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co submitted the AEO application in July 2018 and passed on-site inspections on Nov 25, becoming the first company having a general credit rating (the Chinese customs identifies the enterprise as a senior certified enterprise, a general certified enterprise, a general credit enterprise and a no credit-worthiness enterprise, in accordance with their credit situations) in Heilongjiang to obtain the AEC certificate.

AEO stands for "authorized economic operator". According to the World Customs Organization (WCO), an AEO is an organization or company involved in the international movement of goods that has been certified by, or on behalf of, a national customs administration and complies with WCO or equivalent supply chain security standards.

The holder of this certificate is entitled to benefits akin to obtaining a green permit for international trade; the transshipment of goods will be subject to fewer inspections and enjoy priority in clearance. The expedited customs procedures can significantly reduce the processing time and trade costs, which will boost business competitiveness.

According to the rule, AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co will enjoy extremely convenient preferential customs clearance policies for export to more than 30 countries and regions that have signed regional mutual recognition agreements with China.

Also, it will enjoy much faster domestic customs clearance services. Statistics from Harbin customs reveals that the average customs clearance time of AEO enterprises was only 6.55 hours in the first nine months of 2018; while the average customs clearance time for imported goods belonging to uncertified general credit enterprises is 100 hours.

Additionally, AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co will enjoy another 49 preferential policies launched by 40 government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, State Administration of Taxation.