The status of authorized economic operator (AEO) at the heart of a four-day training which ends this Thursday, June 6, 2019 in Douala.

As part of the technical assistance mission of the World Customs Organization, a popularization and training workshop on the so-called Authorized Economic Operator status opened on June 3 in Douala. It is a question, during this work which ends today June 6, of implementing in Cameroon this instrument of facilitation as regards foreign trade.

To this end, the WCO sent two experts to Douala, Samson Bilangna and Georges Cantone, who came to educate the actors of the customs administration, the supply chain and the other stakeholders in Cameroon's foreign trade, which it is therefore a question of streamlining. , to make it more attractive.

The Director General of Cameroon Customs, Edwin Fongod Nuvaga, indicated, opening the meeting, that the AEO concept is, for the WCO, a key element in the service of the Customs/Business partnership. This, in order to “guarantee a secure commercial environment, as well as better economic prosperity”. This is why the OMD strongly encourages the implementation of the instrument.

"To promote this legal framework conducive to lawful trade, the States choose to implement the OAS statute or to apply the various programs for compliance with customs legislation", indicated Edwin Fongod Nuvaga. He will add that the Oea status grants advantages and customs facilities to certain operators on the basis of previously defined criteria. However, it also requires compliance with contractual commitments and tax compliance.

Good to know, at the end of the 10th edition of the Cameroon Business Forum, held in March 2019 in Douala, one of the recommendations made to the National Trade and Customs Facilitation Committee concerned the implementation of the OAS. At Cameroonian customs, we are convinced that the advent of the AEO will mark a further step in the process towards trade facilitation to which the country has subscribed for several years, as illustrated by the establishment of performance contracts operators and the granting of streamlined control circuits.