By: Carlos Pineda and David Salgado
We hereby bring to your attention:
Last January 04, 2023, the General Directorate of Customs, on its website, made available the El Salvador Reliable Operator Manual (AEO-SV).
The purpose of this manual is to establish the rules that regulate the process to obtain the certification, qualification and registration as a Reliable Operator, before the Customs Service of El Salvador; also, the provisions related to the control that will be exercised over the companies that are incorporated into the Program.
The figure of “Reliable Operator”, formerly known as “Authorized Economic Operator”, is the natural or legal person, who after complying with the legal, administrative and technical requirements demanded by the Customs Service, demonstrates reliability in the customs management, in its tax behavior and compliance with the measures defined to ensure the logistics chain of the goods and can be enabled to obtain benefits and advantages in the customs clearance of their goods.
In this sense, the rules contained in this manual apply to all natural or legal persons, domiciled in El Salvador, who, as importers, exporters, agents, carriers, customs warehouses or other operators that are part of the logistics chain, voluntarily request to join the El Salvador Reliable Operator Program (AEO-SV).
Some of the topics addressed by the El Salvador Trusted Operator Manual (AEO-SV) are the following:
Authorization process: the authorization process will begin with the submission of the application to be certified as a Reliable Operator, which must be submitted in the format contained in Annex No. 2 of the General Administrative Provision number DA-006-2022 and include the self-assessment questionnaire duly completed.
Registration and control: the General Directorate of Customs shall keep the registration and control of the Certified Reliable Operators, and may periodically verify through regular communications with the Operators, the compliance with the security standards of the logistic chain.
Suspension and cancellation of certification: the General Directorate of Customs will designate personnel for the attention of Reliable Operators. They may also serve as liaison between Customs personnel and the Reliable Operator, in relation to the customs operations developed by the latter, with the purpose of the effective application of the benefits and advantages granted.
To learn more about the contents of the El Salvador Trusted Operator Manual (AEO-SV), you can visit the website of the General Directorate of Customs; or you can enter the following link: https://sitio.aduana.gob.sv/wp-content/plugins/download-manager/viewer/viewer.php?dl=https://sitio.aduana.gob.sv/wp-content/uploads/download-manager-files/Anexo-I-Manual-del-Programa-del-Operador-Confiable-de-El-Salvador-OEA-SV.pdf
For any additional questions, please contact Dr. Diego Martín (dmartin@consortiumlegal.com) and/or Mr. William Escobar (wescobar@consortiumlegal.com).