During the event, the Customs Service has granted Posta Moldovei the status of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO), making Posta Moldovei the first state-owned enterprise to be assigned such a status. Acquiring the AEO status was made possible with the support of the USAID Moldova Structural Reform Program.

To obtain this certification, the company has undergone an extensive and complex process of verification, adaptation and adjustment to international standards and customs regulations. These actions play an important role in the cross-border trade flow and the modernization of the company's customs operations, but also in strengthening the partnership with the customs authorities, which is based on respect for the principles of mutual transparency, fairness, equity and accountability.

The AEO Status is a "quality mark" recognized in all EU Member States and in some third countries (China, Japan, Norway, USA) that have partnerships with the EU, and is characterized by credibility, security and trust. It offers the holder a number of benefits, including simplification of customs procedures, reduction of the number of controls or priority crossing of the border, a dedicated lane at the border point being assigned for the authorized holders. Other benefits include the possibility to select the inspection location and to defer customs payments for a period of up to 30 days.

The Republic of Moldova is in the last mutual recognition phase of the AEO Program with CEFTA countries, and this will further increase security along the entire supply chain and facilitate trade. Another priority is the mutual recognition of the AEO Program with the EU. In this regard, the Customs of the Republic of Moldova, together with the USAID Moldova Structural Reforms Program, are in the process of implementing an E-AEO information system that will fully automate the process of authorization and monitoring of the AEO Program, as well as facilitate data exchange between customs authorities.

E-AEO will be the last necessary tool for the Customs Service to demonstrate that the Republic of Moldova is ready to sign a mutual recognition agreement with the EU, and AEO holders to benefit from the advantages of this program in the Community territory. Currently, 116 economic operators benefit from the facilities and simplifications offered by the AEO Program.

Following the efficient cooperation between the Customs Service and Posta Moldovei, during the same event, the parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on boosting the process of digitization of the national economy and development of electronic commerce by aligning with international standards.

The Memorandum covers several areas of cooperation, including simplification of customs procedures, enhancing correspondence security, facilitation of expedite processing of postal consignments, combating illicit trafficking in goods through international postal consignments, increasing exchange of prior electronic data between the Customs and the Post, and approval of CN22 and CN23 postal forms as customs declarations.

The complexity of the international postal transport network requires the implementation of special security measures, both physical and procedural, based on risk analysis. Thus, the signed Memorandum will contribute to fighting against customs crimes, particularly money laundering, transport of illicit goods, drugs, counterfeit goods and other types of smuggling, which harm the economic, social, fiscal and security interests of the states.

Sergiu Burduja, Director of the Customs Service, stated “We really appreciate that the Customs Service and Poșta Moldovei share the same values, promoting institutional development and modernization, especially through digitization of interaction processes. Given the fact that Posta Moldovei is one of the key components of e-commerce, obtaining the AEO status was indispensable. At the same time, the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation will strengthen our partnership that ultimately aims to facilitate international trade.

Present at the event, Vitalie Zaharia, Acting Director of S.E. Posta Moldovei, mentioned “This customs certification has been acquired by only 5 postal operators from: Romania, Hungary, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. The AEO Status allows Posta Moldovei to become a reliable partner of the Customs, as it implies certain functional conditions and operational capabilities: Posta Moldovei will benefit from a number of facilitations, which will certainly have an impact on e-commerce customers, and namely: simplified customs procedures, lower number of physical and documentary inspections, better planning and optimizing transport and logistics, electronic exchange of data and information, reduced costs and reduced time for processing, customs clearance and shipping time of consignments.”

Today, we also sign the Memorandum of Partnership with the Customs Service. We very much hope that this partnership – based on the observance of the principles of transparency, fairness and accountability – will generate other common achievements and large-scale projects that will benefit all the citizens of our country.”

In his turn, Douglas Muir, Director of the USAID Moldova Structural Reforms Program, reiterated “Our Program enjoys this opportunity to simultaneously support two partners – the Customs Service and the national postal operator – Posta Moldovei. At this stage we are satisfied with the results obtained. Only a few months after starting our cooperation, Posta Moldovei acquired the AEO status, which will enhance the company image and confidence both locally and internationally.

This status confirms that Posta Moldovei has all the necessary processes, meaning better quality for its customers and partners. This activity is also important because it concludes another topic from the Roadmap on Digitization of the National Economy of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. Together with our partners we plan to implement joint projects to support the Republic of Moldova in fulfilling its international commitments, to contribute to the facilitation of Moldovan trade and to the consolidation of the business environment.”

For more details please contact:

Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova
Public Relations Division
Tel: +73 022 574 211
Email: press@customs.gov.md

Poșta Moldovei
Director Office
Tel: +73 22 251 200 
Email: anticamera@posta.md

Source: Poșta Moldovei