The official publication by the European standardisation body CEN Standard of Customs Competency for Customs Representatives (EN 16992:2017) has been welcomed by leading trade bodies.
CONFIAD, the Pan European Network of Customs Brokers and Customs Representatives, and CLECAT, the European association of freight forwarders, transport and customs-related services, said that it would promote professionalism, skills and knowledge in the customs representation within the EU.
Both bodies have promoted and financed the development of the CEN Standard.
Under the management of AFNOR (the French National Standardisation Body), it was developed by CEN, taking the Customs competency framework for private sector published by the European Commission into consideration.
Jean-François Auzeau, Chairman of the Customs Institute in CLECAT, said: “Whereas investments made to develop interoperability between electronic systems for the exchange of information, single window, etc will support daily operations in customs, a high level of expertise of the customs representative to secure compliance in the supply chain will remain critical for professionalism and good service to our shipper clients.”
In line with the criteria of customs competency required by the Authorised Economic Operator – Customs (AEO(C)) status in the Union Customs Code, the new Standard will support customs representation services offered by any customs representative in an EU Member State where the customs representative is not established.
At national level, each National Standardisation Body will now need to prepare and finalise the national publication of the Standard.
