1.II.1. What is an “economic operator”?

According to Article 5(5) of the UCC, "economic operator" means " a person who, in the course of his professional activity, carries out activities to which customs legislation applies."

In this case too, the legal definition of "economic operator" entails two main conditions. The applicant must be a "person" and must carry out activities regulated by customs legislation.

According to Article 5, paragraph 4 of the UCC, a "person" means:

• natural persons,
• legal entities,
• Any association of persons which is not a legal person but whose capacity to perform legal acts is recognised by Union or national law.

However, the national legislation of each Member State defines who can be considered a natural person, a legal person, or an association of persons with recognized capacity to perform legal acts without having the legal status of a legal person.

Multinational companies are generally made up of a parent company and subsidiaries or branches.

Each subsidiary has a separate legal personality, i.e., it constitutes a separate legal entity or association of persons registered with the local commercial register, in accordance with the company laws of the Member State in which it is established. Therefore, if a parent company wishes to have all or some of its subsidiaries obtain AEO status, all interested subsidiaries must submit an AEO application.

On the other hand, a "branch" is an office, premises, or establishment of the company that forms part of its total assets and, therefore, does not constitute an independent legal entity. In this case, the parent company wishing to acquire AEO status must submit a single application covering all branches in the EU that are not independent legal entities or associations of persons. To identify the competent Member State to which the single application should be lodged, see Part 3, Section I, "Determining the Member State to which the application for AEO status should be lodged".