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2016 OAS Guidelines

2.III.2.2. Payments of customs duties and others charged on the import or export of goods

Customs authorities can determine whether the applicant has paid the taxes and customs duties legally owed to customs in the past three years, or whether they have been in arrears in such payments. In this case, amounts not yet legally owed and those subject to appeal are excluded. In the event of an appeal, when the customs authority suspends the corresponding decision, it must be verified whether a guarantee covering the customs debt has been provided. If it has not been submitted in accordance with the provisions of Article 45, paragraph 3 of the CAU, the report justifying the removal will be consulted.

In general, if the applicant has not paid the amounts legally owed, the solvency criterion has not been met. However, the reasons for non-payment or delay should be examined to determine whether there are acceptable mitigating circumstances. Examples of such mitigating circumstances include:

  • a short-term or occasional cash flow or liquidity problem that does not call into question the applicant's reliability and overall financial situation;
  • Cases where the applicant has delayed payment due to an administrative error and not due to an underlying solvency problem, which should not affect compliance with this criterion.

A company may request payment facilities in accordance with the provisions of Articles 111 and 112 of the CAU. The fact that deferral requests are made should not automatically be interpreted as an inability of the applicant to make payments and should therefore not result in the denial of AEO status.

However, apart from the payment facilities granted, in all other cases the amounts owed must be paid within the legally prescribed timeframes. The obligations stipulated in the provisions of Title III of the AD CAU shall be deemed to affect not only the payments themselves, but also their timing. Any failure to comply with such deadlines shall be taken into consideration when determining the applicant's overall compliance level with customs matters.

Where appropriate, if the company has requested reimbursement of customs duties or taxes and charges related to the import or export of goods, the AAE may examine the evidence of such reimbursements in more detail.