With the advent of technology and innovation, as the global trade continued to prosper, the need for seamless operations to sustain a smoother multilateral trade network arose. The challenges faced among countries hindered the free flowing movement of goods, leading to increased costs and a depreciation in time value taken for goods to be procured.

Under these circumstances, the World Customs Organization drafted the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate global trade (SAFE), with the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) being a core part of SAFE. The aim of this certification is to have a uniform global recognition as against the country-specific one. At that time, AEO was not aggressively introduced in India with barely a handful of organizations applying for and receiving the certification. Post our interaction with Customs Officers who had come for an Inspection – we were educated on and made to realize the true potential, extent, and purpose of AEO