Xiamen Customs has introduced a "combo benefits" mechanism to enhance the sense of gain for Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) enterprises. Recently, AU Optronics (Xiamen) Co., Ltd., an AEO-certified company, submitted self-inspection materials for bonded goods inventory through the "Internet + Customs" platform to Xiang'an Customs, a subsidiary of Xiamen Customs. The inventory covered over 5,500 items with a total value of nearly 1.4 billion yuan. Customs promptly reviewed the materials and accepted the self-inspection results.
According to Manager Chen, the customs affairs head at AU Optronics, the new "self-inspection results recognition model" has significantly reduced time and avoided production losses from shutdowns during customs checks, saving nearly one million yuan compared to previous methods. This approach has greatly improved the company's experience.
Xiamen Customs is implementing arrangements from the central government and the General Administration of Customs to support foreign trade stability and quality improvement. The "combo benefits" mechanism for AEO enterprises includes over 100 convenience and incentive measures developed in collaboration with local authorities, aiming to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In the first quarter of 2025, AEO enterprises, accounting for less than 0.4% of all foreign trade companies in the region, contributed 42% of total import and export volume, a 22 percentage point increase year-on-year.
Through field visits, seminars, and surveys, Xiamen Customs has gathered feedback to enhance the benefits for AEO enterprises. It has also coordinated with other customs departments and agencies to address implementation challenges and conducted special evaluations to propose solutions. The customs district created its first "AEO Enterprise Convenience Measures List," offering 39 tailored measures. Collaboration with over 20 provincial and municipal departments led to 19 and 21 incentive measures, respectively, while seven banks and three service institutions introduced 75 and 24 preferential service measures.
Additionally, a tracking mechanism for enterprise benefits has been established to regularly summarize, analyze, and report on measure implementation. Efforts to optimize and upgrade benefits continue, encouraging more departments to join the incentive program. Technological enhancements, such as business system plugins, ensure that privileges like "priority laboratory testing" reach every AEO enterprise.
These initiatives have yielded significant results. Since 2024, Xiamen Customs has exempted AEO enterprises in processing trade groups from guarantees exceeding 1.2 billion yuan. Optimized inspection models saved AEO enterprises 2 million yuan in costs for imported copper concentrate and reduced clearance time for imported wood chips by over 20%. The rate of manual inspections and random checks for AEO enterprises has been lowered to one-tenth that of ordinary firms.
Local development and reform departments have prioritized sharing information for 149 AEO enterprises on the "Credit Easy Loan" platform. Tax authorities have classified 31 AEO enterprises as top-tier export companies, and transportation departments have allocated approximately 350,000 yuan in support funds preferentially. AEO enterprises received 4.5 times more special subsidies year-on-year, while banks reduced service fees by over 15 million yuan, approved new international credit lines exceeding 400 million USD, and prioritized nearly 5 billion yuan in loans.
Driven by extensive promotion and multiple benefit policies, more than 150 quality foreign trade companies have actively applied for AEO certification. The number of AEO enterprises in the Xiamen customs district grew from 117 at the beginning of 2024 to 240, a 105.1% increase. Among them, private and foreign-invested AEO enterprises rose to 129 and 73, up 143.4% and 69.8%, respectively.
Leveraging the "Credit Easy Loan" platform, multi-dimensional credit information is used to evaluate enterprises and assess risks, providing financing support to those with good credit. This includes increased credit lines, reduced loan approval steps, and faster processing times. Twelve financial institutions in the city have joined the platform, offering 409 financial products and disbursing 16.458 billion yuan in credit loans to small and micro enterprises.