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ikargos · 3 years ago

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FAQ's (Frequently Asked questions) on AEO

Q 1. Who is an authorised economic operator (AEO)?

ANS. An AEO is a business entity involved in international movement of goods requiring compliance with provisions of the national Customs law and is approved by or on behalf of national administration in compliance with World Customs Organization (WCO) or equivalent supply chain security standards. The security standards are detailed in World Customs Organisation Safe framework of standards [WCO SAFE FoS], which is the basis of the Indian AEO programme.

Q 2. What is the AEO programme?

ANS. The AEO programme enables Customs administration to identify the safe and compliant business entity in order to provide them a higher degree of assured facilitation. This segmentation approach enables Customs resources to focus on less or non-compliant or risky businesses for control. Thus, the aim of AEO programme is to secure the international supply chain by granting recognition to reliable operators and encouraging best practices at all levels in the international supply chain. Through this programme, the Customs shares its responsibility with the businesses, while at the same time rewarding them with a number of additional benefits.

Q 3. What is the background of AEO Scheme of the WCO?

ANS. The genesis of AEO scheme dates back to September 11, 2001 event in US which made all the governments to realise that the supply chain itself could be used for terror activities and a need was felt to make the supply chain secure. Since the supply chain is controlled by the trade, the Customs administration is partnering the trade in order to secure the supply chain. The US started CT-PAT (Customs Trade – Partnership against terrorism) programme. Later WCO adopted SAFE Framework of Standards in 2005 in order to secure and facilitate the trade. The SAFE framework has three pillars comprising of Customs to Customs partnership, Customs to Business partnership and Customs to other Govt. stake holders. AEO programme is the core part of Pillar-II i.e. – Customs to Business partnership.

Q 4. How has SAFE framework of Standards (FoS) been implemented in India?

ANS. The SAFE FoS sets forth criteria by which businesses in supply chain can obtain authorised status as a secure partner. The criteria are incorporated in CBEC Circular No. 28/2012 dated 16.11.2012. Thereafter a Revised AEO Program was launched vide Circular No. 33/2016-Customs dated 22.07.2016 as amended by Circular No. 03/2018 dated 17.02.2018, 26/2018 dated10.08.2018 and Circular No. 51/2018 dated 07.12.2018.

Q 5. What is the history of AEO programme in India?

ANS. The AEO Programme was introduced as pilot project in 2011 vide Circular No. 37/2011- Customs dated 23rd August, 2011. The same was amended and the revised final AEO programme was introduced vide Circular No. 28/2012 dated 16.11.2012. With international developments such as Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on securing and facilitating the International Trade and focus of Government of India on Ease of Doing Business, a comprehensive, unified trade facilitation initiative was launched by merging the existing Accredited Client Programme (ACP) and the ongoing AEO scheme of 2012 in the form of revised AEO Programme vide Circular No. 33/2016-Customs dated 22nd July, 2016. The ACP scheme was abolished by rescinding the Circular No. 42/2005-Customs dated 24.11.2005. Further simplification for financial solvency and decentralisation of AEO application processing was done vide Circular No. 03/2018 dated. 17.01.2018. The application process for AEO-T1 accreditation was further simplified to two Annexures form only by Circular No. 26/2018 dated 10.08.2018 from five Annexure form as was stipulated in Circular No. 33/2016 dated 22.07.2016. Web based On-line application filing and processing for AEO-T1 status started from December 2018 vide Circular 51/2018 dated 07.12.2018.

Q 6. What is the aim of the Indian Customs AEO Programme?

ANS. The AEO programme has the following objectives:

To provide business entities with an internationally recognized certification

To recognize business entities as “secure and reliable” trading partners

To incentivize business entities through defined benefits that translate into savings in time and cost

Secure supply chain from point of export to import

Ability to demonstrate compliance with security standards when contracting to supply overseas importers/exporters

Enhanced border clearance privileges in Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) partner countries

Minimal security related disruption to flow of cargo

Reduction in dwell time and related costs and

Customs advice / assistance if trade faces unexpected issues with Customs of countries with which India has MRAs.

Q 7. Is AEO mandatory for businesses involved in the supply chain?

ANS. No. The AEO scheme is purely an optional scheme. Applying for AEO status is a business decision depending on the role of the business entity in the supply chain and its willingness to acquire the benefit flowing by acquiring AEO status.

Q 8. What is the structure of Indian AEO programme?

ANS. There is a three-tier programme for importers and exporters i.e. AEO-T1, AEO-T2 and AEO-T3 in the increasing degree of benefits accorded and compliance requirements. Furthermore, there is single Tier AEO Programme for Logistics Providers, Custodians or Terminal Operators, Customs Brokers and Warehouse Operators who are granted AEO-LO certificate.

Q 9. What is the validity period of AEO status?

ANS. The validity of AEO certificate is three years for AEO-T1 and AEO-T2, and five years for AEO-T3 and AEOLO.

Q 10. Whether AEO certificate is valid at all Customs stations across India?

ANS. Yes, it is valid at all Customs stations in India. In other words, an AEO status holder shall get the AEO benefits at all Customs ports/ airports/ Land Customs stations.

Q 11. What are the benefits of AEO status?

ANS. There are a host of benefits for all three categories of AEOs- T1, T2, T3 and LOs. These are listed in paras 1.5.1 to 1.5.4 for AEO T1, T2, T3 and LO respectively of Circular No. 33/2016-Customs dated 22nd July, 2016. Some of the major benefits are listed below:

Recognition worldwide as safe, secure and compliant business partners in international trade and get trade facilitation by a foreign Customs administration with whom India enters into a Mutual Recognition Agreement/ Arrangement

Facility of Direct Port Delivery (DPD) of their import Containers and/ or Direct Port Entry (DPE) of their Export Containers

Waiver of full or part of the Bank Guarantee requirements, Waiver of Merchant overtime fees

Deferred payment of duties

Waiver from transactional PCA. Instead Onsite PCA has been provided, the selection of the same shall be based on risk assessment of AEOs

Waiver of solvency certification for Customs Brokers

A lower risk score in risk analysis systems when profiling

Faster disbursal of drawback amount through process eased out vide Circular 18/2017 Customs dated 29.05.2017

Fast tracking of refunds and adjudications

Self-certified copies of FTA / PTA origin related or any other certificates required for clearance would be accepted

Recognition by Partner Government Agencies and other Stakeholders as part of AEO programme

Q 12. Whether all AEO operators are entitled for DPD /DPE facility?

ANS. Yes, all AEO T1/T2/T3 status holders are entitled for DPD/ DPE facility. However, they have to apply for the Direct Port Delivery permission to the concerned Chief Commissioner and also register themselves with the port authority for DPD facility.

Q 13. Whether the amount of Bank Guarantee in case of T1, T2 and T3 is reduced to 50%, 25% and Nil respectively in all cases of dispute between Customs and AEO status holder?

ANS. No. The CBIC Circular No. 38/2016 dt. 22.08.2016 list out the situations where amount of BG is reduced to 50%, 25% and Nil. Further it is not applicable for cases where competent authority orders furnishing of bank guarantee for provisional release of seized goods.

Q 14. What is deferred payment of duty scheme?

ANS. It is a mechanism for delinking duty payment from Customs clearance. It is based on the principle ‘Clear First-Pay later’. Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016 vide notification no 134/2016-Customs (NT) and 135/2016-Customs (NT) both dated 02nd Nov 2016 have been notified and the same have come into effect from 16.11.2016.

The AEO-T2 and AEO-T3 certified importers can avail the benefit of these Rules.

Q 15. How can an AEO avail the facility of deferred payment of duty?

ANS. As per Rule 4 of the Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016 an eligible importer who intends to avail the benefit of deferred payment has to intimate his intent to the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of Customs or the Commissioner of Customs and get registered on the ICEGATE website www.icegate.gov.in.

Q 16. What are the due dates for payment in respect of deferred payment of duty?

ANS. As per Notification No. 134/2016 Cus (NT) dated 02.11.2016 as amended by Notification No. 28/2017 –Cus(NT) dated 31.03.2017,the Deferred Payment of Import Duty time lines are as below:

NOTE: The duty under deferred payment scheme has to be paid electronically.

Q 17. Whether facilitation benefits will be available to Indian AEOs in foreign countries?

ANS. Yes, the facilitation benefits will be available in countries with whom India has signed Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA). Indian Customs has signed Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong Customs to enable trade to get benefits on reciprocal basis.

Q 18. What exactly is a mutual recognition agreement/ arrangement (MRA)?

Ans. Mutual Recognition Arrangements/Agreements (MRA) are bilateral understandings between two Customs Administrations which allow one business partnership program to recognize the AEO validations of the other country’s program and extend reciprocal benefits to each other’s AEO. The benefits are generally in nature of enhanced system-based facilitation & reduced interdiction, lower risk score for Indian exporter’s consignments at foreign port.

Q 19. Whether benefit of AEO LO status granted to a Customs Broker will also be given to its clients i.e., importers or exporters?

ANS. No. The AEO LO status will only be valid and applicable for the applicant and not for his importers or exporters. They need to apply separately for AEO status.

Q 20. Where should applications for AEO be submitted?

ANS. The application should be sent to the office of the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Customs with copy to AEO Programme Manager, Directorate of International Customs or in case of any doubt, to the AEO Programme Manager, Directorate of International Customs, 10th Floor, Tower II, Jeevan Bharti Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110001. The jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Customs is the one from where the Importer/Exporter/Logistic operator is doing majority of business in international supply chain. An on-line website (Domain name: aeoindia.gov.in) has been created for filing and processing of AEO-T1 application. The applicant can login to the website and file the AEO- T1 application. A separate FAQ about online filing of application is attached as Annexure-A.

Q 21. Which jurisdictional Chief Commissioner offices are designated for processing of AEO applications?

ANS. As of now, the following Chief Commissioner of Customs offices have been designated for processing of AEO application:

Delhi

Mumbai Zone-I

Mumbai Zone-II

Mumbai Zone-III

Ahmedabad

Vishakhapatnam

Bhubaneswar

Bangalore

Chennai

Hyderabad

Kolkata

Tiruchirappalli

Patna

Pune

Nagpur

Bhopal

Q 22. Who is responsible for processing AEO application and taking decision on grant of AEO status?

ANS. The AEO Cell under the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Customs, headed by nodal officer of the rank of Additional /Joint Commissioner is responsible for processing AEO applications as per provisions contained in Circular No. 33/2016-Customs as amended by Circular Nos. 03/2018-Customs, 26/2018 and 51/2018 -Customs. The nodal officer of the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner forwards the processed application of AEO-T2/T3 and AEO-LO with recommendation to programme manager of Indian AEO Programme having office at Delhi for taking final decision on AEO accreditation. The process of AEO-T1 accreditation has been further simplified and decentralised by Circular No. 26/2018 dt.10.08.2018. Officers in the Rank of Principal Commissioner/Commissioner have been appointed as the Zonal AEO Programme Manager in each Zone headed by Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner of Customs and are responsible for final acceptance or rejection of the AEO application. Thus, the AEO-T1 application is processed by AEO Cell and eligibility thereto is decided at Zonal level only. The decision is conveyed to Directorate of International Customs for generation of AEO Certificate. Such approved applications are sent online by the zones to DIC Delhi for generation of digitally signed certificate.

Q 23. Who is AEO programme manager for Indian AEO Programme?

ANS. The Principal Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs, having office at 10th floor, Tower-2, Jeevan Bharati Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi-01 is the AEO Programme Manager for Indian AEO programme. For AEO-T1 accreditation, the Zonal AEO Programme Manager is treated as AEO Programme Manager for all purposes.

Q 24. Whether an economic operator whose application is once rejected under the current scheme, can apply again for AEO status?

ANS. Yes, the application can be filed again if grounds on which the application was rejected are no longer valid and the applicant is otherwise eligible for AEO status.

Q 25. What are the requirements for filing AEO T1/T2/T3/LO application?

ANS. An applicant for AEO-T1 status is to file application online (Domain name: aeoindia.gov.in) in prescribed proforma along with a Declaration as indicated in Annexure A- 1, Annexure A-2 to CBEC Circular No. 26/2018 dated 10.08.2018. After introduction of web- based module for filing online application vide Circular 51/2018 dt. 07.12.2018, it is mandatory to file online application only.

An applicant for grant of any of the remaining three AEO statuses, namely AEO-T2, AEO-T3 and AEO-LO, should submit the application in the proforma specified in Table below. The application form as specified in the Circular No. 33/2016-Customs contains Ten annexures. However, an applicant is required to fill-in and submit only those annexures which may be applicable to it, as mentioned below:

Q 26. Can an existing AEO status holder file application for higher AEO status? If yes, what is the time limit for filing such application?

ANS. An existing AEO certificate holder can apply for higher AEO status. There is no time limit for filing higher status application except in case of AEO-T3. In case of AEO-T3, either the entity should have had AEO-T2 status continuously for two years or when all its business partners in international supply chain have acquired either AEO-T2 or AEO-LO status.

Q 27. Can a consultant be appointed as the contact person or the authorised person for filing application?

ANS. No. The applicant has to nominate the contact person/ authorised representative from company’s own administration only (Para 2.3 of Circular No. 33/2016-Customs).

Q 28. Who can apply for AEO status?

ANS. Any business entity that is part of the international supply chain; involved in the cross- border movement of goods and required to fulfil obligations under the Customs law in India, only can apply for AEO status. These may include exporters, importers, logistic providers (e.g. carriers, airlines, freight forwarders, etc.), Custodians or Terminal Operators, Customs House Agents and Warehouse Owners, Port operators, authorized couriers, Stevedores etc. The list is not exhaustive.

Q 29. What is the eligibility criteria for a business entity to apply for Indian AEO status?

ANS. The eligibility conditions and criteria for granting AEO Status has been listed in the Section 3 of the AEO Circular No. 33/2016 –Customs dated 22nd July, 2016 as amended by Circular No. 3/2018-Customs dated 17th January, 2018. An entity should fulfil the following criteria:

a)Established in India b)Business should be involved in Customs related activity c)Should have dealt with minimum 25 Customs documents (either Bill of Entry or Shipping Bill) in the last fiscal year d)Should have been in business activity for last 3 Financial Years

Q 30. Whether a branch of a legal entity can apply for a separate AEO Status?

ANS. No. There is no provision to grant AEO status to specific site, division or branch of legal entity of the applicant

Q 31. Whether a newly established company can apply for AEO Status?

ANS. As per the Indian AEO requirements, the applicant should have business activities for at least three financial years preceding the financial year of date of application. However, in exceptional cases, on the basis of physical verification of internal controls of a newly established business entity, the AEO Programme Manager can consider it for certification.

Q 32. Whether a legal entity falling under three tier AEO programme as an importer/ exporter and single tier AEO programme as a logistics provider can apply for single accreditation of AEO T1/T2/T3 or AEO LO?

ANS. No, such economic operator should apply separately for any of the three tier AEO programme of importer/exporter (AEO T1/T2/T3) or single tier AEO LO status.

Q 33. Whether AEO programme is open to micro, small and medium enterprises?

ANS. Yes, the AEO programme includes MSMEs and the eligibility conditions and criteria for granting AEO status are same regardless of size. The only requirement is that the entity should have handled at least 25 Customs documents in preceding Financial Year.

Q 34. What are the legal requirements for applying for AEO status? What are the documents to be submitted?

ANS. The Legal requirement for applying for AEO status, as prescribed in para 3.2 and annexure E.2, to Circular No. 33/2016-Customs dated 22.7.2016.

Q 35. What are the documents to be submitted as proof of having business activity for the last three financial year preceding the date of application?

ANS. The documents /evidence include Certificate of Incorporation, Import- Export Code (IEC), balance sheets for three-years etc.

Q 36. In case where applicant does not have audited balance sheet, what documents are to be submitted in its place?

ANS. In cases where the statute exempts the applicant from statutory audit, the applicant can submit balance sheet certified by both the proprietor/partner/MD and any chartered accountant (CA) stating the profit /loss and net worth for the purpose of AEO application.

Q 37. What documents are needed to be submitted by a business as proof of having its own accounts?

ANS. The documents/ evidence required as a proof about the business of a company having its own accounts include cancelled cheque, account statement, audited balance sheets.

Q 38. What does procedure in place to identify and disclose irregularities means?

ANS. It means that the applicant must have tools in the form of Customised software or manual checks to identify risks and detect error in Customs documents (B/L, invoice and Packing list), for self-assessment of goods imported i.e., proper check of classification, valuation etc and after clearance of goods from Custom control, they must have the process to reconcile the goods with duty paid invoice and packing list. Further they may have documented processes/SOPs/escalation matrix for communicating the error noticed to Customs on real time basis and maintain record of such errors for viewing of their employees so that such mistakes do not recur.

Q 39. How is the ratio between duty demanded and duty paid listed at serial number d(ii) of annexure E-2 calculated?

ANS. The ratio is calculated by dividing duty amount involved in SCN issued under the Customs Act divided by total duty paid & drawback claimed during the last three financial years. For example, the amount involved in SCN/disputed demand (includes demand of duty and denial of drawback) is Rs.500/- and total duty paid is Rs.20,000/-, drawback claimed is Rs. 5,000/-, the ratio shall be 500/(20000+5000)*100 = 2%.

Q 40. Whether the applicant having ratio of duty demanded and total duty paid/drawback

claimed more than 10% are not eligible for AEO accreditation? ANS. Yes. In case the ratio is above 10%, the AEO programme envisages examination of the nature of cases of duty demand. The decision for issue or continuance of AEO status is at the discretion of AEO programme manager based on examination of the Show Cause Notices issued.

Q 41. What are the documents required to be maintained for ensuring compliance of

Annexure E.3 – Managing Commercial and Transport Records? ANS. The AEO applicant should:

Maintain records which permit Customs to conduct any required audit of cargo movement relating both to import and export;

Give Customs full access to necessary records;

Have internal records access and control systems;

Appropriately maintain and make available to Customs any authorizations, powers of attorney and licences relevant to the importation or exportation of merchandise;

Properly archive records for later production to Customs. For instance, for Customs purpose, the records should be maintained at least for five years.

Employ adequate information technology security measures which will protect against access by unauthorized persons.

Q 42. What accounting system is required to be followed by an AEO [Annexure E.3(a)]?

ANS. Any accounting system consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) / International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which facilitates audit-based Customs control can be adopted. The audited balance sheet by Auditor contains remark about the Accounting system adopted by applicant.

Q 43. What are the documentary evidences in support of claim of compliance required as per annexure E.3(b) i.e .adequate administrative set up and internal controls for detecting illegal or irregular transactions?

ANS. Generally, the audited financial statement/balance sheet contains comments as to whether administrative set up corresponds to size of business. Other requirements for internal controls are satisfactory organisational setup to handle goods and documents related to same in the international supply chain.

Q 44. What are the documentary evidences in support of claim of compliance required for storage and archiving of documents as per annexure E.3(d)?

ANS. The applicant must have documented processes/ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for storage and archiving of records and information. The SOP may contain the process of storing with the responsibility of concerned person, period of storing / archiving, process of taking suitable measures like back up for protection against loss of information. If the applicant has outsourced the storage and archiving of records, then the above requirements should be covered in the agreement with the agency storing the records and such agreements should be presented along with the application.

Q 45. What are the requirements for Annexure E.3(v) i.e., need for employee to inform Customs about compliance difficulty?

ANS. The applicant may submit their practice /processes of educating/ training their employees on Customs compliances. The process must include procedure to convey compliance difficulties, if any, to the designated Customs officer. The applicant may designate a person in their organisation for above purpose.

Q 46. Is there any format for the undertaking regarding solvency and for the solvency certificate?

ANS. No, there is no format in AEO Circular No. 33/2016-Customs. The only requirement is that the certificate should be for last three financial years (Each year) based on books of accounts and financial statements, tax returns etc.

Q 47. Who are required to submit Security Plan (Annexure B) and fulfil requirement listed in Annexure E.5 of AEO Circular 33/2016?

ANS. The applicant for AEO T-2, T-3 and AEO-LO are required to submit Security plan and documents/evidence in support of fulfilment of requirements for safety and security listed in Annexure E.5.1 to E.5.7.

Q 48. What are the requirements of Safety and Security for AEO applicant?

ANS. The safety and security criteria is listed in Para 3.5 and Annexure E.5.1 to E.5.7 of Circular No.33/2016. It has seven components.

Procedural Security [refer para 3.5.2]

Premises Security [refer para 3.5.3]

Cargo Security [refer para 3.5.4]

Conveyance Security [refer para 3.5.5]

Personnel Security [refer para 3.5.6]

Business Partner Security [refer para 3.5.7]

Security Training & Threat Awareness [refer para 3.5.8]

Q 49. What is the additional requirement for AEO T-3 applicant?

ANS. In addition to submission of documents and fulfillment of requirements prescribed for AEO T-2 applicant, the applicant for AEO T-3 has to submit details prescribed in Annexure F of Circular No. 33/ 2016 dated 22.07.2016. In Annexure F, the applicant has to give details of all his business partner(s) in International Supply chain which includes their accreditation under Indian AEO Programme. The declaration is to be given in format of Annexure “F”. The AEO T3 applicant who are not AEO T-2 certificate holder for last two preceding financial years must have all business partners (CB, Freight forwarder, liner etc) AEO T-2 or AEO-LO certificate holder./p>

Q 50. What are the documents to be filed along with declaration made in Annexure A of the AEO?

ANS. The following documents are required to be submitted along with the application:

Certification of incorporation from registrar of companies (ROC)

Declaration about ACP/AEO status (Self)

Address/Sites/Locations of places where goods are handled in the international supply chain and administrative offices

Previous three years audited financial accounts;

Previous three years bank accounts

GSTIN, IEC, PAN, Company incorporation certificate

List of bills of entry and shipping bills handled during the last financial year

Places of business and its addresses and phone numbers

List of directors with DIN numbers.

Evidence/ Certificate issued under MSME Act, if the applicant claims to be MSME

Authorisation letter for contact person of applicant from proprietor/ partner/ board of directors/ managing director

Q 51. Whether Annexure B (security plan) is to be given for all premises belonging to applicant?

ANS. Yes. However, if the company’s written and verifiable policies, processes, procedures, access control and other security policies, training and skill upgradation and compliance with government is same for all locations, the applicant can submit security plan of any one premise which is valid for all its premises used in International Supply Chain.

Q 52. What is Annexure C (Process Map)? Whether it is related to premises belonging to applicant?

ANS. The process map should illustrate the flow of goods, documentation/ information from receipt of order to export/ delivery/ receipt of goods. The same has to be separate for each activity such as exports, imports, providing service for logistics operators etc. Hence, Annexure-C shall be for each individual activity of the applicant. The Process-Map must include role of applicant and its business partners in the supply chain.

Q 53. Whether Annexure D (Site Plan) is to be given for all premises belonging to applicant?

ANS. Yes, the site plan as prescribed in Annexure D of Circular should be for all locations/sites.

Q 54. What are the documents required for General compliance (Annexure E.1)?

ANS. The following documents are require for general compliance

Copy of AEO certificate, if any;

Copy of IEC, GSTIN;

Declaration on type of business entity with copy of registration. For instance, in case of public or private limited, certificate of incorporation issued by ROC; in case of partnership, registered partnership deed; in case of

Small proprietorship firm, a license issued by local shop and establishment Act etc. ;

List of places/location where goods are being handled (For example loading, unloading, storage etc);

Cancelled bank cheque or certificate from Bank evidencing account of applicant, account statement from bank etc as a proof of business having own account;

List of documents (Bill of entry, shipping bills) handled in the last Financial Year;

Declaration on conviction in criminal offence, if any, with details.

Q 55. In what cases is the application for AEO accreditation not processed or returned for rectification?

ANS. The application for AEO accreditation is not processed in following cases:

When application is incomplete. The application may be resubmitted with the complete information.

Where the application has not been made by a legal person. The same can be resubmitted by the concerned legal entity.

Where no responsible person is nominated as the Point of Contact. The application can only be resubmitted when the applicant nominates a responsible person from his/her organisation only, who will be the point of contact for the AEO Programme.

Where the applicant is subject to bankruptcy proceedings at the time the application is made. The application can be resubmitted when the applicant becomes solvent.

Where a previously granted AEO status has been revoked -The application can be submitted only after one

Year, in case of AEO T-1 & T-2 and after three years in case of AEO T-3 and LO, from the date of revocation.

Q 56. In what cases the AEO application be rejected?

ANS. The AEO application can be rejected in following two cases:

Where the applicant is not eligible for grant of AEO status, or

Where the deficiency noticed in the application is not remedied.

Q 57. What are the timelines and procedure for processing AEO applications?

ANS. In case of AEO T-1 application, if the eligibility conditions and criteria for grant of certificate, as mentioned in Section 3 of Circular No. 33/2016-Customs, are found to have been met to the satisfaction of AEO programme manager, the AEO T-1 certificate shall be granted within 30 days of submission of information/ documents. The mode of application for AEO T-1 and its processing has been made online since December 2018. In case of AEO T-2 and LO application, on submission of all required information/documents, the applicant is informed about the receipt of the same within 30 days. The application is assigned to AEO team within 15 days to carry out physical verification in consultation with applicant. The AEO programme team visits the premises of applicant within 90 days. The applicant can contact programme manager if visit is not planned within 45 days. The AEO programme team prepares the report and makes recommendation within 60 days of completion of visit. The AEO programme manager informs about AEO T-2/LO status to applicant within 30 days of the recommendation of AEO team. Thus, the total time taken from submission of application till the issuance of the certificate work out to maximum 180 days. In case of AEO T-3 application by an AEO T-2 status holder, the application is assigned to AEO programme team within 15 days. The timelines for further activities are same as in above para for AEO T-2 and LO certifications.

Q 58. Whether all premises of applicant involved in Customs related activity are to be visited for physical Verification by AEO team?

ANS. For AEO T-2 and AEO LO certification, examination of the criteria laid down under Section 3 of AEO Circular shall be carried out for all the premises which are relevant to the Customs related activities of the applicant for AEO-T2 or AEO-LO status. In case, more than one premises of applicant are run in similar way by standard systems of record keeping and security etc., the AEO programme team can choose to visit any one of such similarly run premises as per the provision contained in Para 4.4.5.5 of AEO Circular. In such situation, the applicant has to make declaration to this effect in the form of Undertaking. However, if the applicant has a range of activities or different premises are run using different methods of operation, the AEO Programme team has to visit those premises.

Q 59. What are the areas covered by AEO Programme team during physical verification of applicant premise?

ANS. The purpose of Physical verification by AEO team is to check whether the claims made in application regarding requirement and fulfilment of criteria as listed in Section 3 of AEO Circular exists or are in place.

The AEO programme team may cover following areas during visit:

Information on Customs matters including about the contravention of Customs Act.

Remedial action taken on previous Customs errors, if any.

Accounting and logistic systems.

Internal controls and procedures.

Flow of cargo.

Use of Customs House Agents and selection of other business partners.

Security of Computers/IT and documents.

Financial solvency.

Safety and security assessment – premises, cargo, personnel etc.

Logistic processes.

Storage of goods

The above list is not exhaustive. The team can decide to cover more areas during visit as per the requirements.

Q 60. Can physical verification be stopped if the applicant for AEO T-2 or AEO LO fails to provide certain documents to the team or there are problems with the system/ processes/ requirements?

ANS. Yes, in exceptional cases the verification process can be stopped with mutual consent. The applicant is given time to submit additional documents and rectify the minor issues. The applicant has to inform AEO team regarding rectification within 6 months so that the verification process recommences. The applicant in such cases will get decision on application by the revised date to be informed by the AEO team.

Q 61. To whom the AEO status holder should inform about Customs related errors and regarding its compliance?

ANS. The AEO status holder should report Customs related errors and its compliance to the CRM as well as AEO cell of the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner.

Q 62. How will the AEO status be renewed?

ANS. The AEO status is renewed against application for the same made before lapse of their validity as stated below:

AEO status Time limit for submission of application for renewal before lapse of validity AEO-T1 30 days AEO-T2 60 days AEO-T3 90 days AEO-LO 90 days

The applicant must highlight the changes made from the last application in their renewal application. The AEO Programme Manager will consider the renewal applications by following the procedure adopted while granting the fresh AEO status.

Q 63. In what circumstances, does the AEO status holder need to notify about changes in their business and processes?

ANS. The AEO status holder must notify AEO cell or the client relationship manager of the jurisdictional chief commissioner in following cases of changes:

Change in its legal entity.

Change of business name and/or address.

Change in the nature of business i.e., manufacturer / exporter etc.

Changes in accounting and computer systems.

Changes to the senior personnel responsible for Customs matters.

Addition or deletion of locations or branches involved in international supply chain.

Q 64. What is the time limit to notify significant change in business and processes by AEO status holders?

ANS. The AEO status holder must notify the changes as soon as it is known or at least within fourteen days of the change taking place.

Q 65. What happens to the AEO accreditation if the legal status of the entity changes?

ANS. The AEO status holder needs to re-apply for the AEO certification in the name of new legal entity. For instance, if a legal entity changes from proprietorship to LLP or Pvt Limited company, then it has to file a fresh application.

Q 66. Whether the AEO status is subject to Review?

ANS. Yes. The AEO team is mandated to review the AEO status periodically to ensure that the AEO client continues to adhere to the condition of AEO accreditation.

Q 67. What are the timelines for review of AEO status?

ANS. The frequency of review of AEO status are same for AEO T-1 and AEO T-2 i.e., once in three years. The same is five years for AEO T-3 /LO status. However, the Directorate of International Customs, entrusted to implement and monitor AEO Programme in India, can initiate review at any point of time, if there is reason to believe that the conditions of AEO Programme or standard of AEO status have been compromised.

Q 68. Under what circumstances, can the AEO status be suspended or downgraded?

ANS. The AEO Programme Manager may suspend the Certificate of AEO Status in the following cases:

a) Where any non-compliance with the conditions or criteria for the Certificate of AEO Status has been detected or b) In the case of a Custodian or Custom Broker or Warehouse Operator, where the basic license as a Custodian or Custom Broker or Warehouse Operator, as the case may be, has been suspended by the competent authority. There is also provision for downgrading of the status of an AEO-T3 to AEO-T2 or to AEO-T1,or downgrade the status of an AEO-T2 to AEO-T1, in the case of issue of any show cause notice (other than on issue listed in 3.2.1 of the AEO Circular) for contravention of Customs/Central Excise/GST law or suspend the status of the AEO, as deemed appropriate.

WITHDRAWAL/ SUSPENSION/ RESTORATION The above decision is taken after due examination of the SCN, in consultation with the jurisdictional Commissioner.

Q 69. Can appeal be filed against the decision of AEO Programme manager suspending or downgrading the AEO status?

ANS. No, there is no provision for appeal under the AEO scheme. However, there is provision of restoration of suspended/downgraded AEO status.

Q 70. What are the requirements for restoration of suspended/ downgraded AEO status?

ANS. The requirements in various situations are as under: a) In case of non-compliance with the condition of AEO status, if the AEO status holder takes the necessary remedial measures to the satisfaction of the AEO Programme Manager within 60 days of suspension, the AEO Programme Manager may restore the AEO status. b) In case of suspension on account of some action under Customs Act like issue of SCN, cancellation of Customs Broker’s license etc, an AEO Programme manager may consider restoration of AEO status if the action under the Customs Act is dropped/ suspension of license is revoked. c) In case AEO status has been suspended/downgraded on account of SCN and if the ratio of disputed duty demanded or drawback demanded or sought to be denied in SCN under Customs Act in the last three years to the total duty paid and drawback claimed is not more than ten percent, the AEO programme manager may consider for restoration of AEO status. d) In case an AEO status has been downgraded, the entity can apply again for higher status as and when the eligibility conditions and criterion are met by it. Such applications will be treated as a fresh application.

Q 71. Under what circumstances, can the AEO Status be revoked?

ANS. The Certificate of AEO Status will be revoked in following circumstances: a) Where the Certificate of AEO Status is already suspended and the AEO holder fails to take the remedial measure within 60 days of withdrawal for the suspension or b) Where there is a reasonable belief that an act has been perpetrated that is liable to lead to prosecution and /or is linked to an arrest of person under Customs Act, 1962 or c) A show cause notice has been issued to them involving fraud, forgery, outright smuggling, clandestine removal of excisable goods or cases where Service Tax has been collected from customers but not deposited to the Government or d) Where the AEO status holder requests the authorization be revoked.

Q 72. Can an AEO status holder re-apply for AEO status after the same is revoked?

ANS. The AEO-T1 and T2 status holders can re-apply only after a period of one year from the date of revocation. The AEO-T3 and LO status holders can re-apply only after a period of three years from the date of revocation.

Q 73. Benefits to AEO status holders

ANS. The Customs Administration is bound to extend all the benefits and facilitation measures to AEO status holders listed in the AEO Circular. There is provision for appointment of Client Relationship Manager (CRM) at the level of AC/DC as a single point of interaction with AEO Status holder at the office of each Chief Commissioner of Customs. The appointment of CRM is notified by way of public notice by all jurisdictional Customs station. The CRM is entrusted with the responsibility to attend to the legitimate concerns and issues of AEO clients. The details of CRMs are also provided online at CBIC website.

Q 74. What are the other responsibilities of Client Relationship Manager?

ANS. All Jurisdictional Client Relationship Manager (CRM) are responsible for:

a)Extending facilitation / benefits listed in the AEO Circular to the AEO status holders. b)Assisting in filing AEO applications. c)Assisting in getting procedural and operational issues resolved by co-ordinating with different sections within Customs as well as other stakeholders.

For more details mail us on : [email protected] and [email protected]

In a hurry to get the AEO certification? Fill up this form , or click here or callKapish at +91-9971770603 & +91-8802601212

For more details on AEO Certification read our other BLOGS:

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#aeo #aeo license #aeo certification #aeo scheme #aeo questions

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priyanka16me · 5 years ago

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Pentane Plus Market Segmentation 10-Year Market Forecast and Trends Analysis Research Report 2024

A photovoltaic (PV) inverter, also known as solar inverter is a device that converts the variable direct current (DC) output of a PV panel into alternating current (AC) frequency. This frequency can directly used by off-grid and local electrical network or can be fed into a commercial network. PV inverter is significant element in a photovoltaic system, allowing direct use of commercial appliances. These inverters have special functions that allow them to use with photovoltaic arrays, having functions such as anti-islanding protection and maximum power point tracking.There are various design modifications in PV inverters such as Stand-alone inverters, Grid-tie inverters and Battery backup inverters. Each design varies according to area of its application. However, special elements such as solar charge controller may incorporate in to the inverter system. One of the major driving factors for this market is growing solar photovoltaic industry. Additionally, the growing demand for energy coupled with regulatory framework that supports clean energy are also driving the market for

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samuelpboswell · 6 years ago

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How A Best Answer Content Strategy Drives B2B Marketing Results

For many B2B marketers content is a numbers game, especially as the number of channels for discovery and engagement grow right long with competition for attention. We all know how the information overload story ends: buyers disconnect, they start to ignore marketing content and they lose trust in the brands trying so desperately to reach them. Smart voices like Ann Handley in the B2B marketing industry have called for a focus on quality and even brevity over the hamster wheel of content mediocrity. Many have listened and yet many more B2B marketers are still fighting the uphill battle of creating uninspired blog post after blog post, ebooks, white papers, case studies and who knows how many social messages - and to what end?

Is your marketing about creating content or answers? Think about what your customers really want.

The failure to communicate by B2B marketers has numerous causes ranging from flawed thinking that more is better to content quality issues to what I like to call “invisible content syndrome”, or content without visibility to the buyer. Answering buyer questions is nothing new. While best answer content is a topic we’ve been evangelizing at TopRank Marketing since our book Optimize was published 7 years ago and since, changes in voice search and what Google shows in search results has put Q and A content marketing into the SEO spotlight. The new SEO is optimization for answers. Along those lines you can learn about AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) which focuses on voice search. There’s also Google’s "People Also Ask” feature which now show up for 79% of search results according to Moz. The difference between optimizing content through AEO tactics or for PAA visibility with a best answer strategy is the difference between visibility on a single channel like Google and consistently visibility across channels for a specific topic. Being the best answer is hard, but that's the price for being in the winner's circle of consistent top visibility. While it’s more difficult to achieve best answer authority on multiple channels than just Google, in this world of information overload, self-directed business customers are searching for useful, credible information they can use to educate, evaluate and make purchasing decisions.

If buyers don't see consistent, credible and engaging "best answer" content across channels from your brand, they'll begin to trust competitors who are.

B2B buyers are using Google but they are also asking their social networks, listening to influencers, seeing some ads, consulting with peers in forums, reading industry editorial, blogs, and a variety of offline information sources. Successful B2B marketers understand their buyers preferences for information discovery, consumption and engagement. They use customer insight and understanding of intent to create best answer content that is easy to find in search, credible and a great user experience. They also create a cycle of optimization where ongoing performance analysis is used to refine and improve. So how do B2B marketers create best answer content? Josh Nite from our team has outlined a few good best answer content examples here. Let's also look at some of the characteristics of best answer web pages aka “power pages”. 1. Customer Insight - Whether it’s keyword research, CRM or conversion data from your web analytics, it’s important to step beyond your own intuition about what topics to focus on and rely on data.Consider what is it that your brand should be the best answer for and what customers are looking for that best represents your solution. Metrics that give you an indication of demand like keyword research and intent like analytics and conversion data can point you in the right direction as to what topics to validate. 2. Best Answer Topic(s) - The research and insights work should help you identify the general topic to focus on for best answer content. Then you can leverage answer research tools like BuzzSumo’s Question Analyzer which pulls data from Q/A sites and forums to surface the actual questions being asked about those topics. 3. Hub and Spoke Publishing Model - I first outlined the idea of a hub with distribution channels back in 2010 and the idea has endured. At the center is a comprehensive treatment of your best answer topic. Today we call them “power pages”, more about them below. The spokes have evolved from simply being places to promote your hub content to also include other content representing variations of your main best answer topic. 15% of the daily queries used on Google have never been seen before, so it's important to surface the most important variations on your primary best answer topic. Those variations present a more comprehensive representation of your brand's dominance on the overall topic and also provide many repurposing and content promotion opportunities. 4. Power Page - The hub or Power Page provides specific and deep coverage of a Best Answer Topic in a way that appeals to search engines and buyers alike. Whether a buyer's intent is to understand the topic broadly or to start evaluating what specific solutions can mean for their problem, a Power Page provides an easily findable, deep and engaging explanation. Some common characteristics of the best performing Power Pages include:

Leverage keywords/topics in titles to inspire clicks

Include page features that increase engagement (interactive, visual)

Provide comprehensive content on specific topics: examples, research, models

Cover related topics as well

5. Distribution Channels - Power pages are often hosted on a company website or blog. But that’s not the only place buyers will look for your solution topics. It’s important to have an integrated content plan that incorporates owned, earned, paid and shared media. Whether you partner with industry influencers and industry press to boost credibility or run paid search and social ads for ultra specific targeting, the best answer topic should be consistent across channels where buyers are looking - not just on search engines! What it takes to be the best answer:

Specific, in demand topic

More valuable and useful than other sites

Credible

High quality

Engaging

Device friendly, accessible

Loads fast

By doing the homework of leveraging customer insight and validating with keyword research, you can then identify the actual questions buyers are asking about topics important to your solutions. Answering those questions through a hub and spoke content publishing model ensures a deep focus and coverage of variations on your topic across the channels where customers are seeking answers. But that's not all. There are many ways to create even better Best Answer content experiences. Having industry experts help answer customer questions segmented by stage of the buying cycle creates and a more credible and targeted experience. In fact, showcasing industry experts in a brand context for best answer content that is more visual or interactive content can really set a B2B brand apart. Easy to find, credible content that’s also a great user experience is exactly what a Best Answer content strategy can do for B2B customers that are actively looking for solutions. There’s a lot more to this topic and I will be digging in more deeply during an upcoming Webinar with BuzzSumo on January 23rd at 2pm EST. How A Best Answer Strategy Drives B2B Marketing Results This presentation will show you:

The modern content marketing integration model

How to use SEO question data to inform credible content and influencer selection

What "best answer" content looks like with examples from B2B companies

Check out the details here on the BuzzSumo site and I hope to see you there!

The post How A Best Answer Content Strategy Drives B2B Marketing Results appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from The SEO Advantages http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OnlineMarketingSEOBlog/~3/aG9l_W7anXo/

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chris-brandify · 1 month ago

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Why Voice Search is the Future of SEO Key Insights for Businesses

What is Voice Search, and Why Does It Matter?

Voice search technology enables users to perform internet searches through spoken queries. Devices like smartphones, smart speakers (e.g., Alexa, Google Home), and voice assistants (e.g., Siri) use natural language processing (NLP) to understand and respond to these queries. In recent years, voice search has surged in popularity, with research showing that over 50% of all searches are now voice-based. This trend reflects a significant shift in consumer behavior and has profound implications for businesses aiming to stay competitive online. (Source: Think with Google)

Why Is Voice Search the Future of SEO?

Voice search is faster than typing, making it more convenient for users. Unlike traditional typed searches, voice queries are more conversational, such as “What’s the best Italian restaurant near me?” rather than “Italian restaurant NYC.” Smart devices like Alexa and Google Home are becoming staples in households, driving voice search adoption. Voice search queries often focus on local businesses, like “Find a coffee shop nearby.” To capitalize on this, businesses must prioritize local SEO. Additionally, voice assistants often pull information from featured snippets, emphasizing the importance of structured, high-quality content. (Source: Search Engine Journal)

Preparing Your Business for the Voice Search Revolution

Optimize for conversational keywords by including natural, question-based phrases like “How do I book a plumber in my area?” instead of short-tail keywords like “book plumber.” Focus on local SEO by updating your Google Business Profile with accurate details and incorporating “near me” keywords. (Learn more about Google My Business.) Improve site speed and mobile-friendliness since voice searches are predominantly conducted on mobile devices. (Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to ensure your site meets requirements.) Create FAQ pages addressing common queries related to your business, such as “What are your business hours?” Use schema markup like FAQPage schema to make your content eligible for rich snippets, increasing visibility for voice queries. (Learn about schema at Schema.org.)

Why Choose Brandify for Voice Search Optimization?

Brandify specializes in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Voice Search Optimization (VSO) to help businesses rank higher and connect with their audience more effectively. From local SEO to implementing structured data, we offer tailored solutions to prepare your business for the future. Learn more here or Contact Us today to start optimizing your strategy.

FAQs: Voice Search Optimization

How does voice search differ from traditional search? Voice search queries are conversational and typically longer. They often reflect immediate intent, such as “Where can I find a florist near me?”

How can small businesses benefit from voice search? By focusing on local SEO and answering common customer questions, small businesses can attract nearby voice search users.

What tools can help with voice search optimization? Tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights, Google Business Profile, and schema.org are excellent resources. (Explore optimization tools at BrightLocal.)

Closing Thoughts

Voice search isn’t a passing trend—it’s a transformative shift in how consumers find information. By optimizing for voice search now, your business can stay ahead of the competition and connect with customers more effectively. Ready to dominate voice search? Visit Brandify or Contact Us to start building your strategy today.

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aurelliocheek · 5 years ago

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2020 predictions for mobile marketing

Previous predictions: 2019 predictions for mobile marketing, 2018 predictions for mobile marketing, 2017 predictions for mobile marketing, 2016 predictions for mobile marketing

For the fifth year running, Mobile Dev Memo presents a set of predictions on what the coming year may bring with respect to mobile marketing. As with last year, I consulted a number of venerated marketers (and myself) from a broad set of mobile verticals in compiling the predictions.

Eric Seufert

Owner of Mobile Dev Memo and QuantMar, author of Freemium Economics, and formerly marketing at N3TWORK, Rovio, Skype

2019 saw the development and amplification of a number of broad economic themes that I believe will impact the mobile marketing ecosystem in specific ways throughout 2020. Primarily, I expect to see a general pullback in marketing spend on Facebook and Google as “growth stage” companies, especially those funded by SoftBank, apply more discipline to their marketing budgets. Via the IPOs of Uber, Lyft, and Slack (and WeWork’s failed IPO process), companies now understand that the growth-centric laws of physics that dominate private company valuations don’t apply in the harsh crucible of the public markets: public investors demand paths to profitability, transparency, and financial self-control.

Absent the profligate marketing spend on Facebook and Google from the likes of many growth-stage companies with large pools of cash to spend indiscriminately on ads, performance marketers driving systematic growth might find a more welcoming environment in 2020.

Another trend I see taking more pronounced form in 2020 is the death of the CMO role for mobile-first companies as the monetization and direct response marketing functions merge into the broader Growth operation. This feels inevitable as event-drive, algorithmic campaign management dominate Facebook and Google advertising: without oversight of and impact on monetization, marketing teams are incapable of properly optimizing mobile ad spend with event-driven campaign strategies like AEO and VO on Facebook and Google’s UAC. This will be even more true if Facebook’s version of UAC rolls out in 2020; marketing teams that do not control monetization design and strategy will simply be ineffectual.

This, to me, spells the death of the notion of a exclusively marketing-oriented executive for mobile-first companies that grow primarily through direct response marketing: without deep analytics and monetization design experience, a marketing leader cannot properly scale a mobile-first business.

Finally, I believe 2020 will produce further stratification at the bottom of the SAN (self-attributing network) category: in this post, I presented a two-tier hierarchy of SANs on mobile, but I can foresee the second tier of that hierarchy splintering as the smaller and less-reactive platforms lose market share to Google and Facebook, which continue to dominate on mobile. In 2020, I believe the SAN category will develop into a four-tier system represented by:

Tier 1: Facebook, Google

Tier 2: Amazon, Snap, Apple (Search Ads), TikTok (in the second half of the year)

Tier 3: Twitter, Pinterest

Tier 4: Reddit, Quora

As the SAN category fractures, I believe programmatic in-housing ultimately grows: large advertisers will take programmatic media buying in-house to build the tools and targeting logic that the slower and less evolved platforms haven’t delivered.

Hila Qu

VP Growth at Acorns, Best selling Growth Book Author

In the past 3 years, I have been working on the front line of mobile growth in the super competitive fintech space, and I have observed some trends that I think will continue in 2020.

First, no new large-scale acquisition channels have opened up, therefore the Big 2 Google and Facebook are likely to become even more crowded and expensive. To combat an ever-rising CAC, mobile growth teams must take a “full funnel approach.” Intensive AB testing & product-driven growth are a necessity today, and mobile growth teams have to have both channel experts and growth product managers / engineers to be successful.

Second, both Google & Facebook are pushing advertisers to largely rely on algorithms, and that trend will continue. Mobile growth teams will spend less time on managing individual campaigns and more time monitoring real-time analytics and making tweaks based on spend recommendations. Channel expertise will be less critical, and the ability to produce a high velocity of new creatives to feed into spending algorithms powered by data scientists are key ingredients for success.

Lastly, back to basics: in the past few years, tons of venture money accelerated innovation but also acted like “growth steroids” to train some companies into pursuing vanity metrics. In 2020, as the overall economy & venture market cools down, companies have to go back to the basics: is LTV > CAC? By how much? What is the payback period? The focus on incrementality will be huge too as money becomes tighter.

Thomas Petit

Growth consultant and start up advisor

Status Quo

I don’t believe much change will happen in sources distribution, Facebook & Google will keep their oligopolistic 2/3rds share of the UA market, although that percentage may have peaked as marketers get increasingly concerned by dependency;

Event / Value optimization on Facebook and Google still won’t be able to incorporate more than 1 value to reflect complex user flows & monetization schemes;

The two main app stores will retain their hegemony, with the distant threat from third party stores & PWA failing to reach critical size, at least within the next 12 months;

Privacy will make headlines, but nothing fundamental will change in the adtech industry. Business as usual.

There will be blood!

App stores are winner takes all by nature and the middle class will suffer in 2020: I sadly foresee the firesale (if not bankruptcy) of several mid-to-large developers, both in gaming and non-gaming. Some of the worsening factors include the impact of new iOS subscription scheme, the extreme competition in hypercasuals, or the pressure from VCs to shift strategy 180º from volume to profitability in some verticals;

Important evolutions will affect tools & vendors. Watch out in particular for the CDP and programmatic in-housing markets growing, the MMP war intensifying, while new creative automation services and data modeling tools will emerge this year;

The leading UA metrics will move further down the funnel towards complex p-LTV ROAS models to avoid short term focus.

I predict the biggest change of 2020 to be on marketing teams structure & roles:

There will be even less UA managers processing media buying, especially with Facebook’s incoming “AAA” mimicking UAC;

Designers, data analysts and even engineers will stop servicing marketing teams to becoming their core pieces. Data analysis in particular will be even more highly sought after, for instance to feed algorithmic bidding with better predictive events / predicted value;

A new role will emerge: the “creative manager,” a mixed role unifying creativity and analytics, interpreting hard data into actionable insights, enhancing the ideation quality and automating testing process;

ASO reaches maturity and requires more senior roles, transitioning to broader organic growth management illustrating the holistic and cross-functional nature of the discipline;

From UA to marketing to growth: as acquisition, retention & monetization get more intertwined than ever, many marketing teams will somewhat merge with product & CRM into complex cross-functional growth teams, an organizational evolution that will be a tricky challenge to structure successfully;

The sum of all above will result in increasing complexity of senior marketing roles, and provoke massive turnover among VP Marketing/CMOs. Hiring for such roles successfully will be a struggle.

Simon Lejeune

Head of User Acquisition at Hopper

2020 will be the year of Facebook’s version of Universal App Campaigns, rolling out worldwide. Adoption could be mandatory by 2021. The automation and commoditization of user acquisition keeps accelerating. Investors will ask less how you’ll grow your user base and more how you’ll monetize it;

More and more campaigns will be automatically created and updated on top of product feeds. These campaigns will be algorithmically optimized with revenue and LTV data continuing to be happily handed over to Facebook and Google;

Marketers continue behaving more like plumbers, making sure the right data flows to the right place — or architects if you prefer that comparison. Automation will level the playing field and allow small teams to be even more competitive against big companies. (Truly cross-platform marketing tools and features may begin to breakthrough in the martech field. The rivalry between Apple, Facebook and Google and ever-growing privacy concerns will make attribution headaches more frequent.);

The Google and Facebook duopoly will probably grow stronger. But just like Google, Facebook might become greedier as they’re reaching saturation. And as more advertisers keep pouring more money into Facebook, CPMs inflation could accelerate. Panicked performance advertisers will experiment more on other social media and allow for lower returns, which should help smaller platforms stay afloat. (The only TikTok 2020 prediction I can make is that we’ll see more of TikTok in the news. But between paid ads priming the pump, yet to be seen retention rates and China-related backlash, anything can happen.);

Someone will spend dozens of millions of dollars in mobile Facebook ads and become the next President of the United States. Facebook will inevitably be accused of both having no impact at all and of being a careless evil king maker while we keep struggling to understand how social networks actually affect society and what to do about it. In the meantime, here’s something Facebook could do about political ads.

Anette Dahlstrøm Ståløy

VP of Business & Marketing at Dirtybit

The numbers of apps in the stores and the competition for visibility in the stores keep increasing year after year, and 2020 will not be an exception. First of all, having a high quality product will be crucial in order to succeed in the coming year. The app store algorithms are getting more and more sophisticated. One of the key success factors for marketers will be the ability to keep up with changes in how the algorithms affect app discoverability and visibility by emphasising stability, performance, engagement and other key user satisfaction metrics. Even though organic reach is getting harder and harder, there is still a lot of potential, and companies large and small need to strive to find their strategy and balance both paid and organic user acquisition;

After years of #programmatic #headerbidding, we will finally see what the hype has been about, with a more mature ecosystem, tech and tools;

In 2020 the market will be dominated by big companies with massive UA budgets in their toolbox. However, there will still be room for mid sized and even smaller teams to succeed, teams with the right skillset, tools and right attitude, and with the willingness and ability to invest in becoming great performance marketers. By the end of the day it’s about finding the right users for your product, retaining them, and keeping them happy so that they will be your ambassadors, referring friends and more users to your product. We are already seeing that app store search accounts for a significant amount of app installs, so it will be more and more important to build strong and recognizable brands;

No matter what 2020 will bring in terms of new tech, genres, platforms or other factors that determine who will succeed – luck will still be an important part of the equation. At Dirtybit we like to say that we always need to optimize for luck!

Photo by Toni Cuenca on Unsplash

The post 2020 predictions for mobile marketing appeared first on Mobile Dev Memo.

2020 predictions for mobile marketing published first on https://leolarsonblog.tumblr.com/

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aurelliocheek · 4 years ago

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Apocalypse Later: IDFA deprecation is delayed. Now what?

In a developer update last week, Apple disclosed that the new privacy changes announced for iOS14 at this year’s WWDC would be postponed until “early next year.” The disclosure, which confirmed a rumor that began circulating two weeks ago, was welcomed by app developers: while many see the IDFA as something of an anachronism in the modern marketing environment, complying with and adapting to the new privacy protections coming to iOS14 was a more onerous task than most developers could complete by iOS14’s September 15th release date.

So many developers breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday, when Apple granted them a few months’ reprieve on compliance with the new privacy changes. But this respite raises a question: what now?

The IDFA will be deprecated; that isn’t changing. Developers have a few additional months to not only accommodate IDFA deprecation but to fully embrace Apple’s SKAdNetwork framework. The SKAdNetwork framework is the future of measurement on iOS; the primary difficulty in transitioning away from the IDFA is implementing a measurement strategy that provides for marketing efficiency without requiring a persistent, device-centric identifier (although I argue that the persistent, device-centric horse left the barn a while ago). Building out the infrastructure required to integrate with SKAdNetwork is easy; re-orienting all marketing analytics around the data provided through SKAdNetwork is difficult and demanding.

So how should developers make the most of the time that has been granted by Apple to fully incorporate SKAdNetwork into their marketing operations? How can developers avoid simply kicking the compliance can down the road and scrambling at the beginning of 2021 to execute against an impending deadline, as most have been doing since WWDC — despite SKAdNetwork having been introduced in 2018, and industry premonitions as late as the beginning of this year that Apple might deprecate the IDFA at WWDC?

I think developers should focus their attention — starting right now — into three broad strategic activities to prepare for the upcoming privacy restrictions that will be instated at some point in 2021:

Architect a new, SKAdNetwork-centric advertising tech stack;

Optimize in-app content for advertising efficiency;

Prepare for a world in which ads personalization is limited.

Architect a new, SKAdNetwork-centric advertising tech stack

Advertisers will need to understand how their data is aggregated, and from which sources, in the post-IDFA environment. My sense is that many advertisers believe that this function will be fulfilled by MMPs going forward, but one passage from Facebook’s recent iOS14 Advertiser FAQ calls that into question:

My interpretation of this statement is that Facebook doesn’t want MMP SDKs integrated in advertiser apps, and to dissuade advertisers from integrating them, it is only making App Event Optimization (AEO) campaigns available when an advertiser integrates the Facebook SDK for activating the updateConversionValue method in their app.

Many MMPs are now pivoting to data aggregation and analysis services, which map SKAdNetwork conversion values to in-app events and trigger the updateConversionValue method via in-app SDK when those events are observed. This allows developers to simply map in-app events to conversion values and to not have to institute any other in-app logic for firing the updateConversionValue method.

But it appears that Facebook doesn’t want that to happen: it wants its SDK to fire the updateConversionValue method, and it is incentivizing developers to allow for that by only making AEO campaigns available when Facebook manages SKAdNetwork logic. Additionally, upon release of its iOS14 SDK, Facebook is planning to define a list of conversion values that should be used for very specific in-app events, similar to how AEO events are defined now. Facebook currently utilizes 15 “standard events” for the AEO campaign strategy: it remains to be seen how many “standard events” it will require advertisers to map to SKAdNetwork conversion values.

This means that advertisers need to decide whether to include an MMP SDK at all for their iOS traffic — since mapping in-app events to conversion values potentially won’t require dynamic interpretation (as Facebook is defining those mappings) and because Facebook will trigger the updateConversionValue method via its SDK. And if an MMP SDK isn’t included in the app — should the advertiser build its own aggregation tool to connect to each ad network partner and aggregate all SKAdNetwork postback data?

Optimize in-app content for advertising efficiency

In How to scale and optimize marketing spend with SKAdNetwork, I discussed a framework for thinking about conversion value usage in producing actionable, credible insights around potential user monetization and engagement. Going through that process will be critical in scaling advertising campaigns in the post-IDFA environment.

But building those triggers in the app requires specifically engineering “moments” that produce predictive power. It’s not enough to exhaustively instrument the existing user experience with very many events that can be used to gauge monetization or engagement potential; that approach utilizes the “measure everything” paradigm that is dying with the IDFA. Now, developers should aim to curate experiences that are predictive themselves.

Expounding upon this idea: the current event-optimized advertising paradigm allows advertisers to outsource all personalization to ad platforms by sending them every in-app event that is triggered by a user. The platforms collect this data, build very specific segments out of the users that trigger different events (especially purchases) using shared characteristics, and then find other users that fit those profiles and target them with ads. In the process of doing that, advertising is optimized because ad creative variants are tested at the level of the sub-groups, meaning each different segment is seeing the ad creative to which it is most likely to respond:

In the new, post-IDFA paradigm, ad platforms will be unable to build specific segments of users that are likely to engage or monetize based on shared characteristics at the individual level because, with the event stream broken, the ad platforms won’t know which users actually monetize or engage. Ad platforms will only know which campaigns produced conversion values, and those campaigns will be targeted broadly based on demographic and platform features (eg. US iPhone). This means that segmentation will no longer take place at the advertising layer, and so advertisers will need to do it at the content layer:

Put another way: since advertisers will no longer receive vetted, qualified traffic based on the ad platforms’ abilities to segment users, the advertisers will have to do that segmentation themselves within the app based on early behavioral signals. An advertiser will need to observe a user’s first few interactions with in-app content and come up with an estimate of their future “value” (either in terms of engagement or monetization) to the app. Even better than that: specifically designing experiences in the app that allow those estimates to be made with even more predictive power.

This is deep product work, but it leans into the SKAdNetwork framework by producing conversion values that deliver powerful insight into the performance of ad campaigns. One of the themes I have repeatedly emphasized over the past two years as event-optimized ad campaigns rose to prominence is that of the tail wagging the dog in terms of advertising events informing (or dictating) product design, especially the early product experience. Ironically, with the event stream dying along with the IDFA, this dynamic becomes even more important because advertising networks only receive one feedback event via the SKAdNetwork postback. All possible signal around user value must be captured with that one conversion value.

Prepare for a world in which ads personalization is limited

This is a mostly philosophical exercise. Developers should expect that their ability to reach highly targeted audiences for their mobile products will be extremely curtailed going forward (on Android as well as iOS). Acknowledging this likely means answering the following question:

What products should I build if I know I can’t reach a very specific audience with targeted advertising?

What Facebook, Google, and some other ad networks became very good at over the past few years was routing users to the apps that could monetize them to the greatest possible extent via ads. That ability is being diminished with the deprecation of the IDFA. Users will be exposed to ads that are less laser-targeted to them on the basis of their monetization potential, and they’ll likely also revert to more organic discovery. What kind of apps thrive in that environment? What kind of apps die?

I discuss this idea in How iOS14 might change consumer behavior on mobile: when ads are less targeted, apps need to be more broadly appealing. It’s probably not possible, post-IDFA, to build a very successful business that thrives with tens or low-hundreds of thousands of DAU that all monetize very heavily: reaching the specific audiences that respond to niche products won’t be as efficient. App developers should consider how these changes are going to impact the viability of their product catalogue. In the aforementioned article, I talked about a “move to the middle” for gaming, but all app categories will be affected.

“Early next year”

Apple didn’t provide much guidance around timing in its announcement of the privacy delay. What if “early next year” means January? That would give developers just three months to achieve the above. Although Apple’s announcement was universally received with great enthusiasm across the mobile landscape, it’d be unwise for any advertiser to appreciably relax the intensity with which they were progressing towards iOS14 compatibility. Apple isn’t likely to have much sympathy for unpreparedness next year.

Apocalypse Later: IDFA deprecation is delayed. Now what? published first on https://leolarsonblog.tumblr.com/

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