Toga Freight Services Dublin has been certified with AEO (Authorised Economic Operator) status, issued by the Irish Revenue Commissioners.
AEO status is a certified standard authorisation issued by Customs administrations in the European Union (EU). It certifies that a business has met certain standards in relation to:
- safety and security
- systems to manage commercial records
- compliance with customs rules
- financial solvency
- practical standards of competence or professional qualifications.
This is primarily a trade facilitation measure that recognises reliable operators and encourages best practice in the international supply chain.
Commenting on the awarding of AEO status, Managing Director, Martin Gately said: “Toga is well known for it’s ability in high volume Customs Clearances, with over 180,000 processed in 2018, but AEO status had previously only accredited to Toga Freight’s sister company, Toga Logistics. But the increase in enquiries in the lead up to Brexit meant that it was a natural and obvious progression for Toga Freight to have the same accreditations in place. As with our Swords office, our procedures and practices in Dublin 12 are robust, rigorous and lean, so AEO accreditation was a straight forward process.”
Toga Freight operates a Customs ACP Bonded warehouse in Dublin 12, where all 110+ weekly groupage trailers from the UK arrive, so the changes in procedure after Brexit will be managed comfortably by the growing workforce on site with added benefits and savings now available for customers thanks to the AEO Accreditation.
“It was clear that our large customer base in the UK and Ireland, along with our many agents in the UK and Europe wanted assurances that we could cover every eventuality in the post-Brexit logistics environment. AEO Status, together with all our existing attributes, particularly operating a busy bonded warehouse and our expertise in the Customs Clearance field, means that we are now ideally placed to service their needs and keep their goods moving in the most efficient and cost-effective way,” explained Darragh Toner, Operations Director.
Commercial Director Robert Dickinson added: “We have seen a steady increase in clients since the Brexit Referendum who had clearly moved to us in anticipation of the Brexit deadline. Some small clients and some major accounts have come on board which resulted in a 15% increase in sales in 2018 and produced some fabulous results for us. There is no sign of things slowing down in 2019 either, with January and February already producing record figures.”
Toga Freight was founded in 1978 by the late Peter Toner and the current Managing Director, Martin Gately, which, together with Toga Logistics Ltd, one of Ireland’s largest customs clearance agents, employs over 50 people at two sites in Dublin.