Entity Identifier (AEI)

Entering the AEI confirms the validity of an offshore treatment provider and helps us monitor the effectiveness of treatments conducted by offshore treatment providers. In addition to entering the AEI, accredited persons are still required to verify that details of the treatment certificate meet requirements. 

Profiles are created in the ICS for treatment providers that are ‘suspended’, ‘under review’, ‘withdrawn’ or ‘unacceptable’. Where an AEI is entered for an unacceptable treatment provider that has a profile applied, the import declaration will be referred to us.

If the consignment has a valid treatment certificate, entering the AEI may expedite the clearance of the goods. Not entering the relevant AEI may result in assessment by the department, potential non compliance, and processing delays.

You are required to enter an AEI for all consignments accompanied by a:

• methyl bromide treatment certificate
• BMSB treatment certificate
• gamma irradiation treatment certificate
• sulfuryl fluoride treatment certificate
• heat treatment certificate
• insecticide treatment certificate
• cleaning and pre-inspection of used vehicles by recognised treatment providers.

A treatment certificate from a registered offshore treatment provider must include an AEI. Registered treatment providers are listed on the Pre-border Biosecurity Treatment Providers.

It uses a format of a two-character country code (ISO 3166-1-ALPHA2) followed by a four-digit company identification number. The scheme/treatment code is added to the end (e.g., AB 1234 SF).

The exception to this format is the generic AEI ‘SFTREATED’ that you must select in the ICS or third-party software to indicate sulfuryl fluoride treatments. See sulfuryl fluoride treatment certificates.

If the AEI is not included on the treatment certificate, this may indicate that the treatment provider is not registered with the department.

If you cannot locate the AEI on the treatment certificate:

• Identify the country of origin and name of the treatment provider that issued the certificate.
• Go to the offshore treatment provider webpage to find the treatment provider and their AEI.

For recognised offshore vehicle cleaning providers, the AEI may be located on the endorsed manifest or the offshore treatments of used vehicles – recognised providers webpage.

There are differences in how the AEI should be entered on the import declaration depending on the reason for the treatment, treatment type, and whether a registered or unregistered treatment provider is used.

The links below provide specific information on how to enter AEI for:

• BMSB treatment certificates
• Registered treatment provider from the List of treatment providers
• Unregistered treatment providers
• Sulfuryl fluoride treatment certificates
• Treatment certificate, where the container is subject to khapra beetle measures
• Other offshore treatment schemes (used vehicles)

AEI quick reference guides

For a summary of how to correctly enter the AEI, refer to the AEI reference guide and task card below.

Entering an AEI for non-commodity

Where non-commodity is treated offshore and is accompanied by a treatment certificate (excluding ISPM15 treatment), you must record the AEI against the first commodity line of the import declaration as required for individual treatments.

ISPM15

Acceptable ISPM15 packaging and dunnage does not require an AEI to be reported.

Assessment of the treatment certificate’s information is still required.

If you determine that the treatment certificate does not meet requirements:

• enter the AEI
• enter the relevant concern type which will refer the consignment to the department for assessment (e.g. BNCC or BCOM)
• lodge your documentation through COLS, ensuring you include a clear explanation of the issue

It is a condition of Class 19.1 and 19.2 approved arrangements that an AEI must be entered where a declaration relies on a treatment certificate assessment and an AEI has been assigned to the treatment provider. Not entering the AEI is considered non-compliance against these arrangements.

Amendment of the import declaration may be required in instances where the AEI for an acceptable treatment certificate should have been entered. This may result in clearance delays.

To enter an AEI for treatment certificates (commodity and non-commodity) from registered treatment providers on the List of treatment providers, you should:

1. Determine the AEI of the company that issued the certificate.
2. In the AEI field in the ICS or customs broker third party software, select the appropriate AEI or AEIs from the list provided ensuring that the company name in the second column matches the company name on the certificate.

All treatment providers (acceptable and unacceptable) are included in the AEI list in the ICS. An AEI is only required to be entered once for each consignment.

If the treatment certificate covers multiple commodities in the consignment

The AEI is only required to be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration.

If there are multiple treatment certificates for the consignment

All the AEIs can be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration.

Some customs broker third party software will allocate the selected AEI to all tariff lines. This is also acceptable.

Treatment certificates issued by unregistered treatment providers will not have an AEI number. For treatments conducted by an unregistered provider you must:

1. Identify the country of origin, treatment type, and name of the treatment provider that issued the certificate.
2. Refer to the Unregistered treatment providers list to verify if the treatment provider is listed as unacceptable or under review; note the relevant AEI number.
3. In the AEI field, in the ICS or third-party software, search the AEI list by country code, company name and treatment type to select it.
   • If the provider is ‘unacceptable’ or ‘under review’ then choose the AEI assigned to it on the Unregistered treatment providers list.
   • If the provider is not listed, select the relevant generic AEI for that country and treatment type from the Unregistered treatment provider list.

An AEI is only required to be entered once for each consignment.

If the treatment certificate covers multiple commodities in the consignment

The AEI is only required to be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration.

If there are multiple treatment certificates for the consignment

All the AEIs can be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration.

Some customs broker third-party software will allocate the selected AEI to all tariff lines. This is also acceptable.

There are three approved treatment types to address the BMSB risk:

• Methyl bromide
• Sulfuryl fluoride
• Heat

All goods subject to BMSB measures must be treated by a treatment provider listed as ‘approved’ on the List of treatment providers.

Treatment providers from target risk countries that wish to become registered to conduct BMSB treatments can do so under the Offshore BMSB treatment providers scheme.

Treatment certificates from target risk countries will not be accepted from unregistered treatment providers, or treatment providers listed as ‘suspended’, ‘withdrawn’ or ‘under review’ on the List of treatment providers.

Treatment providers in non-target risk countries (e.g. Singapore) can also register, but it is not mandatory.

Learn more about BMSB requirements.

AEI requirements for registered BMSB treatment providers

All BMSB treatment certificates issued by registered treatment providers on the List of treatment providers must include their AEI number.

If a consignment is accompanied by BMSB sulfuryl fluoride, methyl bromide or heat treatment certificate from a registered treatment provider, you are required to select the appropriate AEI code from the reference file in the ICS or your third-party software, using the ‘Entering the AEI into the ICS’ task card.

AEI requirements for unregistered BMSB treatment providers

BMSB treatments can be conducted by unregistered treatment providers if the treatment is not undertaken in a BMSB target risk country.

BMSB treatment certificates issued by unregistered treatment providers will not have an AEI number unless the unregistered treatment provider is listed as ‘unacceptable’ or ‘under review’ on the unregistered treatment provider list. If there is no AEI associated with a treatment provider, brokers are required to enter the generic AEI for the country and treatment type.

Entering the AEI for BMSB treatment

Where the BMSB treatment certificate is issued by a registered treatment provider the AEI is only required to be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration.

The only exception is for BMSB treatments of break bulk cargo, where the AEI needs to be entered against every line of target high risk goods.

For brokers operating under an AEPCOMM approved arrangement, the AEI should be entered in conjunction with the AEPCOMM code specified in BICON.

In the AEI field in a customs broker's third party software or the ICS, select the appropriate AEI from the list provided ensuring that the company name in the second column matches the company name on the certificate.

All registered treatment providers (acceptable and unacceptable) are included in the AEI list in the ICS.

Multiple AEIs can be recorded in the same location

There may be occasions where a consignment is accompanied by more than one treatment certificate – for example, one for a BMSB treatment and one for a commodity treatment. In these instances, you can enter the multiple AEIs against the first tariff line of the import declaration (except for break bulk cargo where the code needs to be entered against the corresponding lines).

There are three approved treatment types to manage the emerging risk of khapra beetle in sea containers. These treatments include:

• Methyl bromide
• Heat
• Insecticide spray

As these are urgent actions, the department will accept treatment certificates from both registered and unregistered treatment providers.

For assurance purposes you will be required to enter an AEI number for all treatment certificates accompanying containers subject to the khapra beetle measures, including those issued by both registered and unregistered treatment providers.

Learn more about consignments subject to khapra beetle sea container measures.

AEI requirements for registered treatment providers

Where a khapra beetle methyl bromide or heat treatment is conducted by a registered treatment provider on the List of treatment providers, the certificate must include the AEI number. Refer to offshore treatment providers webpage.

You are required to select the appropriate AEI code from the reference file in the ICS or your third-party software, using the task card ‘Entering the AEI into the ICS’.

AEI requirements for unregistered treatment providers

Treatment certificates issued by unregistered treatment providers will not have an AEI number. For treatments conducted by an unregistered provider you must:

1. Identify the country of origin, treatment type, and name of the treatment provider that issued the certificate.
2. Refer to the offshore treatment providers webpage to verify if the treatment provider is listed as ‘unacceptable’ or ‘under review’; note the relevant AEI number.
3. In the AEI field, in the ICS or third-party software, search the AEI list by country code, company name and treatment type to select it.
   • If the provider is 'unacceptable' or ‘under review’ then choose the AEI assigned to it on the relevant treatment providers list.
   • If the provider is not listed select the generic AEI for the country and treatment type.

An AEI is only required to be entered once for each consignment, against the first line of the import declaration.

If the treatment certificate covers commodity and non-commodity or if there are multiple certificates for the consignment.

The AEI is only required to be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration. For example, this applies if:

• the treatment certificate covers the container risk (e.g., khapra beetle) and the commodity risk (e.g., timber) or
• there are different treatment certificates for the container risk (e.g., khapra beetle) and commodity risk (e.g., timber).

Note: treatment certificates covering containers that have been treated using heat or insecticide for khapra beetle must only have the container listed as the target of the treatment.

Some customs broker's third party software will allocate the selected AEI to all tariff lines. This is also acceptable.

All containers that have been treated with sulfuryl fluoride must be reported to the department when lodging the import declaration.

AEI requirements for registered treatment providers

For any sulfuryl fluoride treatment conducted by a treatment provider found on the department’s List of Treatment Providers both the generic AEI (SFTREATED) and the treatment provider specific AEI must be included on the import declaration.

AEI requirements for unregistered treatment providers

For sulfuryl fluoride treatments conducted by a provider not found on the List of Treatment Providers, only the generic AEI (SFTREATED) is required to be included in the import declaration.
The generic AEI is only required to be entered against the first tariff line of the import declaration.

It is important that the specific AEI for the treatment provider is reported in conjunction with the generic AEI to avoid unnecessary referrals of import declarations that are subject to high risk BMSB measures and have been treated offshore.

To enter an AEI to report the cleaning and pre-inspection of used vehicles by an offshore treatment facility recognised by the department, customs brokers must:

1. Determine the AEI of the offshore facility, by referring to the list of recognised treatment providers of used vehicles, or the consignment manifest endorsed by the treatment provider.
2. In the AEI field in the ICS or customs broker third party software, select the appropriate AEI from the list provided. Refer to the Task card for guidance on how to enter an AEI into the ICS.

All treatment providers currently recognised by the department are included in the AEI list in the ICS.

The AEI must be entered for every vehicle in the consignment. Therefore, each vehicle in the consignment must be entered on a separate line of the import declaration and the associated AEI must be recorded against this line.

Important: Any one consignment may comprise of vehicles that have been cleaned by multiple facilities of the same treatment provider, in which case more than one AEI will apply. Brokers must ensure the correct AEI’s are entered so that the appropriate intervention rate is applied for each vehicle.