AQL stands for acceptance quality limit. In an agreed acceptance-sampling scheme, it is an index used to select a plan for deciding whether a defined lot meets the sampling criterion. It is not the percentage of defective units automatically permitted in one shipment.
A buyer needs more than an AQL number: identify the lot, inspection level, checks, defect categories, sample selection method, and the plan’s acceptance and non-acceptance numbers. An Ac 2 / Re 3 result, for example, means two findings meet that specific acceptance criterion and three result in non-acceptance under that criterion; it does not describe every unchecked unit.
A sampling pass does not prove that the full lot is defect-free or authorize shipment. Read How AQL Packaging Inspection Works, use the AQL Calculator as a planning reference, and agree the inspection scope and decision authority before the check.