The A.T.A Carnet – a ‘Passport for Goods’.
The A.T.A Carnet has been a boon for business travellers and has made trade and border crossings easier for half a century.
Earlier in the year, the landmark birthday was celebrated by the World A.T.A Carnet Council, chaired by Cindy Duncan of the United States Council for International Business, and many national Chambers of Commerce, along with Customs participants during meetings of the A.T.A/Istanbul Convention Administrative Committee at the World Customs Organisation.
The A.T.A Carnet is a prime example of successful Customs business partnerships for promoting trade and investment. In addition, this partnership is instrumental for implementation of the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade Facilitation Article on Temporary Admission.
There are substantial economic benefits to be gained from temporary admissions of goods. The A.T.A Carnet System, which is based on the Istanbul Convention, is one of the most important internationally accepted systems for the movement of goods under temporary admission through multiple Customs territories.
The Administrative Committee discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of the A.T.A Carnet System including the development of a paperless A.T.A Carnet using the globally networked Customs concept to further facilitate trade. The committee also reaffirmed that cooperation between Customs administrations and issuing/guaranteeing associations is vital to enhance the effectiveness of the A.T.A Carnet System.
Carnets – basically an A4 document which incorporates entry and exit vouchers – are used for temporary exports of goods going overseas to trade fairs or exhibitions, for samples, and for professional equipment. For example much of the equipment that went from the UK to Sochi in Russia for the recent Winter Olympics went under cover of an A.T.A Carnet and kept Customs formalities to a minimum.
The London Chamber of Commerce are responsible for all A.T.A Carnets in the UK, and Blair Consular offers a comprehensive service from its Head Office at London Heathrow, where the London Chamber have an in-house office for stamping documents on the spot.