ATA Carnet

The ATA Carnet, often referred to as the "Passport for goods", is an international customs document that permits the tax-free and duty-free temporary export and import of nonperishable goods for up to one year. It consists of unified customs declaration forms which are prepared ready to use at every border crossing point. It is a globally accepted guarantee for customs duties and taxes which can replace the security deposit required by each customs authority. It can be used in multiple countries in multiple trips up to its one-year validity. The acronym ATA is a combination of French and English terms "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission". The ATA carnet is now the document most widely used by the business community for international operations involving temporary admission of goods.

ATA Carnet
Main pages of an ATA Carnet
Type	International customs document
First issued	30 July 1963
Purpose	Tax-free and duty-free temporary admission of nonperishable goods into multiple countries
Valid in	78 countries and customs territories (as of 1 August 2018)
Expiration	1 year after issuance (max)

The ATA Carnet is jointly administered by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) through its World Chambers Federation.

History

Background

Early suggestions for an international temporary admission scheme were made during the 1900 and 1913 Congresses on Customs regulations, which were examined by Customs experts convened in 1923 under the auspices of the League of Nations but no positive result was achieved. In 1952, based on the recommendations already put forward in the ICCs' report on "Invisible Barriers to Trade and Travel" from 1949, the contracting parties to GATT adopted an International Convention to Facilitate the Importation of Commercial Samples and Advertising Material proposed and drafted by the International Chamber of Commerce and which entered into force on 20 November 1955. During the meetings of the Seventh Session Working Party, which prepared the text of the convention, and following a proposal by the French delegation, some consideration was given to the possibility of introducing a system of triptyques or carnets for samples of value carried by commercial travellers. It was suggested that such a system would alleviate the financial burdens and administrative formalities imposed upon firms sending representatives abroad. The Working Party was informed that a scheme for duty-free admission of commercial travellers' samples under cover of a customs triptyque had been worked out for operation on a bilateral basis between Austria and Switzerland though it had not yet been put into force. On 1 March 1954, the Austrian Government informed the Executive Secretary of GATT that on 1 February 1954 the scheme for the duty-free admission of commercial travellers' samples was put into effect by the Customs Administrations of Austria and Switzerland. In accordance with this agreement commercial travellers and agents were permitted to import commercial samples from Switzerland into Austria, and conversely, temporarily duty-free under cover of a commercial sample triptyque without the deposit of import duties. The guarantees for the import duties are given by an Austrian insurance company for imports into Austria, and by a Swiss company for the imports into Switzerland. The application of this system was limited to collections of samples on which the customs duties would not exceed 60,000 Austrian schillings or 10,000 Swiss Francs. The period allowed for re-exportation was one year.

Thus, based on this convention, this triptyque scheme and allegedly following Charles Aubert's vision and initiative (director of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Geneva and future first director of the Chambres de Commerce Suisses), the Customs Co-operation Council with the cooperation of the International League of Commercial Travellers and Agents and of the ICC's International Information Bureau of Chambers of Commerce prepared the Customs Convention Regarding the E.C.S. Carnets for Commercial Samples which entered into force on 3 October 1957. The new Convention introduced the E.C.S. Carnet, a substitution on an optional basis for the usual national temporary importation papers which replaced any deposit or guarantee for suspended import duties and charges if such a guarantee was required by the customs authorities in a particular case. The initials E.C.S. stand for the combined English and French words: Echantillons Commerciaux - Commercial Samples. The first countries to sign this convention were West Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acted as the depositary of the convention. The Customs Co-operation Council informed the Executive Secretary of GATT that the "satisfactory results obtained by the use of E.C.S. carnets for the temporary importation of commercial samples (in 1960, 15,600 ECS carnets were issued, for a total value of US$16,320,000) has induced the international trading community to propose that the facilities offered by the ECS Carnet Convention should be extended over the widest possible field." This idea was supported by the International Chamber of Commerce.

The ATA Convention

ATA Convention

Customs Convention on the A.T.A. Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods
Signed	6 December 1961 (1961-12-06)
Location	Brussels, Belgium
Effective	30 July 1963
Parties	List of contracting parties Algeria Andorra Australia Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Canada China Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Egypt Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland India Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan South Korea Lebanon Lesotho Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Morocco Mauritius Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Niger Nigeria Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Senegal Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Thailand Macedonia Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey United Kingdom United States
Depositary	Customs Cooperation Council
Languages	English French

A preliminary enquiry on the usefulness of a customs document for temporary duty-free admission, carried out by the Customs Cooperation Council with the assistance of GATT, UNESCO and ICC showed general support for the preparation of a document on the lines of the ECS carnet, which could be used to facilitate, in particular, the temporary admission of professional equipment and of goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs, etc. Since two Conventions concerning the temporary admission of these items were in the course of preparation, it was recognised that it would be highly desirable that the Convention creating the new document should be ready for adoption by the council, at the same time as these Conventions; or as soon as possible thereafter. Hence, due to the ECS Carnet success, in 1961 the Customs Cooperation Council adopted the Customs Convention on the ATA Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods (ATA Convention) which then entered into force on 30 July 1963.[1] ATA Carnets are seen as upgraded version of ECS Carnets, which are no longer limited to commercial samples. More specific conventions for each type of applicable good were subsequently worked out and agreed on by the CCC. At its 47th / 48th Sessions (June 1976), the Council recommended Contracting Parties to the Customs Convention Regarding the E.C.S. Carnets for Commercial Samples to denounce it as it duplicates the ATA Convention. To date, 21 countries have deposited their instruments of denunciation of the ECS Convention which, as a result, now has only one Contracting Party (Haiti).

"The States signatory to this Convention, convinced that the adoption of common procedures for the temporary duty-free importation of goods would afford considerable advantages to international commercial and cultural activities and would secure a higher degree of harmony and uniformity in the customs system of the Contracting Parties." – (Preamble of the A.T.A. Convention)[2]

The Istanbul Convention

Istanbul Convention

Convention on Temporary Admission
Signed	26 June 1990 (1990-06-26)
Location	Istanbul, Turkey
Effective	27 November 1993
Parties	List of contracting parties Albania Algeria Andorra Armenia Australia Austria Bahrain Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Chile China Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Hong Kong, China Hungary Ireland Iran Israel Indonesia Italy Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Mali Malta Mauritius Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Netherlands Niger Nigeria Oman Pakistan Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russian Federation Saudi Arabia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sudan Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Thailand Macedonia Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Vietnam Zimbabwe European Union
Depositary	World Customs Organization
Languages	English French

Between 1950 and 1970, there was a proliferation in the number of international Conventions, Recommendations, Agreements and other instruments on temporary admission, creating confusion for the international business community and complicating the work of Customs. In the early 1990s the WCO decided to take draft a worldwide Convention on temporary admission to combine, into a single international instrument, 13 existing temporary admission agreements, namely:

1. Customs Convention on the ATA carnet for the temporary admission of goods (ATA Convention), Brussels, 6 December 1961
2. Customs Convention concerning facilities for the importation of goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events, Brussels, 8 June 1961
3. Customs Convention on the temporary importation of professional equipment, Brussels, 8 June 1961
4. European Convention on Customs treatment of pallets used in international transport, Geneva, 9 December 1960
5. Customs Convention on the temporary importation of packings, Brussels, 6 October 1960
6. Articles 2 to 11 and Annexes 1 (paragraphs 1 and 2) to 3 to the Customs Convention on Containers, Geneva, 2 December 1972
7. Articles 3, 5 and 6 (1.b and 2) of the International Convention to facilitate the importation of commercial samples and advertising material, Geneva, 7 November 1952
8. Customs Convention on welfare material for seafarers, Brussels, 1 December 1964
9. Customs Convention on the temporary importation of scientific equipment, Brussels, 11 June 1968
10. Customs Convention on the temporary importation of pedagogic material, Brussels, 8 June 1970
11. Articles 2 and 5 of the Convention concerning Customs facilities for touring, New York, 4 June 1954
12. Additional Protocol to the Convention concerning Customs facilities for touring, relating to the importation of tourist publicity documents and material, New York, 4 June 1954
13. Customs Convention on the temporary importation of private road vehicles, New York, 4 June 1954
14. Customs Convention on the temporary importation of commercial road vehicles, Geneva, 18 May 1956
15. Customs Convention on the temporary importation for private use of aircraft and pleasure boats, Geneva, 18 May 1956

Hence, in order to simplify and harmonize temporary admission formalities provided in various Conventions, the Convention on Temporary Admission, i.e. Istanbul Convention, was adopted at WCO on 26 June 1990 and then entered into force on 27 November 1993.[3] Its objectives and principles are:

• To devise a single instrument for the simplification and harmonization of temporary admission formalities, replacing all the existing Conventions or Recommendations dealing solely or principally with temporary admission. The subjects covered by the former Conventions are now covered by the Annexes to the Istanbul Convention.
• Each Annex authorizes the temporary admission of goods imported for a specific purpose, e.g. Annex B.1. covers goods for display or use at fairs or exhibitions. This avoids the need for the drawing up of any future instruments on temporary admission by creating a framework in which new categories of goods needing temporary admission facilities can be incorporated.
• Goods imported duty-free cannot remain indefinitely in the country of temporary importation. The period fixed for re-exportation is laid down in each Annex.
• The goods must be reexported in the same state. They must not undergo any change during their stay in the country of temporary importation, except normal depreciation due to the use made of them.
• Economic prohibitions or restrictions at importation are not applied since they generally relate to goods cleared for home use, thus serving as a national protection measure.

Current list of Annexes of the Istanbul Convention
Annex A	Annex concerning temporary admission papers (ATA Carnets and CPD Carnets)
Annex B1	Annex concerning goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events
Annex B2	Annex concerning professional equipment
Annex B3	Annex concerning containers, pallets, packagings, samples and other goods imported in connection with a commercial operation
Annex B4	Annex concerning goods imported in connection with a manufacturing operation
Annex B5	Annex concerning goods imported for educational, scientific or cultural purposes
Annex B6	Annex concerning travellers' personal effects and goods imported for sports purposes
Annex B7	Annex concerning tourist publicity material
Annex B8	Annex concerning goods imported as frontier traffic
Annex B9	Annex concerning goods imported for humanitarian purposes
Annex C	Annex concerning means of transport
Annex D	Annex concerning animals
Annex E	Annex concerning goods imported with partial relief from import duties and taxes

Recent developments

In recent years the International Chamber of Commerce has been studying the possibility to digitize the ATA Carnet. A pilot project to test the digital ATA Carnet is currently undergoing. The first ever transaction on a digital carnet was processed on 20 October 2019 at Zurich Airport, Switzerland.

Number of ATA Carnets issued throughout the years

Administration

In every country in the ATA Chain, a guaranteeing association (NGA) – approved by its respective Customs and the ICC World Chambers Federation – administers the operation of the ATA Carnet System. The role of a national guaranteeing associations is to guarantee to its Customs administration the payment of duties and taxes due when ATA Carnets have been misused on its territory (non-or late re-exportation of goods, for instance). The national guaranteeing organisation can also, with the prior consent of its Customs administration, authorise local chambers to deliver ATA Carnets on its behalf. In major trading nations, dozens of local chambers have that authority. Within ICC World Chambers Federation, a World ATA Carnet Council (WATAC) gathers the national guaranteeing organisations from all countries where the ATA Carnet is in force today. In short:

• Holders can use ATA Carnets as Customs declarations and guarantee
• National Customs authorities through which the goods are admitted into are allowed to claim Customs duties and taxes against NGAs within one year after the expiration of ATA Carnets
• National Guaranteeing Associations act as a chain to guarantee Customs duties/taxes plus 10% penalty
• The World Customs Organization (WCO) monitors the international Conventions that govern the ATA system.
• The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), through its special department, the World Chambers Federation (WCF), organizes the internal procedures and administrates the members of the guarantee chain.

Member countries of the ATA Carnet guarantee scheme

Member countries of the ATA Carnet system

Updated 31 May 2019

In the early 1960s, the ATA Carnet was in use in Ivory Coast, France, Yugoslavia, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. In 1982 there were 36 countries.

Today, the ATA Carnet guarantee scheme is in force in 78 countries and territories.

Beside the 27 member states of the European Union and member states of the European Free Trade Association, the ATA Carnet is officially in force in Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Lebanon, Macau (China), Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Qatar, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States of America and Vietnam.

Brazil was a member country from 2016 up until 31 December 2021 when its NGA stepped down and no replacement was appointed.

List of National Guaranteeing Associations

The following is a list of countries and their relative National Guaranteeing Associations. These countries officially issue ATA Carnets.

Countries/Territories issuing ATA Carnets and covered by the NGA	National Guaranteeing Association	Website
Albania	Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Albania (UCCIAL)	http://www.uccial.al/
Algeria	Chambre algérienne de Commerce et d'Industrie	http://www.caci.dz/
Andorra	Cambra de Comerç, Industria i Serveis d'Andorra	http://www.ccis.ad/
Australia	Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.victorianchamber.com.au/
Austria	Austrian Federal Economic Chamber	http://www.wko.at/carnet
Bahrain	Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.bcci.bh/
Belarus	Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI)	http://www.cci.by/
Belgium Luxembourg (Both countries are covered by one single NGA as part of the Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union)	Fédération des Chambres de Commerce belges (Belgian Chambers)	http://www.belgianchambers.be
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina	http://www.komorabih.ba/
Bulgaria	The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.bcci.bg/
Canada	Canadian Chamber of Commerce	http://www.chamber.ca/
Chile	Santiago Chamber of Commerce	http://www.ccs.cl/
China	China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) / China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC)	http://www.atachina.org/
Cote d'Ivoire	Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Côte d'Ivoire	http://www.cci.ci/
Croatia	Croatian Chamber of Economy	http://www.hgk.hr/
Cyprus	Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.ccci.org.cy/
Czech Republic	Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic	http://www.komora.cz/
Denmark (includes Faroe Islands)	Danish Chamber of Commerce	http://www.danskerhverv.dk/
Estonia	Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.koda.ee/
Finland	The Finland Chamber of Commerce	http://kauppakamari.fi/en/
France (includes French Overseas Departments and Territories) ∟ Monaco	Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de région Paris Ile-de-France	http://www.entreprises.cci-paris-idf.fr/web/international/exportation-temporaire-carnet-ata
Germany	Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK e.V.)	http://www.dihk.de/
Gibraltar	Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce	http://www.gibraltarchamberofcommerce.com/
Greece	Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.acci.gr/
Hong Kong, China	The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce	http://www.chamber.org.hk/
Hungary	Hungarian Chamber of Commerce & Industry	http://www.mkik.hu/
Iceland	Iceland Chamber of Commerce	http://www.chamber.is/
India	Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)	http://www.atacarnet.in/
Indonesia	Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia)	http://www.kadin.id
Iran	Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines (ICCIM)	https://web.archive.org/web/20180809183316/http://iccim.org/
Ireland	Dublin Chamber of Commerce	http://www.dublinchamber.ie/
Israel	Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce	http://www.chamber.org.il
Italy	Unione Italiana delle Camere di Commercio Industria Artigianato e Agricoltura (UNIONCAMERE)	http://www.unioncamere.it/
Japan	The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry	https://web.archive.org/web/20120607201416/http://www.jcaa.or.jp/e/index-e.html
Kazakhstan	Chamber of International Commerce of Kazakhstan	http://palata.kz/en/departments/46
South Korea	Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://cert.korcham.net/english
Latvia	Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.chamber.lv/
Lebanon	Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon	http://www.ccib.org.lb/
Lithuania	Association of Lithuanian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts	http://www.chambers.lt/
Macau, China	Macao Chamber of Commerce	http://www.acm.org.mo/
Macedonia	Economic Chamber of Macedonia	http://www.mchamber.mk/
Madagascar	Fédération des Chambres de Commerce et d’Industrie de Madagascar	N/A
Malaysia	Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.micci.com/
Malta	The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry	http://www.maltachamber.org.mt/
Mauritius	The Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.mcci.org/
Mexico	Mexico City National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO)	http://www.carnetatamexico.com.mx; http://www.carnet-ata.org
Moldova	Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova	http://chamber.md/
Mongolia	Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.mongolchamber.mn/
Montenegro	Chamber of Economy of Montenegro (CEM)	http://www.privrednakomora.me/ Archived 6 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Morocco	Chambre de Commerce, d'Industrie et de Services Casablanca - Settat	www.cciscs.ma
Netherlands	The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.kvk.nl/
New Zealand	Wellington Chamber of Commerce	http://www.wecc.org.nz/
Norway	Oslo Chamber of Commerce	http://www.chamber.no/
Pakistan	National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce in Pakistan - ICC Pakistan	http://www.iccpakistan.com/
Poland	Polish Chamber of Commerce	http://www.kig.pl/
Portugal	Câmara de Comércio e Industria Portuguesa	http://www.ccip.pt/
Qatar	Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://qatarchamber.com/
Romania	Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania	http://www.ccir.ro/
Russia	Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation	https://tpprf.ru/en/
Senegal	Chambre de Commerce, d’Industrie et d’Agriculture de Dakar (CCIAD)	http://www.cciad.sn/
Serbia	Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia	http://www.pks.rs/
Singapore	Singapore International Chamber of Commerce	http://www.sicc.com.sg/
Slovakia	Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI)	http://www.scci.sk/
Slovenia	Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia	http://www.gzs.si/ata
South Africa ∟Botswana ∟Namibia ∟Eswatini Lesotho (includes BLNS Countries based on Southern African Customs Union)	South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI)	http://www.sacci.org.za/
Spain (includes Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla)	Cámara Oficial de Comercio, Industria, Servicios y Navegación de España	http://www.camara.es/
Sri Lanka	International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL)	http://www.iccsrilanka.com/
Sweden	The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce	http://www.chamber.se/
Switzerland ∟Liechtenstein	Alliance des Chambres de commerce suisses	https://www.ataswiss.org/
Thailand	Board of Trade of Thailand	http://www.thaichamber.org/
Tunisia	Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Tunis	https://web.archive.org/web/20100620133441/http://www.ccitunis.org.tn/
Turkey	Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)	http://www.tobb.org.tr/TIRveATAKarnesi/ATA/Sayfalar/Eng/AnaSayfa.php
Ukraine	Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://ata.ucci.org.ua
United Arab Emirates	Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.dubaichamber.com
United Kingdom (includes Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey)	London Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://www.londonchamber.co.uk/
United States (includes Puerto Rico)	United States Council for International Business (USCIB)	http://www.merchandisepassport.org/
Vietnam	Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry	http://atacarnet.covcci.com.vn/

Field of application per country

The table below is a list of countries which have signed the ATA Convention and/or the Istanbul Convention. The type of goods accepted depends on the eventual Conventions and Annexes they have signed. Some countries have signed either the ATA Convention or the Istanbul Convention but have yet to have a National Guaranteeing Association appointed and member of the ICC ATA Carnet Guarantee Chain to start officially issuing ATA Carnets. Also in some cases, despite not having signed a given Convention or Annex, the according type of goods will be accepted by some countries under their national law. China, for example, while not having signed Annex B6 regarding sporting equipment, will nonetheless accept temporary importation for these goods under its national laws.

Field of application per country

Contracting party	ATA Convention	Istanbul Convention
		Annex A	Annex B1	Annex B2	Annex B3	Annex B4	Annex B5	Annex B6	Annex B7	Annex B8	Annex B9	Annex C	Annex D	Annex E
Albania	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Algeria	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Andorra	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Armenia*	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Australia	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Austria	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bahrain	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Belarus	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Belgium	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Brazil	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Bulgaria	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Canada	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Chile	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
China	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Cote d'Ivoire	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Croatia	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations
Cuba*	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Cyprus	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Czech Republic	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Denmark	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Egypt*	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Estonia	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Finland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
France	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Georgia*	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Germany	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gibraltar	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Greece	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hong Kong, China	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Hungary	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Iceland	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
India	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Indonesia	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes	No	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No
Iran	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Ireland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Israel	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Italy	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Japan	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Jordan*	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Kazakhstan	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes, with reservations	No
Kuwait*	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
South Korea	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Latvia	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lebanon	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Lesotho*	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Lithuania	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No
Luxembourg	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Macau, China	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Macedonia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Madagascar	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Malaysia	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mali*	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Malta	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations
Mauritius	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mexico	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Moldova	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Mongolia	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Montenegro	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Morocco	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Netherlands	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes
New Zealand	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Niger*	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nigeria*	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Norway	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Oman*	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Pakistan	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Poland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Portugal	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Qatar	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Romania	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Russia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Saudi Arabia*	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Senegal	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Serbia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Singapore	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Slovakia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Slovenia	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
South Africa	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Spain	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Sri Lanka	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Sweden	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Switzerland	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes, with reservations	Yes
Tajikistan*	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Thailand	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Trinidad and Tobago*	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No
Tunisia	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Turkey	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Ukraine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
United Arab Emirates	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
United Kingdom	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
United States	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Vietnam	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zimbabwe*	No	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
European Union	No	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, with reservations	Yes	Yes, with reservations
Contracting party	ATA Convention	Annex A	Annex B1	Annex B2	Annex B3	Annex B4	Annex B5	Annex B6	Annex B7	Annex B8	Annex B9	Annex C	Annex D	Annex E
		Istanbul Convention
* Has signed either the ATA Convention or the Istanbul Convention but had no appointed NGA admitted into the ICC ATA Carnet Guarantee Chain.

Special application cases

Due to bilateral, multilateral or subnational customs agreements, the following cases are possible:

• countries which accept ATA Carnets even without having signed any Convention (e.g. Monaco, Liechtenstein, San Marino, etc.);
• countries which delegate their power in areas covered by the convention to supranational entities (e.g. European Union Customs Union, Macau, China);
• territories which are part of a contracting party sovereign state but are not part of the same customs territory and are not accepting carnets (e.g. Greenland);
• territories which are part of a contracting party sovereign state but are not part of the same customs territory and accept carnets independently (e.g. Canary Islands, Faroe Islands, etc.);
• ATA Carnets not being accepted or not necessary between contracting party sovereign states in view of a customs union agreement (e.g. Russia-Belarus, between member states of the European Union, etc.);
• ATA Carnets having special conditions between contracting party sovereign states in view of a customs union agreement (e.g. Andorra-EU).

Special application cases
Countries which accept ATA Carnets even without having signed any Convention	Liechtenstein	Territorial application of Switzerland extended to Liechtenstein via their customs union established in 1923.
	Monaco	Territorial application of France extended to Monaco via their customs union established in 1865.
	San Marino	Territorial application of the European Union extended to San Marino via their customs union established in 1991.
	Botswana Namibia Eswatini	Territorial application of South Africa and Lesotho extended to Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini via the Southern African Customs Union established in 1910.
Countries and territories which delegate their power in areas covered by the convention to supranational entities	Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France ∟ Monaco Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden	European Union In virtue of their European Union Customs Union, EU member states delegate their power in areas covered by the convention to the European Union. The reservations made by the European Union are also in force in the single member states. This includes by virtue of customs union extension Monaco.
	Macau, China	China Through an extension to the Macao Special Administrative Region of the application of the Customs conventions on Temporary admission to which the Government of the People's Republic China has acceded.
	Bahrain Kuwait Qatar United Arab Emirates	Gulf Cooperation Council Also includes Oman and Saudi Arabia however they are yet to appoint a National Guaranteeing Association and join the ATA guarantee chain.
Territories which are part of a contracting party sovereign state but are not part of the same customs territory and are not accepting carnets	Greenland	Denmark
	Aruba Curacao Sint Maarten Caribbean Netherlands	Netherlands The territorial application is extended to the Dutch Antilles but this extension is not yet implemented since there is no approved issuing and guaranteeing association.
	Svalbard and Jan Mayen Dependencies of Norway	Norway ATA Carnets are not accepted in: the two unincorporated overseas territories of Norway: Svalbard (archipelago in the Arctic Ocean) and Jan Mayen (volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean); the three dependencies of Norway located in the Southern polar region: Bouvetøya (Sub Antarctic island in the South Atlantic Ocean), Queen Maud Land (sector region of Antarctica) and Peter I Island (a volcanic island in continental Antarctica).
Territories which are part of a contracting party sovereign state but are not part of the same customs territory and accept carnets independently	Gibraltar	United Kingdom
	Faroe Islands	Denmark The Faroe Islands are not considered as part of the Danish customs territory and EU VAT territory.
	Canary Islands Ceuta Melilla	Spain The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla do not belong to the EU VAT territory.
ATA Carnets not being accepted or not necessary between contracting party sovereign states in view of a customs union agreement	Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France ∟ Monaco Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden	European Union Customs Union
	Russia Belarus Kazakhstan	Eurasian Customs Union ATA Carnets are not regulated in the Eurasian Customs Union and are not accepted for transit between its countries.
ATA Carnets having special conditions between contracting party sovereign states in view of a customs union agreement	Andorra European Union	Andorra–European Union relations Goods covered by an ATA carnet issued in the other part of the Customs Union may be accepted as returned goods within a period of three years (may be exceeded in order to take account of special circumstances), even when the validity of the ATA carnet has expired.
	Turkey European Union	European Union–Turkey Customs Union Goods of one part of the customs union which, having been exported from its customs territory, are returned to the territory of the other part of the customs union and released for free circulation within a period of three years shall, at the request of the person concerned, be granted relief from import duties. The three-year period may be exceeded in order to take account of special circumstances. Goods may be accepted as returned goods within the three-year limit even when the validity of the ATA carnet has expired.

Carnet usage

The ATA Carnet allows the business traveller to use a single document for clearing certain categories of goods through customs in several countries without the deposit of import duties and taxes. The Carnet eliminates the need to purchase temporary import bonds. So long as the goods are re-exported within the allotted time frame, no duties or taxes are due. The main benefits can be summarised in:

• it simplifies customs clearance of goods in exporting and importing countries by replacing customs documents that would normally be required;
• it provides a financial security for customs charges potentially due on the goods that will be used in the countries visited;
• it helps to overcome language barriers and having to complete unfamiliar customs forms;

Failure to re-export all or some of the goods listed on the Carnet results in the payment of applicable duties and taxes. Failure to remit those duties results in a claim from the foreign customs service to the importer's home country.

ATA Carnet composition

The ATA Carnet comprises a front and back cover within which are counterfoils and vouchers for each country to be visited or transited. The vouchers act as receipts for entry and re-export in foreign countries and are kept by foreign customs officials. The counterfoils are stamped by the foreign customs services and act as the carnet holders receipt. ATA Carnets are in A4 paper format.

• Covering pages
  • These pages contains all information about goods, users, issuing data, guaranteeing associations and notes on the usage.
  • They are kept in the Carnet at all times.
• Counterfoils
  • Counterfoils are used as evidences in case of duties and taxes are claimed in a later stage, it is therefore important to have the counterfoils properly stamped by Customs and kept properly in the Carnet. Based on colours, there are three types of counterfoils: exportation/re-importation (yellow), importation/re-exportation (white), transit (blue).
• Vouchers
  • They are used as Customs declaration and guarantee, meaning they will be detached from the carnet and kept by Customs. There are five types of vouchers: yellow exportation voucher, yellow re-importation voucher, white importation voucher, white re-exportation voucher, and blue transit voucher. Each voucher is followed by the general list of goods.

Replacement and duplicate carnets

A duplicate Carnet is issued to replace an existing Carnet in the case of the destruction, loss or theft. The validity of which expires on the same date as that of the one being replaced. Some countries also accept replacement carnets: a replacement Carnet is issued where it is expected that the temporary admission operation will exceed the period of validity of the one being replaced. A new validity date will be given to the replacement Carnet. When accepting the replacement, the Customs authorities concerned discharge the Carnet replaced.

Goods covered by the ATA Carnet

ATA Carnets cover the usual and unusual: computers, repair tools, photographic and film equipment, musical instruments, industrial machinery, vehicles, jewellery, clothing, medical appliances, aircraft, race horses, art work, prehistoric relics, ballet costumes and rock group sound systems. ATA Carnets do not cover perishable or consumable items, or goods for processing or repair.

Most common uses include but not limited to:

• exhibitions and fairs
• professional equipment
• commercial samples and goods for testing purposes
• sports equipment
• goods for educational, scientific or cultural purposes

ATA Carnets may not be used for all purpose determined by the Istanbul (ATA and others) conventions in every member state of the ATA Carnet system, as they might not have acceded to the respective convention.

CPD China-Taiwan Carnet

A front cover page of a CPD China-Taiwan Carnet

A system similar to the ATA Carnet System generally called Carnet de Passages en Douane China-Taiwan (CPD China-Taiwan) operates on the basis of bilateral agreements between Taiwan (under the name of Chinese Taipei) and a certain number of ATA countries including the EU member states, Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States of America (under the name of TECRO/AIT carnet). Other than a different colour code to distinguish it from the ATA Carnet, the conditions for its use, the goods for which it can be used, and customs procedures are identical. The CPD China-Taiwan Carnet is not to be confused with the also named CPD Carnet used to temporarily import motor vehicles into foreign countries.

Territory issuing CPD China-Taiwan Carnets	National Guaranteeing Association	Website
Chinese Taipei	Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)	https://en.taitra.org.tw/

Countries/territories which have signed a CPD China-Taiwan agreement	Signing date	Operational
Australia	21 December 1995	Yes
Canada	10 November 1994	Yes
El Salvador	24 August 2001	No
European Union	20 March 1991	Yes
India	20 March 2013	Yes
Israel	10 July 2003	Yes
Japan	21 May 2001	Yes
Malaysia	5 July 2004	Yes
New Zealand	2 December 1993	Yes
Norway	13 March 2000	Yes
Philippines	19 August 1998	No
Singapore	9 April 1990	Yes
South Africa	7 August 1991	Yes
South Korea	28 November 1990	Yes
Switzerland	15 July 1993	Yes
United States	25 June 1996	Yes
Vietnam	6 June 2009	No

See also

• Carnet de Passages en Douane
• TIR Convention
• Certificate of origin
• Trade facilitation

External links

• ATA Carnet World Chambers Federation
• The ATA System (ATA and Istanbul Conventions)
• https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040600/http://carnet.roanoketrade.com/ Carnet provider