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Wikipedia / ATA Carnet

The ATA Carnet, often referred to as the "Passport for goods", is an international customs document that allows the temporary admission of non-perishable goods without payment of import duties and taxes, generally for up to one year. It simplifies customs procedures by combining the customs declaration and financial guarantee into a single document that can be used for multiple border crossings. The acronym ATA is a combination of French and English terms "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission".

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, examined by Customs experts convened in 1923 under the auspices of the League of Nations, but no positive result was achieved. In 1932 the League of Nations drafted a convention to promote uniform duty-free admission for samples, but it was never implemented owing to WWII.

In 1952, building on the ICC's 1949 report "Invisible Barriers to Trade and Travel", the contracting parties to GATT adopted an International Convention to Facilitate the Importation of Commercial Samples and Advertising Material, proposed and drafted by the ICC. The convention, based on a draft the League of Nations had developed in 1935, came into effect in November 1955.

The Austria–Switzerland triptyque

During the meetings of the Sixth Session Working Party that prepared the convention's text, the French delegation proposed considering a system of triptyques or carnets for samples carried by commercial travellers, to alleviate the financial and administrative burdens on firms sending representatives abroad. The Working Party was told that such a scheme had already been worked out, 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 the scheme had been put into effect by the two countries' Customs Administrations on 1 February 1954: commercial travellers and agents could import samples between Switzerland and Austria temporarily duty-free under a customs triptyque, without depositing import duties, guaranteed by an Austrian insurance company on the Austrian side and a Swiss company on the Swiss side. The scheme was capped at 60,000 Austrian schillings or 10,000 Swiss Francs per collection of samples, with one year allowed for re-exportation.

The ECS Carnet

Building on this convention and the Austria–Switzerland triptyque — and reportedly following an initiative of Charles Aubert, 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 International League of Commercial Travellers and Agents and 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 — the initials standing for the bilingual Echantillons Commerciaux/Commercial Samples — an optional substitute for national temporary importation papers that replaced any deposit or guarantee Customs authorities might otherwise require. Its first signatories were West Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey, with the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acting as depositary.

The international guarantee mechanism behind the ECS Carnet was organised by the International Bureau of Chambers of Commerce (BIICC), a department of the ICC, under BIICC Protocol Document 550/52 of 2 November 1955. This established a chain of national guaranteeing organisations — one per territory, each recognised by its own Customs authority — under which a guarantee was automatically substituted from one country's organisation to the next as goods crossed a border, with a reimbursement procedure between organisations where a claim arose.

By 1960 the ECS Carnet's success was clear enough that the Customs Co-operation Council told the GATT Executive Secretary that the "satisfactory results obtained" — 15,600 carnets issued that year, worth a combined US$16,320,000 — had "induced the international trading community to propose that the facilities offered by the ECS Carnet Convention should be extended over the widest possible field", an idea the ICC supported.

The ATA Convention

A preliminary enquiry into the usefulness of a temporary duty-free admission document, carried out by the Customs Cooperation Council with GATT, UNESCO and the ICC, found general support for a document on the lines of the ECS carnet that could also cover professional equipment and goods for exhibitions and fairs. Since conventions on those two subjects were already being prepared separately, it was thought desirable for the new carnet convention to be ready alongside them, or as soon as possible afterward. Accordingly, building on the ECS Carnet's success, the Customs Co-operation Council adopted the Customs Convention on the ATA Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods in 1961; it entered into force on 30 July 1963. ATA Carnets are regarded as an upgraded version of ECS Carnets, extending the same mechanism beyond commercial samples. More specific conventions were subsequently worked out for each type of applicable good. At its 47th/48th Sessions in June 1976, the Council recommended that Contracting Parties to the ECS Convention denounce it as duplicating the ATA Convention; 21 countries have since deposited instruments of denunciation, leaving Haiti as the sole remaining Contracting Party.

"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)

Alongside the Convention itself, the BIICC organised the corresponding international guarantee chain for ATA Carnets through two companion instruments. The Protocol on the organisation of an international customs deposits in respect of ATA Carnets (Document 550/212), adopted on 22 January 1962, established the reciprocal guarantee mechanism between national chamber organisations: once approved by its own Customs authority, each could guarantee duties on goods sent by its nationals to a country with another signatory organisation, with the destination organisation's guarantee automatically substituted for that of the country of origin as goods crossed each border. The companion Statement on the ATA System (Document 550/521), first adopted on 16 March 1980, sets out the chain's terms in more detail — defining the issuing chamber of commerce, the national guaranteeing organisation and the WCF international guaranteeing organisation — and requires beneficiaries to undertake to re-export goods within the time limit, reimburse any sums paid on their behalf, and provide security (an insurance indemnity, bank guarantee or cash deposit) before a Carnet is issued, covering the highest possible import duties plus 10 per cent. Both instruments were revised on 13 September 1988 and again on 7 March 1997, the latter revision reflecting the renaming of the BIICC to the World Chambers Federation (WCF) and of the working party "ATA System" to the World ATA Carnet Council (WATAC).

The Istanbul Convention

Between 1950 and 1970 there was a proliferation 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 drafted a worldwide Convention on temporary admission to combine 13 existing temporary admission agreements into a single international instrument, 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

The Convention on Temporary Admission — the Istanbul Convention — was adopted by the WCO on 26 June 1990 and entered into force on 27 November 1993. 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 — for example, Annex B.1 covers goods for display or use at fairs or exhibitions. This avoids the need for any future instrument on temporary admission by creating a framework into 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 re-exported in the same state, without undergoing any change during their stay other than normal depreciation due to use.

  • Economic prohibitions or restrictions at importation are not applied, since they generally relate to goods cleared for home use and serve as a national protection measure.

The digital ATA Carnet

The eATA Carnet project digitalises the international ATA Carnet system, managing its entire lifecycle — issuance, declarations, transactions and claims — electronically and in real time. Developed by the ICC starting in 2016, the system is legally enabled by amendments to Article 4 of the ATA Convention and Article 21a of the Istanbul Convention, permitting electronic data-processing techniques.

A pilot phase ran from 2019 until June 2023, including the first digital transaction on 20 October 2019 at Zurich Airport, Switzerland. The system then entered a global transition phase in July 2023, built around the central ATA Carnet Core database and supported by user-facing tools — the ATA Carnet app (a secure digital wallet for holders and representatives) and ATA Carnet Customs (for Customs officers) — enabling paper-free declarations, QR code transactions and virtual voucher reconciliation.

On 1 June 2026, Customs administrations in the European Union, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom officially began recognising digital carnets as legally valid; other administrations are expected to adopt the system by the end of 2027. Within the first month following the launch of the system, nearly 24,000 border transactions had been completed using digital carnets across the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland.

Administration

In every country participating in the ATA Chain, a National Guaranteeing Association (NGA) – approved by its customs administration and the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) – administers the operation of the ATA Carnet system. Each participating country or customs territory has a single NGA responsible for guaranteeing to its customs administration the payment of import duties and taxes due in cases of non-compliance with temporary admission procedures. Under the ATA system, NGA liability may reach up to 110% of the applicable duties and taxes. With the prior consent of its customs administration, an NGA may authorise local chambers or other associations to issue ATA Carnets on its behalf.

The ATA Carnet system operates through cooperation between customs authorities and the network of NGAs forming the international ATA guarantee chain. While the ATA Convention and Istanbul Convention establish the legal framework for temporary admission, the financial and administrative relationships between NGAs are governed by separate ATA Chain instruments administered by the ICC World Chambers Federation.

Within the ICC World Chambers Federation, the World ATA Carnet Council (WATAC) brings together NGAs from all countries and customs territories participating in the ATA Chain and serves as a forum for coordinating the operation, integrity and expansion of the system.

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 World Chambers Federation (WCF), administers the ATA Chain and its internal procedures.

Member countries of the ATA Carnet guarantee scheme

Updated 2 June 2026

In the early 1960s, the ATA Carnet was in use in Ivory Coast, France, Yugoslavia, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. By 1982, the system had expanded to 36 countries.

Today, the ATA Carnet guarantee scheme is in force in over 80 countries and customs territories through a network of national guaranteeing associations forming the international ATA guaranteeing chain.

The system is valid across the European Union, which operates as a single customs territory, as well as in the following countries and territories: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Australia, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Lebanon, Macao, North Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.

Brazil was a member country from 2016 until 31 December 2021, when its national guaranteeing association stepped down and no replacement was appointed.

Participation in the ATA Carnet system is operationally defined by the existence of a national guaranteeing association within the international ATA guaranteeing chain. In certain cases, coverage extends beyond the listed country to associated territories or customs arrangements administered by that guaranteeing association.

List of National Guaranteeing Associations

The following is a list of National Guaranteeing Associations members of the ICC ATA Guarantee Chain and their covered territories.

Field of application per country

The ATA Carnet system rests on two parallel legal frameworks: a series of individual customs conventions concluded between 1952 and 1972 under the Customs Co-operation Council (now the World Customs Organization), and the Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission of 1990, which consolidates these earlier instruments into a single treaty structured around a mandatory body of provisions and a series of optional annexes. A country acceding to the Istanbul Convention must accept Annex A, which governs temporary admission papers including the ATA Carnet, together with at least one other annex. Some countries remain bound only by the original 1961 ATA Convention without having ratified the Istanbul Convention; others have acceded to the Istanbul Convention without ever having been party to the 1961 instrument. The table below sets out, for each contracting party, its status under both frameworks.Several annexes permit contracting parties to enter limited reservations restricting their scope, as noted in the column headers above. Annexes B.2, B.4, B.6, B.7, B.8 and B.9 permit no reservations at all. Annex C, which concerns the temporary admission of motor vehicles and other means of transport, is not used for ATA Carnets; carnets covering this category of goods are issued separately as CPD Carnets.

Earlier conventions relevant to ATA carnets

The table below summarizes contracting-party status under the individual customs conventions that preceded the Istanbul Convention, several of which remain in force independently for countries that have not ratified the corresponding Istanbul annex. It complements, but does not replace, the field-of-application table above. Contracting-party status under these earlier conventions does not by itself indicate that ATA Carnets are currently issued or accepted in practice in a given territory; for current operational status, see the list of National Guaranteeing Associations above.

The wide table below gives an overview across all of the predecessor conventions at once; the narrower tables that follow pair each convention individually with its corresponding Istanbul annex and entry-into-force dates.Annex A is the only annex every Contracting Party must accept, since it governs the ATA carnet document itself; this table pairs it with its sole predecessor, the 1961 ATA Convention.Annex B.1 covers goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs and similar events, replacing the 1961 Exhibitions and Fairs Convention in full.Annex B.2 covers professional equipment, replacing the 1961 Professional Equipment Convention in full.Annex B.3 covers containers, pallets, packings, samples and other goods imported in connection with a commercial operation, and is the most composite of the annexes, drawing on four earlier instruments: the 1960 Pallets Convention and 1960 Packings Convention, replaced in full, together with only specified provisions of the 1972 Containers Convention and the 1952 Commercial Samples Convention (Articles 3, 5 and 6(1.b and 2) of the latter).Annex B.5 covers goods imported for educational, scientific or cultural purposes, consolidating three separate conventions on seafarers' welfare material, scientific equipment and pedagogic material into a single annex.Annex B.6 replaces only the customs provisions (Articles 2 and 5) of the 1954 Touring Convention, while Annex B.7 separately replaces that convention's 1954 Tourist Publicity Protocol in full.

National laws

Beyond the categories of goods covered by the ATA Convention and the Istanbul Convention annexes, many contracting parties accept ATA Carnets for additional categories of temporary admission under their own national customs laws and regulations. The WCO's ATA Handbook records each contracting party's notified scope, including such national-law extensions, as of its 2002 edition; current government sources confirm that several of these extensions remain in place, sometimes with updated terms.

Special application cases

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

Carnet usage

ATA Carnets allow businesses and individuals to use a single customs document for the temporary export, import and transit of certain categories of goods through customs in several countries or customs territories, without depositing import duties and taxes at each border or providing separate temporary import bonds. They are commonly used by exhibitors at trade fairs, salespeople carrying commercial samples, professional equipment users such as television crews and technicians, artists, athletes, event participants and other travellers carrying goods for temporary use abroad.

The main benefits of an ATA Carnet include:

  • simplifying customs clearance in the countries of export, import and transit by replacing customs documents that would otherwise be required;

  • providing an internationally recognised financial guarantee for customs duties and taxes that may become payable if the conditions of temporary admission are not met;

  • reducing the need to provide separate temporary import bonds, cash deposits or other securities in each country visited;

  • helping users overcome language barriers and unfamiliar national customs forms.

ATA Carnets are intended for goods that will be re-exported, rather than consumed, disposed of or sold abroad. They are generally not suitable for consumable or disposable goods, or for goods intended for sale in the country of temporary admission. A carnet also does not replace any export licence, import permit or other regulatory approval that may be required for controlled goods.

The carnet holder remains responsible for ensuring that the goods are presented to Customs when required, re-exported within the permitted period, and not sold, consumed or otherwise diverted without Customs authorisation. Failure to re-export all or some of the goods listed on the carnet may result in a claim for applicable duties, taxes and possible penalties under the international guarantee system.

ATA Carnet format and composition

ATA Carnets are issued in two formats: the traditional paper-based document and the new digital eATA Carnet, which began its global transition on 1 June 2026. While the paper system is expected to remain in use until the end of 2027, the digital system is designed to eventually replace paper entirely by 1 January 2028.

Paper ATA Carnet composition

The paper 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 holder's receipt. Paper ATA Carnets are in A4 paper format.

Covering pages

  • These pages contain 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 evidence 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.

Digital ATA Carnet (eATA) Composition

The digital system, also known as the eATA Carnet System, consists of a suite of tools managed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that replaces physical paper with secure electronic records.

  • Digital Wallet (ATA Carnet App/Desktop): Instead of a physical folder, the digital carnet is stored in a secure mobile or desktop application. It contains the carnet details, the General List of items, and any attached documents.

  • Transaction QR Codes: The digital system replaces paper vouchers with dynamic QR codes. Holders "Prepare a Travel" in the app to select specific goods and generate a code for each border crossing (e.g., Exportation, Importation).

  • Digital History: In place of stamped counterfoils, the app includes a History section. Once a Customs officer digitally commits a transaction, a record is automatically updated across the system, providing real-time visibility of the goods' status.

  • Digital Signatures: Hand-written signatures are replaced by digital consent and PKCS#7 standard digital signatures, which record the identity of the holder or authorized representative performing the declaration.

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. The concept of a duplicate carnet is obsolete in the digital environment because a digital carnet cannot be lost; it can be redownloaded to any authorized device using the unique Carnet ID and PIN.

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.

The most common uses include, but are 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 every purpose provided for 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 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.

See also

References