ATA Carnet Exceptions
Customs officers cannot open this document and read it, but they will check the signature page where you surrender goods that have been altered from their original state. For example, if your goods are being sold illegally or used as samples or exhibits by creative industry professionals during a trip abroad, you must surrender them to customs accordingly. There are some circumstances where it may be useful for an ATA carnet holder to get in touch with us:
If your merchandise will be featured in a trade show, serve as samples to help promote creative or professional skills, or simply go along with items you are selling, they should be good to go. If you are altering, selling, or making money directly from items that were taken out of the country through an ATA Carnet (i.e., items that could not be re-exported), that would fall under ATA Carnet Exceptions.
While we agree that there is a strong market for this out there if you proceed with your idea, you could be opening yourself up to legal ramifications of some sort. Instead of trying to change the rules, let’s just stick to them as they are and add value in other ways.
Goods Available for Sale or Rental
It is often necessary for business owners to enter foreign countries, sell their good products, and then return home to deal with other matters. This situation does not usually work well if a carnet is misused for such an occasion. There are cases in which this occurs and can be overlooked. They might be as rare as traveling abroad to purchase goods that were not sold at the last event and then brought back to display at another one again on a different continent. In any case, customs laws are much stricter than they used to be years ago; therefore, it would be helpful if businesses could seek guidance from a professional before making hasty decisions that will come back to haunt them one day.
Items Requiring Processing or Repair
ATA Carnet is not suitable for processing or repairs of items. There are several other exemptions, however, that will help you manage these situations. For example, GA(E)S is a little-known provision of the UK’s Inward Processing Regulations which helps business owners avoid port dues and VAT payments on merchandise when it leaves the country for repair and returns to your inventory. You can apply for this exemption multiple times as long as you have suitable evidence as to the goods’ true values and needs subsequent repair work.
Consumables And Perishables
Items that are for personal, non-business use and not part of one’s trade. For example, a class of goods that would not normally be re-exported from the country where they were acquired. An example of this is foodstuffs, although even longer-lasting items meant for consumption will generally not qualify as personal items. Botanical specimens may in principle be eligible to export under a certificate if they meet international and local environmental controls or licensing requirements.
CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)
Some agricultural products may be subject to customs duties, and there are also charges related to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. Export refunds are available in some cases and an export license is not required.
Transport Means
Despite the few extra rules, you can travel with your horse on an ATA Carnet as long as you take a flight or any other method of transport. You should be careful and always read everything carefully though because it`s not certain that every means of transportation is allowed – e.g., a horsebox. You may have to obtain customs documentation called a Certificate for Personal Effects Taken Abroad or another permit if you’re taking goods with you including horses.
Foreign Temporary Imports
For goods temporarily imported from outside the EU, it may be possible to qualify under a Customs Temporary Importation Concession (TIC). A TIC cannot be used in conjunction with ATA Carnets or another customs procedure that permits goods to enter the EU. When you import goods under a TIC (a type of Generalised System of Preferences – GSP – concession), there are certain goods mentioned above that your company can import and thus obtain relief from import duties
Roofing and Building Maintenance
While an ‘ATA Carnet’ may be useful when exhibiting a new deep digger or pile driver, it is useless if you are planning on moving this equipment to create the foundations for a building. Similar principles apply to a range of tools and materials for building projects, bringing us back to the rationale of the international ATA carnet scheme.
