ATA Carnet services

We provide a complete ATA carnet preparation and management service.

What is an ATA Carnet?

An ATA carnet, or carnet, is an international Customs document, issued by a Chamber of Commerce.
It allows the holder of the carnet to temporarily import goods, free of Customs duties, taxes etc, into any of the countries that are members of the ATA carnet scheme. For a list of countries, click here.
It is not a legal requirement, and there are other methods of temporarily importing goods into foreign countries, but these can be costly and time consuming.
Using an ATA carnet means that you have the peace of mind of knowing that you will be able to take your goods out of the UK, into and out of the foreign country / countries that you are visiting, and back into the UK without having to lodge temporary import bonds, appoint agents, complete time consuming paperwork at Customs etc.

What items can go on an ATA Carnet?

There are three categories of goods – professional equipment, commercial samples, and international trade fair / exhibition.

And apart from hazardous goods, earth moving machinery, vehicles that will be driven on the open road (unless specially adapted such as OB vehicles), and consumable items, ATA carnets can cover a vast range of items. There are 28 different types of equipment that can go on carnets.

ATA Carnet Categories

The guarantee

When an ATA carnet is issued, the holder must provide the issuing Chamber with a security to cover the highest rate of duty and taxes in all the countries being visited.

If you do not re-export your goods from the foreign country by the expiry date of the carnet, or by any other time limit that Customs may set down, or if the conditions of use are breached in some other way, Customs are entitled to levy full import duties on your items, and the carnet holder is liable to pay these charges. The London Chamber need to have a guarantee in place which they can invoke should you refuse to pay.

We already have a large ’rolling’ guarantee set up with the Chamber of Commerce, which the majority of our clients prefer to use. This means that we put the carnet in our name, and you do not have to worry about providing your own guarantee. Our premiums are very competitive and we will match any genuine written quote that you may have received elsewhere. All we need in order to give you a quote for the use of our guarantee is the total value of your items, where you are visiting, and the length of time for which the carnet will be in use.

If you wish to provide your own guarantee and have the ATA carnet put in your company name rather than ours, or if you are visiting a country where the rules stipulate that the carnet cannot go in a third party name, we can still prepare the carnet for you and talk you through your other options for lodging the guarantee.

Rolling Guarantee

I want to use an ATA carnet, what do I need to do now?

Complete the form giving the names of the people travelling, and the countries being visited, upload your equipment list then you can sit back and rest assured that your ATA carnet application is in safe hands.
We will make sure that your list contains all the information needed to satisfy the Chamber’s requirements. We will type your draft carnet and email it to you so that you can ensure it is correct. We will then submit your carnet to the Chamber to be issued, and once complete we can arrange delivery to your chosen address.
If you have used our guarantee, we will email just before the period that you have paid for expires to remind you that the ATA carnet is due to be returned.
Once you have returned the used carnet to us we will check it to make sure it has been used correctly and advise you if we can envisage the Chamber of Commerce raising any queries.
We send it back to the Chamber and if it is unable to be discharged because it is incomplete or has been used incorrectly, we will help you to resolve the issues, liaising with the Chamber, and Customs if necessary.
We are contactable 24 hours a day by telephone or e-mail and make no out of hours charges .
If you have any questions about carnets, or our services, please contact us.

ATA Carnet application form

To apply for an ATA carnet please complete and submit the form below:
* Don’t forget to attach your equipment list.