FICCI hosts workshop on ATA Carnet

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) hosted a workshop on ‘ATA Carnet’ in Hyderabad on Monday. ATA Carnet is an International uniform customs document issued in 79 countries including India and is considered as a passport for goods, which facilitates green-channel route for doing business in India and abroad.

DP Naidu, Principal Commissioner, Hyderabad Customs Commissionerate, delivered the keynote address at the workshop. On the occasion, he said, “Till recently, only media, entertainment and film production companies were using the ATA Carnet. With this campaign by the FICCI, more companies and small & medium scale businesses (SMBs) will make use of it.”

Satish Kumar Reddy, Trade Facilitation Expert and Consultant of ADB, enlightened the audience on ‘Customs Perspective on ATA Carnet’. He said that ATA Carnet will largely benefit the exporters of capital goods, defence equipment, leather products and gems & jewellery. Soon, neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Nepal will also be included in the ATA Convention, he informed.

S Vijayalakshmi, Director of FICCI, addressed the gathering on ‘FICCI’s Role on ATA Carnet, application procedures and its benefits. Chakravarthi AVPS, Chair, International Trade, FTCCI; Sumeet Gupta, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI; and Suresh Kumar Singhal, Senior Vice President, FTCCI; spoke about the benefits of ATA Carnet during the workshop.

ATA Carnet is an International Uniform Customs document issued in 79 countries including the European Union as a single nation, which are parties to the Customs Convention. It permits duty free temporary admission of goods into a member country without the need to raise customs bond, payment of duty and fulfillment of other customs formalities in one or a number of foreign countries.

ATA Carnet simplifies the customs procedures and clearance in a foreign land, without payment of duty or a bank guarantee for temporary import into that Country. The initials “ATA” are an acronym of the French and English word “admission temporaire / temporary admission.” Like a passport for goods, it allows the exporters' goods to enter any of the participating countries for a period of up to one year.

ATA Convention is signed by 79 countries around the world, the system is a perfect illustration of how close cooperation between business and customs can facilitate and stimulate international trade. Each country in the system has a single guaranteeing body approved by the national customs authorities and the ICC World Chambers Federation.

The national guaranteeing association is entitled to issue Carnets and to authorize local chambers on the national territory to deliver them on its behalf. In major trading nations, dozens of local chambers have that authority. In India FICCI has been appointed as the National Issuing and Guaranteeing Association (NIGA) for the operation of ATA Carnet system.

This service is available to exhibitors at trade fairs, business and sales executives and traveling professionals, such as film crews, architects, artists, engineers, entertainers, photographers and sports teams. A single Carnet covers visits to an unlimited number of ATA countries in a year. It thus provides a simple and speedy way to travel abroad with business materials, saving both time and money.

Advantages of ATA Carnet System:

The ATA Carnet System offers advantages to all concerned: the customs authorities and the trading community, ie, individuals, enterprises, trade organisations who need temporary duty-free importation facilities to prospect outlets for their products on foreign markets.

By replacing the national customs declaration normally required for the temporary duty-free admission of goods in any given country, the ATA Carnet does away with the need for a customs document at each border point. This means less paperwork for customs officials and Carnet holders.

Since all goods accompanied by an ATA carnet are thus covered by the international surety furnished by the guaranteeing/issuing Chambers, no further action regarding the guarantee needs to be taken, either by the customs or by the importer at the time of temporary admission. Thus, for businessmen the ATA Carnet does away with the need for the deposit of a personal or real guarantee at the border point of each country of temporary admission.

As the ATA Carnet constitutes at the same time the temporary admission document and the proof of the customs security for temporary admission, it considerably simplifies and expedites the accomplishment of the formalities for temporary admission for both the Carnet holder and the customs: no further customs document needs to be completed nor any other security produced upon arrival in the territory of temporary admission.

Another advantage greatly appreciated by the trading community is that the ATA carnet is valid for one year. During this period, its holder can use it abroad for the goods covered, for as many trips as he wishes from his home country to one or more of the other countries applying the ATA System, provided the ATA Carnet contains the appropriate number of sheets required for each trip.

This is particularly useful if the holder of the ATA Carnet intends to import goods temporarily into various countries in the course of the same journey (eg if a commercial traveler wishes to show samples to a number of potential buyers in different countries).

There are many other cases where this facility is of advantage to the holder of an ATA Carnet. For the customs, the use of the ATA Carnet entails less administrative work and increased customs safety since the payment of import duties and taxes is guaranteed by the Guaranteeing Association affiliated to the ATA guarantee chain in the territory of temporary admission. The guarantee is automatic and the customs need not check its validity for each carnet.

In addition, the system does not affect revenue of the nation since the goods covered by the ATA Carnets are intended for re-exportation and not at all for sale in the country of temporary admission. The system is “self-policing” in that, should the Carnet holder fail to re-export the goods within the period of validity of the Carnet, duties become payable.

Trade circles, guaranteeing associations and customs administrations all acknowledge the excellent operation of the ATA Carnet System. The carnet system illustrates that close co-operation between business and customs can facilitate and stimulate international trade.

Initially in India, ATA Carnet system dealt with only those goods covered under the government-approved exhibitions/ fairs or similar events. However, its scope was extended to cover private exhibitions/ trade fairs or similar events also from 5th October 2016.

The scope of the system has been further expanded since January, 2018 to cover professional equipment meant for TV/film shoot, press/media coverage, sporting events and testing & calibration.