ATA Carnet

An ATA Carnet is an international customs document that allows goods to be imported temporarily, free of duties and taxes, for up to one year. "ATA" combines the French and English words Admission Temporaire and Temporary Admission. Customs in each of the 80-plus member countries and territories accepts it in place of its own entry forms and a deposit or bond.

What a carnet covers

Carnets are issued in three categories, and each country decides which it accepts:

• Commercial samples
• Professional equipment, the "tools of the trade"
• Exhibitions and fairs

For goods entering the United States, CBP accepts carnets for commercial samples, professional equipment and certain advertising material (see 19 CFR 114.22). A carnet does not cover consumables such as giveaways, agricultural products or disposables. Goods intended for sale, or sale on approval, need a regular customs entry instead.

How a carnet works

• Validity: one year from the date of issue. Within that year the goods can leave and re-enter participating countries as often as needed
• Counterfoils and vouchers: colored sheets are used for export from and re-import into the issuing country (yellow), import into and re-export from foreign countries (white) and transit (blue). Each sheet has a counterfoil, which stays in the carnet and records what customs did, and a removable voucher that customs keeps. CBP notes that US-issued carnets have no yellow export or re-import vouchers
• The holder's obligation: present the goods and the carnet to customs on every export, import, re-export and re-import. CBP warns that missing any of these steps can lead to a charge of 110% of the duty and import tax
• Export controls still apply: a carnet does not change the rules on an export license; if the goods need one, they still do

Who issues carnets

The system rests on the Customs Convention on the A.T.A. Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods, adopted under the World Customs Organization in 1961. Each member country has a national guaranteeing association, approved by its government and by the ICC's World Chambers Federation, which is liable to customs if a holder breaks the terms.

• United States: the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) is the sole national guaranteeing and issuing association, appointed by the Treasury Department in 1969. Under 19 CFR part 114 the carnet "serves simultaneously as a Customs entry document and as a Customs bond"
• India: the Government of India has appointed FICCI as the national issuing and guaranteeing association. Carnets are cleared at the customs locations the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has authorized; CBIC extended the facility to Mundra Port from January 20, 2025. India accepts carnets for exhibitions and fairs and, since January 18, 2018, for professional equipment, but not for commercial samples, and it sets shorter time limits than the one-year carnet, so confirm the purpose and period allowed with FICCI before you ship

Carnet vs other ways to bring goods in temporarily

Without a carnet, goods entering the US temporarily usually go under a temporary importation bond (TIB), which means filing an entry (CBP Form 3461 or 7501) and posting a customs bond. A carnet replaces separate filings in each country with one document for the whole trip.

Shipping goods that travel on a carnet

The carnet belongs to its holder, not to the forwarder or carrier. The goods can still move as ordinary air or ocean freight, but the holder has to make sure customs stamps the carnet on each departure and arrival. Its list of goods must describe them completely and should match the invoice.