Permits duty-free temporary admission of goods into a member country without the need to raise customs bond, payment of duty & fulfilment of other customs formalities.

Hyderabad, October 2023: FICCI hosted the Workshop on 'ATA Carnet' at Hyatt Place, Hyderabad recently. ATA Carnet is an International uniform customs document issued in 79 countries including India and is considered as a passport for goods, which facilitates the green channel route for doing business in India and Abroad.

Mr D P Naidu, IRS, Principal Commissioner, Hyderabad Customs Commissionerate; delivered the Keynote address at the Workshop. Mr Satish Kumar Reddy, Trade Facilitation Expert and Consultant, ADB; enlightened the audience on 'Customs Perspective on ATA Carnet'; Ms S Vijayalakshmi, Director, FICCI addressed the gathering on 'FICCI's Role on ATA Carnet, Application Procedures & its benefits. Mr Chakravarthi AVPS, Chair, International Trade, FTCCI; Mr Sumeet Gupta, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI; and Mr Suresh Kumar Singhal, Senior Vice President, FTCCI; spoke on the occasion.

ATA Carnet is an International Uniform Customs document issued in 79 countries including India, which are parties to the Customs Convention on ATA Carnet.  It permits duty-free temporary admission of goods into a member country without the need to raise customs bonds, payment of duty, and fulfilment 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, ATA Carnet (pronounced Karnay) allows for the goods for which it was issued to enter any of the participating countries for 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 the 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, sports teams, and many more. 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.