How to use your ATA Carnet
Find out to use your carnet at customs when temporarily exporting and importing goods.
You must show the carnet at customs each time you import or export your goods. This includes goods entering or leaving:
- Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales)
- Northern Ireland
You’re responsible for making sure the customs officials either scan your digital carnet in your ATA Carnet app, or stamp your paper carnet.
Check what to do if:
- your goods or carnet are lost or stolen
- you want to use the goods abroad
If you need to temporarily export goods that are not included on your carnet, you’ll need to apply for an ATA Carnet for them.
Before using your ATA Carnet
If you have a digital carnet
You’ll need to create your digital declaration, known as a ‘travel’ in your app each time you move your goods. You do this by selecting the goods you’re moving from the general list. The app generates a unique QR code for that travel.
You need to regularly synchronise (sync) your app to make sure it records each time the customs officials scan a QR code.
If you have a paper carnet
You must make sure that:
- the green front cover has been stamped by the issuing office
- you have filled in all the sections on the carnet that you need to, including box F on the yellow export voucher
Importing or exporting restricted and prohibited goods
You still need to follow the rules for licensing controls and requirements for restricted and prohibited goods. If your goods are temporarily:
- leaving the UK, read exporting goods
- entering the UK, read importing goods
You must include a reference to any Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species document or licences on your carnet. For a paper carnet this needs to be included on both the:
- back of the green cover sheet
- general list for each voucher included in your carnet
Temporarily exporting goods
You must show your carnet to the customs officials when you export the goods. For a paper carnet, they’ll:
- certify the green front cover
- keep the yellow export voucher
- fill in and stamp the yellow export counterfoil
If you’re exporting the goods as freight, you may also need to include them on form C21i in the Customs Declaration Service.
Goods arriving at or leaving a country
You must show your carnet to the customs officials when the goods arrive in the country they’re visiting. You’ll also need to show the carnet again when they leave.
For a paper carnet, they’ll:
- check the green front cover
- keep the white import or re-export voucher
- fill in and stamp the corresponding counterfoil
Re-importing goods
For paper carnets you must complete box F on the yellow import voucher when you show the carnet and goods to customs at the port or airport of arrival. They’ll:
- keep the yellow re-import voucher
- stamp the re-import counterfoil
If the goods being re-imported into the UK are arriving:
- in a passenger’s baggage, the carnet must be shown at the red point or channel
- as freight, you may also need to include them on form C21i in the Customs Declaration Service
Re-importing goods in more than one consignment
For paper carnets, you’ll need a separate voucher for each consignment. If you do not have enough re-import vouchers, contact the office that issued your carnet.
Each voucher must clearly show the goods number from the general list which are being re-imported at the time.
Using a carnet as a transit document
In some countries you may need to show your carnet to either:
- move the goods from their border to the customs office
- take goods in and out of an exhibition
For paper carnets, the customs officials will keep the blue voucher and fill in the corresponding counterfoil.
Goods not returning to the country they were temporarily exported from
You’ll need to contact the customs authority in the country where the goods will stay. You must do this as soon as you know the goods will be staying in the country — do not wait until the carnet is due to expire.
You’ll need to:
- show the carnet to the customs official — for paper carnets they’ll note which goods are remaining
- fill in any customs documents they need
- fill in a full export declaration to replace the temporary export made under the carnet
If you’re releasing goods into free circulation, you’ll also need to tell the office that issued your carnet, and confirm if you’ll submit either a:
- declaration to Customs Declaration Service
- claim against the carnet through the international guarantee chain
If you want to destroy your goods in the country they’ve been temporarily exported to, read destroying goods on your ATA Carnet.
If you do not use your ATA Carnet correctly
If you do not use your carnet correctly you may be charged customs duties and VAT, or receive a penalty.
You may have to pay Customs Duty, taxes, and a penalty if, for example:
- the carnet was not scanned or stamped when you imported or exported the goods
- you change the description of the goods after the carnet is issued
If you did not show the carnet when leaving the country of temporary import, customs may ask you to either:
- pay duty
- provide proof of the current location of your goods
If you’re asked for proof of re-export
If you need proof that the goods have been re-exported from the country they were temporarily visiting, contact customs in the country where the goods are located — this is the National ATA Carnet Unit if the goods are in the UK.
If the carnet was correctly shown to customer when re-importing the goods:
- for digital carnets this will be recorded in your app
- for paper carnets customs can issue a certified copy of the re-import voucher
If the carnet was not available or not shown when re-importing the goods, you’ll need a certificate of location.
To get a certificate of location, the customs office will need to inspect the goods and may charge you for it.
Help and support
For more information read the ATA Carnet technical handbook.
You can contact:
- HMRC’s import and export team for general enquiries about importing and exporting
- the National ATA Carnet Unit to get a contact number for customs at your location
- the International Chambers of Commerce website
Updates to this page
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Guidance on digital ATA Carnets has been added.
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The postal and email addresses of the National ATA Carnet Unit have changed.
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The guidance has been updated due to UK transition.
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First published.