Marking a major milestone in the history of the ATA Carnet, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has confirmed the successful processing of the very first electronic version of the trade facilitation tool.

Issued as part of the 'Mercury II' pilot project to digitalise the ATA Carnet - launched by ICC in 2018 - the pioneering Swiss ATA Carnet 'CHBE20191834' was digitally activated by customs officials at Zurich airport on October 20, 2019. It was followed by another digital transaction of exportation formalities on the same day.

Two weeks later, on November 1, the goods were re-imported to Switzerland from Canada, declared via the ICC ATA Carnet App and subsequently digitally processed by Zurich airport customs via the ATA Carnet Customs portal.

As the international organization administering the ATA Carnet international guaranteeing chain, ICC is leading the on-going project to digitalise the ATA Carnet in cooperation with the World Customs Organization (WCO).

The real testing phase will continue for 6 months thanks to the support of six pilot countries: Belgium, China, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Carnet is a customs document secured in the seller's country, which guarantees the importing country that it will be compensated for the duties and taxes applicable if the goods it covers are not re-exported. It is valid for a maximum of one year. ATA is a French and English acronym of "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission." Carnets are commonly used by sales people and manufacturers to bring their wares into foreign countries to show as commercial samples to potential customers or to display at trade fairs and exhibitions.

 

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