Do you know how many ATA Carnets are issued every year, as well as the number of countries or customs territories that issue them and the value of the merchandise covered, in rand terms?

The answers to these questions are found in the instalment of this column published on December 2, 2022, titled ‘eATA Carnet project’. It is not the only piece on ATA Carnets featured in this column in recent years; there was another one published on July 14, 2023, titled ‘ATA Carnet turns 60’. These articles will provide you with all you need to know about ‘Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission’, from which the acronym ATA is derived.

Every year, about 190 000 ATA Carnets are issued by 80 countries or customs territories, covering merchandise valued at R449.87-billion. On June 22 this year, the ATA Carnet celebrates its sixty-third anniversary.

In essence, an ATA Carnet is an international customs document that permits the duty- and tax-free temporary importation of merchandise for up to one year. It contains pre-prepared, unified customs declaration forms for use at each country’s customs border offices. It serves as a guarantee of duties and taxes. The ATA Convention and the Istanbul Convention are trade facilitation tools. An ATA Carnet cuts red tape by simplifying and unifying customs border-crossing regulations for temporary import and export.

The article published in this column on July 14, 2023, briefly referenced the eATA Carnet project, which aims to digitalise ATA Carnets and their lifecycle management – from issuance and declarations to transactions and claims. The eATA concept, developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and supported by the World Customs Organisation (WCO), has been ten years in the making.

On January 29, the ICC announced that the eATA Carnet project will kick off on June 1, starting with the 27 member States of the EU, Norway (European Free Trade Association, or EFTA), Switzerland (EFTA), and the UK.

The eATA Carnet project was launched to provide various digital tools tailored for a range of stakeholders, including a smartphone application, the ATA Carnet app, which enables ATA Carnet holders to carry and declare digital versions of their customs documents; ATA Carnet Customs, which enables customs officers to verify ATA Carnets and approve digitally declared transactions; ATA Carnet Core, the central engine and database of the whole ATA Carnet system; and ATA Gateway, a lightweight issuing module made available to National Guaranteeing Associations (NGAs) and Issuing Associations to issue paper and digital ATA Carnets.

This raises the question: How does the eATA Carnet system work? Step 1: When an ATA Carnet is issued, holders will also receive a digital ATA Carnet generated by the National Issuing and Claims System, which is run by an NGA.

Step 2: The holder then downloads the ordered ATA Carnet into their smartphone wallet using the official ICC ATA Carnet app. If necessary, the ATA Carnet can be shared with a customs representative. For security purposes, the ATA Carnet is encrypted and never transmitted in ‘open format’ on the network.

Step 3: When crossing a border, the ATA Carnet holder, or their customs representative, unlocks the downloaded ATA Carnet and prepares a declaration using the ATA Carnet app. A QR code is generated for each declaration to present to a customs officer upon crossing the border.

Step 4: The customs officer then scans the QR code, reviews the declared items through the ATA Carnet customs portal, and determines whether the goods can enter or exit the border. If the declaration is correct and accepted, the customs officer will validate the transaction through the ATA Carnet customs portal. Finally, the transaction is recorded, and confirmation is sent to the holder’s smartphone or that of the customs representative.

Tasked by the WCO ATA/Istanbul Convention Administrative Committee, the ICC has made available the following resources for customs preparation: a customs preparation guide and readiness checklist; a QuickStart wallchart; and the eATA global transition plan, which is accessible on the ICC website at www.iccwbo.org.

The official issuing authority for ATA Carnets in South Africa is the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which acts as the national guaranteeing organisation for the system. More information is available at www.sacci.org.za.