AUSTRIA (last update​: 31/03/2020)​

The deadlines for temporary use can be extended upon request. Due to the pandemic, the legal options can be fully exploited, i.e. Such periods would legally extend up to 10 years.

Carnet ATA

Option A: If the duration of the temporary use procedure is expected to exceed the validity of the ATA / CPD China-Taiwan carnet and the holder is unable to re-export the goods, the issuing association may issue a replacement carnet. For such cases, the procedure of the customs offices in ZK-2500 section 6.4.3.2. regulated. The Labor Directive ZK-2500 (Temporary Use) represents a means of interpreting the regulations to be implemented by the customs offices and customs bodies, which is communicated in the interest of a harmonized procedure. Section 6.4.3.2 states: 

6.4.3.2. Replacement of carnets

Guidelines

If the duration of the temporary use procedure is expected to exceed the validity of the ATA / CPD China-Taiwan carnet and the holder is unable to re-export the goods, the issuing association may issue a replacement carnet. The replacement carnet is presented to the customs office responsible for the place where the goods are located. This customs office completes the following formalities

(a) clear the original carnet through the re-export section, which it immediately sends back to the first customs office of temporary use;

(b) accept the replacement carnet and keep the import section after having noted the period of re-export of the original carnet, possibly with an extension, and its number.

When dealing with the temporary admission procedure, the re-export customs office completes the relevant formalities by immediately returning the re-export section of the replacement carnet to the customs office that accepted the replacement carnet.

The original carnet is returned to the issuing association by the owner.

If the issuance of a replacement carnet is refused, the customs formalities must be completed using the ATA / CPD China-Taiwan carnet procedure.
​
​Option B: A legally permissible alternative is the transfer of such goods to the customs warehousing procedure (bonded warehouse).

BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA

If the goods previously e​ntered into Bosnia and Herzegovina under the cover of an ATA Carnet cannot be re-exported within the validity of the Carnet, a Replacement Carnet may be presented to B&H Customs Authorities. The Replacement Carnet must be presented to the Customs Office, which was responsible for the authorization of the temporary admission of the goods (Customs Office of entry) and it will complete customs formalities.

If the carnet is still valid, but the goods cannot be re-exported by the final date of re-exportation approved by B&H Customs Authorities (which is about to expire) carnet holder should contact the competent Customs Office (Customs office of entry) to apply for an extension of the final date of re-exportation. In the request carnet holder must explain the reasons why the goods cannot be re-exported within the time limit and give relevant evidences, if they exist. This request must be submitted before the expiry of the date fixed for the re-exportation. 

Only exceptionally, if the holder cannot visit the Customs Office due to the impact of COVID-19, request for extension of the re-exportation deadline (either by the replacement ATA Carnet or in the case that the date of expiry of validity of ATA Carnet exceeds the date fixed for the re-exportation of the goods) the request can be submitted by email, together with the proofs (such as documents imposing the isolation or quarantine measures to the Carnet Holder). During the re-exportation of the goods original request and ATA Carnet must be presented to the competent Customs Office.    

ATA carnet claims will be handled on a case-by-case basis. ATA carnet holders should keep all relevant documents that may support claim cases (government document imposing the quarantine, isolation…).

CHINA (last update​: 11/05​/2020)​​​​

​Scenario 1: Carnet is​​ still valid, but the final date of re-exportation given by Chinese Customs is about to expire.

​Holders shall contact the competent Customs office (for most cases, it's the port of importation. But for carnets has been completed transit formalities, it's the customs office of destination) to apply for an extension of the final date of re-exportation by using the original carnet. If holders cannot visit the Customs office due to the impact of COVID-19, please apply for the extension via Chinese Customs website www.customs.gov.cn/

Scenario 2: Carnet's validity is about to expire, holders shall:

1. Step 1: contact the issuing association (IA) to apply for a replacement carnet to extend the carnet's validity first.
2. Step 2: contact the competent Customs office (for most cases, it's the port of importation. But for carnets has been completed transit formalities, it's the customs office of destination) to apply for an extension of the final date of re-exportation by using the replacement carnet. If holders cannot visit the Customs office due to the impact of COVID-19, please apply for the extension via Chinese Customs website  www.customs.gov.cn/ ​

Scenario 3: For countries where replacement carnets can't be issued in general, to deal with possible delay due to the impact of COVID-19, China Customs agrees to give greater facilitation, on an exceptional and temporary basis, by accepting a letter of guarantee issued by NGAs in the issuing country, to extend the validity period of the original ATA carnet for a further maximum 6 months. By doing so, the guaranteeing period and the claims period are also extended, so NGAs in the issuing country must make sure that the security that the holder originally provided to the IA is extended too before issuing such letter. The recommended steps are as follow:

1. Step 1: the holder shall contact the issuing association to notify the problems and ask for assistance.
2. Step 2: If a replacement carnet can't be issued, the IA shall contact its NGA to see if a letter of guarantee can be issued on an exceptional basis.
3. Step 3: should the NGA agree, it shall send its letter of guarantee (suggested template in​ attachement 1) and the postal details of the holder's counterpart in China (for the shipment of the original copy of the confirmation letter) to the Chinese NGA (claims@ccpit.org) and copy ICC ATA Secretariat ( wcf-ata@iccwbo.org). The email containing the letter must be sent by the ATA manager via the NGA using the official email address for claims operations.
4. Step 4: Once the Chinese​ NGA has received the request, it shall reply the email to the requesting NGA and copy ICC ATA Secretariat, with a scanned copy of a Chinese version letter issued for China customs (template inattachement 2) and the tracking number of the shipment for the original letter.
5. ​Step 5: The holder or their representatives shall contact the competent Customs office (for most cases, it's the port of importation. But for carnets that have been completed transit formalities, it's the customs office of destination) to apply for an extension of the final date of re-exportation by using the original carnet together with the original copy of the Chinese version letter. If holders cannot visit the Customs office due to the impact of COVID-19, please apply for the extension via Chinese Customs website www.customs.gov.cn/

Scenario 4: Failure to comply with the extension requirements, claims might be raised and be analyzed case by case. All holders should keep as much documentation (e.g. Lockdown notice, airline ticket cancellations/rebookings, hotel reservation extension, etc..) as possible to support their cases. It is understood that many NGA colleagues are working from home office for now and it's difficult to get the 'certified true copy' stamp under this situation. Thus B letters without this stamp but sending directly from the NGA email (both from ATA carnet manager's email and NGA general inquiry/claim emails) are acceptable by China customs.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Info provided by Czech Customs to WCO

Customs authorities in the Czech Republic apply the following procedures in ​connection with the current situation and the declared state of emergency, as regards the handling of ATA Carnets operations:

1. Re-exportation of goods released for temporary importation on the territory of the Union (Czech Republic) under cover of ATA carnet

The customs office shall recognize the validity of an already expired ATA carnet or ATA carnet for which the period fixed for the re-exportation of goods from the territory of the Union has expired, if the period is affected by a declared emergency state in the Czech Republic or by other critical state declared by the country of use in the territory of the Union or country of re-importation. Such carnet ATA will be treated as a valid carnet, i.e.as re-exportation within the set deadline.

This means that the Czech customs authorities will endorse export (exit) even in cases where the carnet has already expired during or immediately after the end of an emergency state or other crisis situation in the country of use in the Union or re-importation. The same procedure will apply to valid carnets where the re-exportation deadline has expired.

2. Re-importation of EU goods under cover of an ATA carnet

Czech customs authorities will recognize and the import of Union goods which were temporarily exported under cover of ATA Carnet will be relieved from import duties and taxes in cases where the goods were imported after the deadline or after the expiry of the validity of the ATA Carnet, if the import was prevented by a declared emergency state in the Czech Republic or by another critical state declared by other Union Member State in the country of use.

The relief from import duties will be covered by the provisions of Article 203 of the Union Customs Code stipulating that the returned goods shall be granted relief from import duty only if goods are returned within 3 years of their export and in the state in which they were exported. The period of 3 years should be sufficient for the needs of the exported goods under co​ver of the ATA carnet. Additional formalities beyond the standard procedures for importing goods under cover of an ATA carnet shall not be required. ​

DENMARK (last update​: 01/04​/2020)​​

​​Danish Customs estimates that it will be inexpedient to ask Carnet holders from third countries to use the existing procedure for ATA Carnets that expires. The existing procedure requires a Replacement ATA Carnet but due to the current corona conditions, the Danish Customs assumes that it will be impossible to receive a replacement Carnet ATA Carnet from the guaranteeing organization for Carnet holders visiting Denmark. Carnet holders visiting Denmark will be guided on this opportunity.

The Danish Customs will not forward charges on import duties for ATA Carnets as The Danish Customs estimates that it will be impossible to calculate an estimate on import duties before the Carnet holders have the opportunity to secure the transportation of the goods out of the EU. When it again is possible to secure the transportation of goods, Danish Customs will calculate import duties and for those who leave the EU it will be cancelled. Import duties will be charged to Carnet holders that do not depart as soon as possible.

Danish Customs highlights that the above mentioned only applies as a consequence of the current situation and is not a permanent alteration. Danish Customs also points out that if there are significant developments affecting the current situation it could further change the Danish Customs procedures on the handling of ATA Carnets.​

ESTONIA​

Estonia follows the common European Union rules and has not implemented any additional measures for ATA Carnets. In cases where the goods under temporary importation can not be re-exported within the foreseen deadline because of COVID-19 pandemic, the customs authority has to be informed about the necessity to prolong the deadline. In exceptional cases customs can prolong the deadline. However, if possible, we recommend to close the ATA Carnet and place the goods covered by ATA Carnet under customs warehousing procedure. 

More information can be found at : 

https://www.emta.ee/eng/business-client/customs-trade-goods/classification-customs-authorities 

https://www.koda.ee/en​ 

EUROPEAN UNION

FINLAND​​

Each case will be investigated on a case-by-case basis, which serves best the whole procedure.
Cases can be resolved through cooperation between the Customs Authorities, the Finland Chamber of Commerce and the customer.
Please, contact ata@chamber.fi to solve the challenge.​

FRANCE

In accordance with the instructions of the Director-General of Customs and Excise, the application of containment measures does not entail any restriction on the movement of goods. Therefore, the missions of the customs remain.

​Customs offices are intended to remain open, in particular for the visa of original, non-dematerialized documents related to customs clearance, such as the ATA carnet.

However, the opening hours of the offices and the reception of the public can be adjusted: contact them for your operations.

Do the French customs authorities stamp foreign carnets for import/re-export for all modes of transport?

As for French ATA carnets, there are no restrictions on customs clearance operations.

What is the risk for holders of foreign carnets whose goods are currently in France if the expiry date has passed or is about to pass? What solutions exist? Is there any tolerance? We can recommend the replacement carnet procedure.

Insofar as no movement restrictions are applied to the goods, operators must do their utmost to meet their obligations. However, in view of the situation, customs offices may grant facilities when re-exporting goods, provided that the exceeding of time limits is duly justified.

As far as possible, traders should notify by e-mail the customs authorities of this eventuality as soon as possible (customs office of re-export, or the nearest customs office where the goods are located). Thus, the customs offices will carry out all the necessary checks at the time of re-exportation.

​If the trader so wishes, he can also present a replacement carnet.

Finally, the management of claims concerning foreign carnets might be significantly slowed down during the containment period:

The operating procedures of the General Treasury of Customs are indeed disrupted by the current situation, but a minimum service is provided.

The receipt of alternative proof of re-exportation can take place within 9 months after the opening of the file in dispute: problematic cases should therefore be able to be dealt with within the legal time limits.

​GERMANY​​ (last update​: 02/04/2020)​

​German customs have decided to accept B-letters sent by e-mails. However, it is understood that many NGA-colleagues are in-home office now and do not have a stamp thas confirms 'certified true copy' at home, thus they send the B-letters without this stamp. German customs authorities have promised ​​to accept this because it comes directly from the NGA.

German Customs authorities are striving to minimize the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the economy as much as possible. As encouraged by the World Customs Organization, ​main German customs offices have been given instructions to offer greater facilitations to Carnet holders:

If the goods previously entered into Germany under the cover of an ATA Carnet cannot be re-exported within the validity of the Carnet, a Replacement Carnet may be presented.

If Carnet issuing associations, located in a third country, are unable to issue replacement carnet due to impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, as a greater facilitation temporarily offered until further notice, the period of the final date of re-exportation, as well as the validity of the Carnet can be extended by the German customs office based on Article 17 Istanbul Convention, Art. 251 Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 of 9 October 2013 (Union Customs Code), as well as Art. 174 para. 1 Delegated Act (EU) 2015/2446 of July 28, 2015).

To obtain the extension, holders/representatives shall contact the customs office in whose district the goods are located. Presentation of the goods is not required. If accepted, the customs office shall note the extended re-export period in field 2 of the importation Counterfoil and inform the customs office where the Carnet was opened about the extended re-export period. This latter customs office shall note the extended re-exportation period in Box H (b) of the retained white Import  Voucher sheet.

HUNGARY

Re-importation of EU goods under cover of an ATA Carnet

According to the information from the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary, the goods, which were temporarily exported under cover of ATA Carnet and will be returned to the customs territory of Hungary after the expiry of the validity of the ATA Carnet, can be relieved from import duties and taxes according to the Article 203 of the Union Customs Code, if the conditions of the returned goods are fulfilled (goods returned within 3 years of their export and in the state in which they were exported).

Re-exportation of goods under cover of an ATA Carnet

According to the information from the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary, in case the goods were temporarily imported to the customs territory of the EU/Hungary under cover of ATA Carnet and the goods cannot be re-exported within the validity of the ATA Carnet, for the extension of the temporary admission procedure, a Replacement Carnet may be presented. The initial ATA Carnet and the Replacement Carnet must be submitted to the customs within the validity period of the initial ATA Carnet in person (ATA holder/representative) or by post.

If the issuing of the Replacement Carnet or the submission of the Replacement Carnet to the Hungarian Customs is not possible due to the impact of Coronavirus Pandemic, the ATA holder/representative can apply for a new temporary admission procedure, without ATA Carnet.

To obtain the extension, holders/representatives shall contact the customs office in whose district the goods are located, within the validity period of the initial ATA Carnet.

ISRAEL (last update​: 02​/04/2020)​​

As encouraged by the World Customs Organization, Israeli customs agreed to offer greater facilitations to Carnet holders:

For goods previously admitted into Israel under the cover of ATA Carnets, if the final date of re-exportation originally grant​ed as well as the carnet validity are between 1 January 2020 and 1 June 2020, the re-exportation time limits are automatically extended to 1 July 2020. There is no need to issue replacement carnet or apply for the extension. The new time limit has been updated in Customs' administ​rative system.​

ITALY (last update​: 30/03/2020)

The Italian Customs Authorities have taken the following decision, in force from March 26, 2020, regarding the management of ATA Carnets that are about to expire and whose goods cannot be re-exported due to the emergency measures taken by the Italian Government from last January on.

The directive (no. 100433) has been published on the Customs Authorities' website at the following link: https://www.adm.gov.​it/portale/web/guest//direttive and the content is as follows:​

"With regard to ATA Carnet, it is recalled that

1) within one month from the expiry date of the ATA Carnet, the document can be presented to the Customs Office for the sole purpose of re-exportation, according to the provisions of art. no.  71 of the Service Instructions [1]

or

2) the holder of the Carnet, before the expiry of its validity, may request a replacement Carnet to the Chamber of Commerce that issued the previous one, which will have a new term of validity of one year from the date of issue. In order to make the replacement Carnet valid, it must be presented together with the original ATA Carnet to the extra European Union Customs of the country of temporary exportation and to the Customs Office where it was presented for temporary importation, or where the goods are located, for taking in charge of the new Carnet and the simultaneous discharge of the "original". [2]

3) In consideration of the difficulties of this emergency period, in relation to the carrying out of the re-exportation operations of the goods, in the event that the operators are in no position to comply with the normal procedures mentioned above within the deadlines, it will be possible to request the Customs offices to extend the re-exportation terms, even beyond the validity of the Carnet, in application of art. 251 par. 3 of EU Reg. No. 952/2013 (CDU) which provides, in exceptional circumstances, for this derogation, the basis of which lies in art. 17 of the Istanbul Convention".

​[1] Holders who have ATA Carnets on the point of expiring, could send Unioncamere a request to authorise the re-exportation specifying that the delay is caused by the current epidemic situation. The data to be communicated are the following:

-       ATA Carnet number

-       Date of validity

-       Name of the Customs office where the formalities should be accomplished.

 The demands have to be sent to the following address: estero@legalmail.it

[2] The replacement ATA Carnet has to be issued and taken in charge by the Customs offices involved strictly before the first ATA Carnet's validity date.

JAPAN

Japanese Customs have decided to take the following measures to grant "greater facilities" in view of the impact caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Japanese Customs accept a "Replacement Carnet" which allows the extension of the validity period of the original Carnet, only when it can be proven that the failure to re-export the goods within the term of validity was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. If the holder or her/his representatives are unable to present a "Replacement Carnet" due to unavoidable circumstances [1] Japanese Customs consider the original Carnet to be valid when the following document, No.1 or 2 [2], is submitted and only when the failure to re-export the goods within the term of validity is caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
   
   No.1 Original Carnet (a copy is not acceptable) and a copy of the "Replacement Carnet"​
   No.2 Original Carnet (a copy is not acceptable) and document such as the guarantee letter issued by NGO

[1] When a " Replacement Carnet is unable to be mailed due to the disruption of transport (in principle, document No.1 is required in this case) or the issuing country of the original Carnet does not allow NGO to issue a " Replacement Carnet (document No.2 is required in this​ case).

[2] The original "Replacement Carnet" need not be presented to the competent Customs afterward.

When the goods are hand-carried by passengers, Japanese Customs consider that the original Carnet is valid if the passenger presents a copy of the "Replacement Carnet" such as a photo or scanned document upon re-exportation.

Important notice

• To confirm if the reason for failing to re-export the goods was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, documents such as the guarantee letter issued by the foreign NGO, and the correspondence by email between NGO and the Carnet holder are consulted
• These measures are applicable to the goods imported for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games.
• Japanese Customs may confirm with NGO if the "Replacement Carnet" is a true copy.

​NORWAY(last update​: 20/05/2020)​

The Norwegian Customs Authorities have taken t​he following decision, regarding the management of ATA Carnets that are about to expire and whose goods cannot be re-exported due to the emergency measures taken by the Norwegian Government from March 12th 2020.

"With regard to ATA Carnet, it is recalled that

1)     the holder of the Carnet, before the expiry of its validity, may request a replacement Carnet to the Chamber of Commerce that issued the previous one, which will have a new term of validity of one year from the date of issue. In order to make the replacement Carnet valid, it must be presented together with the original ATA Carnet to the Customs of the country of temporary exportation and to the Customs Office where it was presented for temporary importation, or where the goods are located, for taking in charge of the new Carnet and the simultaneous discharge of the "original".

Or:

2)     In consideration of the difficulties of this emergency period, in relation to the carrying out of the re-exportation operations of the goods, in the event that the operators are in no position to comply with the normal procedures mentioned above within the deadlines, it will be possible to request the Customs offices to extend the re-exportation terms, even beyond the validity of the Carnet, The expiry date of the carnet can be prolonged with one month – at a time for the sole purpose of re-exportation.

​Holders who have ATA Carnets on the point of expiring could send Oslo Chamber of Commerce a request to authorize the re-exportation specifying that the delay is caused by the current epidemic situation.

The data to be communicated are the following:

• ATA Carnet number
• The name of the holder
• Date of validity
• Name of the Customs office where the formalities should be accomplished.

The application, with the information above have to be sent by the organization that issued the ATA Carnet to the following address: exportdocuments@chamber.no

​POLAND

Having in mind that due to preventive measures taken by governments of the Contracting Parties against the spread of the COVID-19 – and expecting numerous cases where Customs clearance and re-export of goods covered by the ATA carnets will be impossible in due course - the Polish Chamber of Commerce would like to forward to the Contracting Parties their official position they have​ received from the Polish Customs Authorities (Ministry of Finance - Customs Department) - according to which – it will be possible to extend the fixed date for re-export of goods that would be exceeded because of COVID-19 but this will not happen automatically „ex officio". Therefore, the holders of the ATA carnets or their representatives should apply for such an extension directly to relevant import Customs Offices in Poland where their cases will be considered individually. 

PORTUGAL

Due to the COVID-19 impact, Portuguese customs accept the late reexportation without penalties.

Carnet holders/their representatives must request more time to reexport directly to the customs office that imported the goods initially/or if the goods are at a different place, customs office geographic in charge:

• At the customs office, presenting the original ATA Carnet and a simple request.

• If the first option isn't possible, by email, with copies of the ATA Carnet/ Reason for the late reexportation

In both situations, it's important to attach the customs authorization for late reexportation to the ATA Carnet and send the copies of the process to the Portuguese NGA by email ata@ccip.pt

SERBIA​

Od 22. 5. 2020 otvoreni su granični prelazi u Srbiji. Nema testiranja niti karantina, niti posebne dozvole za ulazak u Srbiju.
Ko nije regulisao status robe ima vremena do 06.06, da to uradi (to je onaj rok od 30 dana koji je dala naša carina). Ovo se odnosi na nosioce karneta kojima je od 15.03. roba ostala zarobljena u Srbiji zbog proglašenja vanrednog stanja, a rok za ponovni izvoz(re-exportation dead-line ) ili rok važenja karneta (validity of the carnet) im je istekao u tom periodu.
https://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/od-danas-promene-na-granicama-u-srbiju-bez-testa-na-koronu-i-samoizolacije/pwnwchl
----

Info provided by Serbian Customs to WCO

With reference to the WCO Secretary General letter sent to the Contracting Parties of the ATA and Istanbul Conventions on 20 March 2020, the Customs Administrations of the Republic of Serbia, as a way of facilitation of ATA Carnet procedures, shall accept replacement ATA carnets (REPLACEMENT FORM) that Chambers of Commerce would exchange electronically between themselves and afterwards forward them, also electronically, to the competent customs authority.

​Furthermore, the national regulations, namely the Decree on application of deadlines in administrative proceedings during the state of emergency (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, no 41/20 and 43/20 ) stipulates that the deadlines that expire in the course of the state of emergency, and that refer to the taking of administrative actions, termination of administrative proceedings and deciding on submitted legal remedies, shall be deemed to have expired 30 days after the termination of the state of emergency. This practically means that the periods of validity of ATA Carnets, temporary import and export, re-import and re-export shall be extended for 30 days after termination of the state of emergency.

​SWITZERLAND

During the current situation related to Covid-19, carnet holders are instructed to use replacement carnets. The physical presence of the holder or authorized representative is not required in order to complete the formalities, replacement carnets can be sent to customs via mail or courier service.

The relevant procedures, deadlines, etc. for the ATA Carnet are defined in the Istanbul and ATA Conventions, and they apply for all contracting parties. The Federal Customs Administration FCA is not in a position where it can unilaterally decide to deviate from these procedures and/or, particularly, from the legal deadlines. Before the introduction of any legal exception due to the Corona pandemic could be considered, any reciprocal law of the contracting state concerned would have to be taken into account.

From the FCA's standpoint, the existing formalities must be adhered to, in particular when considering that the circulation of goods currently continues to run as usual.

Should there not be enough time to obtain the replacement ATA carnet required for the extension in due time, the carnet holder must report to the customs authorities concerned in some form within the validity period of the initial ATA carnet. Carnet holders cannot simply wait and hope for the goodwill of the authorities.

The legal framework continues to apply. Otherwise, the potential for abuse would be substantial.

​Also, the Swiss NGA has put together an information sheet for NGAs, indicating to which CH customs office replacement carnets need to be addressed, depending on their country of issue: CH customs replCarnet​​​​​