The Joint ATA/Istanbul Convention Administrative Committee makes further progress in the transition from a paper to a digital Carnet System

The 22nd Meeting of the Administrative Committee for the Convention on Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention) and the 19th Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Customs Convention on the ATA Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods (ATA Convention) were held jointly on 2 November 2023 virtually, attended by approximately 160 delegates representing more than 60 Contracting Parties and observers.

In his opening remarks, Brendan C. O’Hearn, Deputy Director in charge of the the WCO Procedures and Facilitation Sub-Directorate, welcomed Contracting Parties and observers, and expressed gratitude for the progress made in advancing the digitalization of carnets used for temporary admission. The Deputy Director stressed the need for Customs and the trading community to revise existing business models and applying new approaches in the context of trade facilitation and border administration given the dramatic changes in the global trading environment.

The Committee elected Chen Jianping (China) as Chairperson of the Meeting.

With the progression of the e-ATA Pilot Project from the pilot phase to the preparation phase, the Committee agreed on an updated eATA global transition timeline with the plan to go fully digital by 2027 and thus invited the International Chamber of Commerce World Chamber Federation (ICC WCF), in coordination with the WCO Secretariat, to draw up an eATA global transition Customs Preparation Guide and provide eATA global training to Customs authorities. Further, the Committee received a presentation from United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland on their experience in piloting the eATA carnet. Notably, the first fully digital round trip e-ATA transaction was completed between the UK and Belgium.

Finally, the Committee discussed issues brought by the ICC WCF on behalf of the National Guaranteeing Associations regarding the interpretation of the Convention, and examined the draft update of the Istanbul Convention Handbook.

The next Joint ATA/Istanbul Administrative Committee meeting will take place in the Fall of 2024.

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