Does a Polish exhibitor need an ATA carnet for a trade fair in Dublin?

No. Ireland is in the European Union, so exhibits from Poland travel like any Union goods, on a CMR with a list of exhibits, with no clearance and no carnet. An ATA carnet is for temporary admission in a third country, and there is no customs border between Poland and Ireland. An exhibitor from Great Britain bringing exhibits into the EU does need one.

Do exhibits need a carnet on the landbridge through Great Britain?

Not if they only cross GB. Union goods then travel under a T2 transit with an MRN, a GMR to enter GB and a PBN before the ferry to Ireland; they are not imported into the United Kingdom. An ATA carnet becomes necessary only when the exhibits are also to be shown in GB, because then a temporary admission takes place.

Are catalogues and giveaways treated like exhibits?

No. Promotional material and samples to be handed out do not return from the fair, so they are not temporary goods and are not entered on an ATA carnet. For an EU exhibitor going to Dublin this has no customs consequences. For an exhibitor from outside the EU such material needs an ordinary import clearance in Ireland, separate from the exhibits.

Dublin trade fairs: ATA carnet or not

Ireland is in the European Union, so a Polish exhibitor taking the direct ferry to Dublin needs neither an ATA (Admission Temporaire, the temporary admission document) carnet nor customs clearance. Exhibits move like any Union goods: on a CMR with a list of exhibits. When exhibits take the landbridge through Great Britain they cross a third country under a T2 transit with a GMR and a PBN, but an ATA carnet is still not needed for that, unless they are also to be shown in GB. A carnet or temporary admission concerns an exhibitor from Great Britain bringing exhibits into the EU.

Why does a Polish exhibitor in Dublin need no ATA carnet?

An ATA carnet is a temporary admission document for goods brought into a third country and taken out again free of duty and taxes: exhibits, professional equipment, commercial samples. It works between states that have joined the ATA convention and replaces customs declarations and the security for the charges. There is no customs border between Poland and Ireland, so there is nothing to replace. The stand, the exhibits and the assembly tools travel from Kielce to Dublin as they would to Poznań: on a CMR, with a list of exhibits that the organiser and the insurer will want, but customs will not.

The same goes for the way back. The exhibits return to Poland without any need to prove that they are the same goods that left, because nobody suspended any charges. The only thing that must be documented is a possible sale of an exhibit in Ireland, which is an ordinary intra-Community supply with an invoice and VAT accounting.

What does the landbridge through Great Britain change?

When exhibits travel via Dover, England, Wales and Holyhead, they cross a third country. Union goods then move under a T2 transit: the customs agency opens the declaration with an MRN, the carrier creates a GMR to enter GB and a PBN before the ferry to Ireland. The exhibits are not imported into the United Kingdom, charges are suspended and the Union status is preserved. No ATA carnet is needed for this, because the transit takes care of the crossing and there is no clearance in Ireland.

The exception arises when the same exhibits are also to be shown in Great Britain, for example at a fair in Birmingham on the way to Dublin. Then a temporary admission takes place in GB and an ATA carnet is the simplest document: it covers entry into GB, exit from GB and, back in the EU, confirms the status. The second exception is an exhibitor from Great Britain travelling to Dublin: for them entry into Ireland is entry into the EU, so they need an ATA carnet or temporary admission in Ireland. OTSL has customs agencies on both sides and serves the IE to GB lane in both directions.

Exhibits for a Dublin trade fair step by step

Establish who the exhibitor is and where the exhibits come from. An EU exhibitor needs no carnet; an exhibitor from GB needs an ATA carnet or temporary admission in Ireland. The exhibitor's country, not the venue, decides the documents.
Separate exhibits from giveaways. Catalogues, promotional items and samples to be handed out are not temporary goods; for an exhibitor from outside the EU they need an ordinary import clearance, because they will not return.
Prepare the list of exhibits. Description, quantity, weight, value, serial numbers; on the direct route needed by the organiser and the insurer, on the landbridge also for the transit declaration.
Choose the route and the documents. Direct ferry: CMR and list. Landbridge: additionally a T2 with an MRN, a GMR and a PBN; an ATA carnet only if the exhibits will also be shown in GB.
Check the venue rules. The RDS, The Convention Centre Dublin and Citywest have their own build-up windows, access rules and handling arrangements; book the vehicle in line with the organiser's schedule.
Plan the buffer and the return. Storage before build-up in Ireland is arranged with a partner; the OTSL warehouse nearest Dublin is Milton Keynes in England, useful on the landbridge route. Plan the return of the exhibits together with the dismantling.

Definitions

ATA carnet: an international temporary admission document for goods brought into a third country and taken out again duty-free; it does not arise in intra-EU movements.
Temporary admission: a customs procedure allowing goods to be brought in for a set period without charges, on condition of re-export; an alternative to the carnet.
T2: transit of Union goods through a third country under the common transit procedure; on the landbridge it preserves the Union status of the exhibits.
MRN (Movement Reference Number): the number of the transit declaration, entered in the GMR and the PBN.
GMR (Goods Movement Reference): the reference in the British GVMS (Goods Vehicle Movement Service) for a laden vehicle to enter GB.
PBN (Pre-Boarding Notification): the notification in the Irish Revenue service before a ferry from GB to Ireland, gathering the MRNs for the goods on the vehicle.
List of exhibits: the inventory of goods on the stand with quantities, weight and value; the basis for the organiser, the insurer and, on the landbridge, the transit declaration.

Checklist for an exhibitor at a Dublin trade fair

Exhibitor's country established: EU (no carnet) or Great Britain (ATA carnet or temporary admission).
Exhibits and giveaways separated on the list and on the pallets.
List of exhibits with quantities, weight, value and serial numbers.
Route chosen: direct ferry (CMR and list) or landbridge (T2, GMR, PBN).
Build-up window and venue access rules confirmed with the organiser.
Storage buffer before build-up and collection date after dismantling agreed.

Is an ATA carnet never needed for a fair in Ireland?

For an exhibitor from Poland on a direct ferry the carnet does not apply, because there is no customs border to cross. The rule changes in three cases. First: the exhibits are also to be shown in Great Britain, so a temporary admission takes place in GB. Second: the exhibitor is from Great Britain or another non-EU country and brings the exhibits into Ireland, that is into the Union. Third: the exhibits are not Union goods, for example they arrived from a third country under transit and were never released for free circulation in the EU. Whether a carnet is needed therefore depends on the status of the exhibits and the exhibitor's country, not on the city where the hall stands.

The OTSL role

OTSL moves exhibits to Dublin fairs by both routes and, for exhibitors from Great Britain, issues and handles ATA carnets through its own customs agencies on both sides. Access and build-up rules at the Dublin venues are described in trade fair logistics at the RDS Dublin and exhibition logistics at The Convention Centre Dublin. The event calendar and the other venues are on the exhibitions page.