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The ATA Carnet service covers the temporary export of goods that return unchanged: trade fair exhibits and stands, professional equipment, instruments and commercial samples. OTSL helps obtain the carnet through the National Chamber of Commerce, plans transport to fairs in Switzerland, the UK and across Europe, and runs the post-show logistics right up to discharging the document.
What it covers
- Advice on whether an ATA Carnet is the right route, or whether temporary admission fits better
- Support in obtaining the carnet from the National Chamber of Commerce (item list, valuation, guarantee)
- Transport of exhibits, stand structures and equipment to the fair and back
- Booking of delivery slots at the exhibition venue
- Export and import clearance with the carnet stamped at every border
- Post-show logistics: collection, loading and return within the carnet term
- Checking that the set of stamps that discharge the carnet and protect the guarantee is complete
How we do it
We start from the goods list and the purpose of the trip. We confirm whether the load suits an ATA Carnet (the goods return in the same state) and help file the application with the National Chamber of Commerce, which issues the carnet and secures it with a guarantee. In parallel we plan transport around the stand build-up date.
At each border the customs office stamps the relevant carnet voucher: exportation on the way out, importation on entry to the fair country, and the reverse on the way home. We supervise these stamps, because they are the proof that the goods left and re-entered the customs territory. After the show we arrange collection and return so the carnet is discharged before its validity expires.
Limits of the service (what it does NOT cover / what to know)
An ATA Carnet works only for goods that return in an unchanged state. It does not cover on-site sales, consumables, distribution or giveaway leaflets. The guarantee behind the carnet is issued by the chamber, not by the carrier. The most costly mistake is an undischarged carnet: a missing return stamp means the country of temporary import treats the goods as a definitive import and claims duty and VAT against the guarantee, often with interest. On higher-value exhibits that runs into tens of thousands. That is why we track the full set of stamps and the deadline; note that a carnet does not exempt you from SPS controls or other import restrictions.
