China joins international system to ease temporary imports
Paris, 10 February 1998 - China has agreed to accept ATA Carnets, an International Chamber of Commerce facility for the temporary duty-free admission of goods, ICC announced.
ATA Carnets, sometimes described as "passports for merchandise", are already operated by 52 trading nations. To join the system, China first acceded to a set of international customs conventions on the temporary admission of goods that is administered by the Brussels-based World Customs Organization.
Chinese customs will accept the Carnets from 1 March for the temporary import of goods for display and use at trade fairs and exhibitions. ICC expects that China will rapidly extend Carnet coverage to professional equipment and commercial samples, putting itself on an equal footing with other countries that apply the system
ICC Secretary General Maria Livanos Cattaui commented: "This is a step forward, a further practical demonstration of China's resolve to open up its economy and be fully integrated in the world trading system. "
The ATA Carnet is an international customs document that gives exemption from the value-added taxes, duties and other charges required by customs authorities for temporary import of goods. It contains two vouchers for each foreign country visited - one for customs on entering a country and the other to be handed over on leaving. About 200 000 Carnets, covering goods with an estimated value of $11 billion, are issued every year.
Camera equipment, computers (including laptops), repair tools, scientific and medical equipment, fine arts, jewelry, clothing, automobiles and live animals are some of the many items that can be covered by ATA Carnets. Business travellers can obtain their Carnets from their local chamber of commerce before leaving their home base.
The Carnet system is jointly administered by the ICC International Bureau of Chambers of Commerce (IBCC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). Carnets are issued only by chambers of commerce affiliated with the guarantee chain set up by the IBCC. In China, the organization responsible for ATA Carnets is the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC).
ICC experts held intensive training seminars in Beijing to prepare customs staff and chambers of commerce for the introduction of ATA Carnets. Secretary General Cattaui said: "This will certainly make China's trade and industrial fairs more attractive to foreign participants. We have been under pressure for years to get China into the ATA system. "
In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand already operate the system. Countries likely to join soon include: Russia, Macedonia, Morocco, Tunisia, Cuba and Mexico.