Member Article

Chamber International launches new online Carnet service

Overseas trade specialist Chamber International, which was at the forefront of a UK-wide drive to enable businesses to get official documentation for their exports faster, launches a major new initiative next month.

The move to enable exporters to apply for ATA Carnets online is expected to save businesses which exhibit at overseas trade shows, travel abroad with product samples or ship professional tools and equipment to carry out work overseas, significant office time and get approved documents to them faster.

ATA Carnets, which translates to “book of temporary admission tickets”, can be used for temporary exports – where goods are not to be sold - to fast-track customs in more than 80 countries belonging to the Carnet scheme without the need to pay duty and/or local tax on their arrival.

Chamber International provides scores of ATA Carnets annually for businesses throughout the UK wanting to take items abroad as commercial samples, for presentations, display at exhibitions or trade fairs, and for professional equipment used by people working abroad such as theatre companies and touring rock bands.

Once issued, Carnets can be used for multiple international trips and are valid for a year. Countries, and territories, which accept them are in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Head of the Carnet team at Chamber International, Alison Holmes, says “The new digital application revolutionises the application process at a time when more countries are a joining the international Carnet scheme and more businesses are looking to trade overseas.

One regular user of the Chamber International ATA Carnet system, which sees huge benefits in the system moving online, is award-winning national opera company, Leeds-based Opera North.

Opera North technical and operations director, Ric Green, says: “We do co- productions or rentals with opera companies in Europe, Australasia and the USA. Sometimes they are overseas for quite short period but they can stay for two years.

“We are currently sending Katya to Boston, our production of Norma is in Chemnitz and then goes to Bordeaux, while our production of Pinocchio went to Chemnitz and Moscow and is now in Bonn.

“We find Chamber International’s team knowledgeable and helpful. Online Carnet services will enable much quicker collation and processing of the information which will be a real benefit to us. We are very pleased Chamber International has had the foresight to do it.”

Chamber International assists chambers of commerce with a wide range of specialist international trade services and is also supporting Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) by delivering its We Are International export campaign, which aims to being an extra £1.6bn to ten local authority areas and create thousands of new jobs in the next five years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mike Clarke .