Passing customs

Modified on Tue, 14 Apr at 5:22 PM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Giving the declaration to Customs
Cancellation of a transaction
Transaction Rejection

Giving the declaration to Customs

When travelling with goods and an ATA Carnet, you must complete a transaction at each customs crossing. Follow these steps:

	(a) Tap on Carnets from the main menu…
	(b) …or from the sidebar menu.
	Tap on the ATA Carnet you wish to use.
	Tap on Travels in the lower menu. Tap on the QR code icon of the desired travel.
	Swipe right to the required transaction. A QR code will be available that will have to be shown to the custom officer to check the carnet and the goods. At the end of the process, you will get a notification on the phone of the transaction commitment and you will see it in the notifications tab in the app. The holder also receives an email notification if the Issuing Association added their email address when issuing the carnet.
	The history of transactions can be seen on the History section. A recent committed transaction requires a few minutes to show up here.

Each prepared travel automatically generates at least two transaction QR codes (1 Export + 1 Import or 1 Re-export + Re-import), plus any required Activation and/or Transit codes.

Cancellation of a transaction

In the digital ATA Carnet system, cancelling a transaction is a procedure used when a mistake is identified in a committed declaration or if there is a disagreement regarding the processed data. Because digital transactions are recorded in real-time, this process allows the committed record to be discarded so that the holder can amend their declaration and initiate a new transaction process with Customs.

Step-by-Step Cancellation Process

Identify the Error: After Customs commits a transaction, you will receive an automatic notification in your ATA Carnet App or ATA Carnet Desktop. If you notice an error (such as incorrect items declared), you must immediately inform the Customs officer before leaving the checkpoint.
Locate the Cancellation Code:
- Open the Transactions tab in your app or desktop application.
- Navigate to the specific transaction that was just committed.
- The Cancellation Code is located directly underneath the transaction’s QR code.
Provide the Code to Customs: You must present this cancellation code to the Customs officer. The officer cannot cancel the transaction in their portal (ATA Carnet Customs) without this specific code provided by you.
Customs Processing: The officer enters your cancellation code and a reason for the cancellation into their system to discard the committed record.
Edit Your Declaration: Once the transaction is successfully cancelled, the previous declaration is discarded. You should then:
- Go to the Travels tab in your app or desktop.
- Select Edit on the prepared travel to correct the list of goods or other declaration fields.
- Save the updated travel.
Redo the Transaction: A new transaction QR code will be generated based on your corrected declaration. Present this new QR code to the Customs officer to complete the border crossing correctly.

Important Notes for Users
Consent Required: A cancellation can only be performed with the mutual consent of both the Customs officer and the holder/representative.

Time Sensitivity: While the system allows for cancellation, it is best practice to perform it while still at the Customs office to ensure the officer who committed the transaction can immediately rectify it.

Transaction Rejection

In the digital ATA Carnet system, rejecting a transaction is a formal action taken by a Customs officer to refuse a specific digital declaration before it is committed in the system.

Visibility and data isolation

When a transaction is rejected, both the rejection status and the associated reason are stored in the ATA Carnet Core.
This information is only visible to Customs officers within the same customs territory. It remains accessible across different shifts or ports within that country, while remaining isolated from other national jurisdictions.

Voucher preservation

A key operational rule is that rejecting a transaction does not consume the transaction code (voucher).
The corresponding digital voucher set therefore remains available in the holder’s balance.

Correction by the holder

Because the voucher is not consumed, the holder can immediately:

Open the Travels tab in the app
Edit the rejected travel to correct the goods list or other information requested by Customs
Save the changes and generate a new transaction QR code, reusing the same voucher set for a new attempt