Legal basis for digital ATA Carnets

Modified on Mon, 13 Apr at 12:19 PM

The legal foundation for digital ATA Carnets is based on the ATA Convention and the Istanbul Convention, both of which have been updated to include eATA. Article 4 of the ATA Convention and Article 21a of the Istanbul Convention specifically allow for using electronic means to fulfill convention requirements:

All formalities necessary for implementing the provisions of this Convention may be carried out electronically by using electronic data-processing techniques approved by the Contracting Parties.

It’s important to note that the legal acceptance of digital ATA Carnets depends on official recognition by each Customs administration. During the pilot phase, eATA Carnets were used only for testing among pilot countries and held no legal value. Customs administrations that are prepared to formally adopt digital procedures will recognize the digital carnet as legally valid and notify their readiness to the World Customs Organization (WCO) and ICC.

The ICC will maintain a central database showing which countries and territories accept digital or paper carnets, helping issuing associations know which carnet type to issue. Customs administrations can find the notification template from the WCO to confirm their acceptance of eATA Carnets in the Customs Preparation Guide. The template reads:

"All formalities necessary for implementing the provisions of the Istanbul Convention shall be carried out using the digital eATA carnet system as deployed by the International Chamber of Commerce as of [date]. Paper ATA carnets may be used only if eATA carnets cannot be issued."

Customs unions must adopt digital procedures on a unified start date across all member countries.

Please see the eATA Global Transition Plan for details on notification timelines.