Dubai: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry said it will start implementing the ATA Carnet or ‘Merchandise Passport' in the UAE by year-end.
The Merchandise Passport will allow the temporary admission of goods, saving time, money and customs formalities.
An ATA Carnet is an international customs document which facilitates temporary admission of goods into foreign countries. By presenting an ATA Carnet to foreign customs, importers can bypass import duties and bring products tax-free into a Carnet country for up to one year.
Chambers in 67 countries issued more than 150,000 Carnets in 2009 for goods valued at more than $17 billion (Dh62.4 billion).
"The implementation will be a beacon for the re-export trade market in Dubai and conducive to Dubai's ambition to be a re-export hub," said Eckart Woertz, programme manager of Economics at the Gulf Research Centre.
"It's one industry that's seen a big growth, which sees good delivered and re-exported all over the region."
The goods included in the Merchandise Passport system include commercial samples such as computers, cameras and video equipment; industrial machinery; automobiles; gems and jewellery, and display tools used in the participation of companies in exhibitions and promotional events.
Carnets do not cover consumable or disposable goods such as food and agriculture products, give-aways or postal traffic.
Hamad Bu Amim, director-general of the Dubai Chamber and vice-chairman of the World Chambers Federation, said the Dubai Chamber has been working rigorously over the last three years to lay the foundation for the introduction of the ATA Carnet System and had been pursuing its implementation in the region. This is backed by the ICC's World Chambers Federation.
"We are constantly working with our international partners to provide the business community with world-class services that will empower their businesses and help them establish stronger and more lasting business relations with their local, regional and global trading partners," Bu Amim said.
"We are aware that we still have a long way to go, and we seek Watac support in implementing ATA in the UAE, GCC and the rest of the Middle East."
New rules explained
With the International Chamber of Commerce's revised version of the Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG) coming into effect next month, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry's legal services department organised a seminar yesterday on URDG 758. The seminar highlighted the importance of demand guarantees in a wide array of international and domestic contracts.
The seminar was attended by bankers, lawyers and representatives from several companies and was facilitated by Vincent O'Brien, a member of the ICC Banking Commission and a well-known figure in trade finance circles in the UAE.
O'Brien updated participants with the obligations of the bank under the new URDG 758 and its various articles that set out the liabilities and responsibilities of the parties at each key stage of the lifecycle of the guarantee. He also touched upon the subject of the application of the demand guarantee in international sales.
