Digital Carnet logistics for live events. Navigate the transition with confidence.
The ATA Carnet system just changed. Here is what it means for your next move.
From 1 June 2026, ATA Carnets for shipment journeys involving the UK, EU, Norway, and Switzerland began the transition to a digital process. QR codes replace manual stamps. Documentation is stored and presented digitally. The route now determines whether your carnet is digital, paper, or a combination of both.
The fundamental legal purpose of an ATA Carnet is unchanged: temporary import and export clearance without duties or taxes on goods returned unaltered. What has changed is how it is issued, presented, and validated at the border.
For live events productions, touring artists and athletes, exhibition freight, film and television equipment, and high-value prototypes, this transition requires preparation. ICAT has been operating under the new system since day one.
The passport for goods. Why event professionals depend on it.
An ATA Carnet allows goods to be temporarily exported and re-imported across borders without paying duties or taxes, provided the goods return within a defined period of up to one year. It replaces complex temporary import paperwork across 90+ participating countries.
For a touring production, it keeps equipment moving across borders without triggering duty assessments on every crossing. For an exhibition, it covers irreplaceable objects under a single international guarantee. For a broadcast crew, it means the camera kit clears customs on event day, not the day after.
The digital version works the same way. The difference is in the process: instead of a physical booklet stamped at each border, the carnet exists electronically, validated by customs authorities through a secure digital system using QR codes and digital declarations.
Carnet services for the full range of live events operations
Digital, paper, or mixed.
The route determines everything.
The shift to Digital Carnet is not a single switch. As of June 2026, the UK, EU, Norway, and Switzerland have begun accepting digital carnets. Other countries are adopting the system on a rolling basis through 2026 and 2027, with full global implementation expected by the end of 2027.
During this transition, a single tour itinerary may require digital carnets for some crossings, paper carnets for others, and mixed documentation for routes that pass through both. Getting this wrong at the border is not an administrative inconvenience. For productions working to immovable deadlines, it is the difference between the show going ahead and it not.
The key advisory from our team: carry your paper carnet as backup alongside your digital documentation until each specific port or airport on your route has completed its transition. Customs has confirmed it will work with operators through the bedding-in period, but preparation is the only reliable protection.
ATA Carnet system is connecting more than 90 countries and territories in its network, enabling seamless temporary imports worldwide
Decades of live events carnet experience across the ICAT team ensure precision, speed, and confidence for your global moves
Four steps before your next border crossing
Confirm your format. Before any international move, confirm whether your specific route requires a digital carnet, a paper carnet, or both. Do not assume all countries or ports are on the digital system yet.
Have both formats readily available. Retain your paper carnet alongside digital documentation for the foreseeable future. If a digital system is unavailable at a border post, your physical carnet is your protection.
Brief your team. Truck drivers, production managers, and freight agents all need to know how to present documentation in both formats. The ATA Carnet App is how digital carnets are stored and border declarations are submitted. Ensure everyone on the road has access to this resource before departure.
Send us your itinerary early. The sooner ICAT has your full route, the earlier we can advise on digital, paper, or mixed carnet requirements for each crossing and flag anything that needs attention before you move.
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FAQs
A Digital ATA Carnet is the electronic version of the traditional paper ATA Carnet. It serves the same legal purpose: temporary import and export clearance without duties or taxes. It is issued, stored, and presented digitally using the ATA Carnet App and QR codes rather than a physical stamped booklet. Digital Carnet went live 1 June 2026, in the EY, UK, Norway, and Switzerland. Other countries are adopting the system on a rolling basis through 2026 and 2027.
During the transition period, yes. Some ports and airports are still completing their digital readiness. Carrying your paper carnet alongside digital documentation is the recommended approach until your specific route is confirmed as fully digital-capable.
Professional equipment, touring production assets, broadcast gear, exhibition materials, commercial samples, and goods for trade shows and events. Carnets do not cover consumable or disposable items, or goods intended for sale. Digital carnets are valid up to one year from the issue date. If your equipment will remain abroad beyond the validity period, a replacement carnet must be applied for before expiry.
Your paper carnet is your backup. Customs has confirmed it will work with operators through the transition period, but having both formats available is the only reliable protection. If your carnet expires or is not stamped correctly, duties and taxes may be assessed as if no carnet were used, plus penalties. For touring productions and exhibitions operating to tight schedules, this means potential delays at the border and significant financial exposure. Correct documentation management from the outset is essential.
We handle the full process: carnet application and issuance, route-specific format advice (digital, paper, or mixed), pre-border compliance checks, and on-call support for complex or time-critical situations. Send us your itinerary and we will confirm exactly what your route requires.
Talk to our carnet team
Planning an international move involving the UK, EU, Norway, or Switzerland? Send us your itinerary and we will advise on your carnet requirements before you reach the border.
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