An ATA Carnet acts as a 'passport for goods,’ allowing for duty and tax-free temporary movement of goods between countries.
Carnets were introduced to make trade between countries easier, allowing duty and tax-free temporary admission of goods into all countries on the ATA Carnet scheme. Since January 2021, Carnets have been used to temporarily import goods into all EU countries. While not mandatory, they have proven to be an effective and straightforward way of moving goods, as they help exporters to avoid customs charges and delays. This is particularly true for the performing arts who often use ATA Carnets when temporarily exporting their musical, technical, stage, costume and lighting equipment to overseas locations.
We spoke to Jan Michaelis, Technical Director, and Emmy Seal, Technical Administrator, at Welsh National Opera, who used an ATA Carnet to take an opera to Brno in Czech Republic.
Could you tell us a bit about your business and what you do?
Jan: We are a publicly funded company and the UK's, if not the world's, largest touring opera company. We bring grand scale opera to people who otherwise wouldn't have access to it, and tour all around the world. Most recently travelling to Dubai and a few times to Hong Kong. We’re about to go to Brno, which is what this ATA Carnet is for, and this will be our second visit in the past few years.
Why did you purchase your ATA Carnet from Business West?
Jan: We’ve always worked with Business West.
With Business West, it's just always been a smooth experience. In the past, I’ve been on the phone with you guys, and we managed to raise Carnets in two days. I think the backup you give us is the reason why we keep coming back to you. We have a great working relationship with your team.
We’ve got ultimate deadlines, so we want to work with partners we can rely on. Because if the ATA Carnet doesn’t work out, there are a lot of disappointed people… and so, that's worked well with Business West.
How did you find the experience of applying for your ATA Carnet?
Emmy: In the time that I've been working at Welsh National Opera, I've applied for two ATA Carnets: the one that I've most recently done; and one when I first started. Both times I found the communication to be great. Really smooth, very communicative, and very helpful in terms of any queries or problems I had. The eCert website (where you apply for the ATA Carnet) takes you through the process step-by-step and I found it helpful, the way that it outlines and spells out quite simply how to do something that's quite complex.
How did you find working with the Business West team?
Emmy: The communication I had with the ATA Carnet team was great. They were always there with helpful emails or videos.
The queries that I've had have either been quite complex or simple. There has been a range, but the response is very, very fast, and the information is always very detailed, so you get the answer you need without having to ask for it twice.
Did you have any problems with your ATA Carnet application?
Emmy: At one point I was quite confused. I think once we got the physical Carnet, we had a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with whether we needed to take a couple of items off or add things to the list, the team sent a step-by-step video guide which was very helpful.
Finally, do you have any advice for other performing arts companies that need to temporarily export their equipment?
Emmy: When you are creating a Carnet from the beginning, it’s important to understand that you need to prepare your packing lists. You need to have the weight of each item, and the value of each item ready in advance. This will really speed up the process of applying for your ATA Carnet.
In essence, it's a lot of hard work, assembling the packing lists, but it's actually a relatively straightforward process once you know what you're dealing with. If you are aware of how things need to be itemised and to what detail they need to be itemised, that is helpful. (For an in-depth guide to writing your ATA Carnet General List, click here).
Find out more information about Business West ATA Carnets.
Find out more information about the Welsh National Opera.
Welsh National Opera photography: The Makropulos Affair © Richard Hubert Smith
Apply for an ATA Carnet today
Start creating and submitting your ATA Carnets today. To apply for your carnet, you'll be taken to our easy-to-use export documentation platform, eCert.