Convention on Temporary Admission

General Information

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What is it about?

This Convention, adopted under the auspices of the World Customs Organization, incorporates into a single instrument goods and materials previously ruled by numerous international customs conventions. It consists of one main text and 13 annexes covering the following items: titles on temporary admission (ATA Carnets and CPD Carnets); goods for display or use at exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events; professional equipment for the press, sound and television broadcasting, cinematographic and other professional equipment; containers, pallets, packaging, samples or other goods imported in connection with a commercial operation; goods imported in connection with production operation; goods imported for educational, scientific or cultural purposes; travellers’ personal effects and goods imported for sports purposes; tourist publicity material; goods imported as frontier traffic; goods imported for humanitarian purposes; means of transport; animals; goods imported under partial suspension of import duties and taxes. The purpose of the Convention is to simplify and harmonize the temporary admission procedures for the specified items. The Contracting Parties are held to grant temporary admission with complete suspension from import duties and taxes and to refrain from applying import prohibitions and restrictions motivated solely for economic reasons. In ratifying this Convention the Contracting Parties are bound to accept the Annex concerning titles on temporary admission (ATA Carnets and CPD Carnets) and at least one additional annex.

Why is it relevant?

The 1990 Istanbul Convention remedies the deficiency caused by the multiplication of Conventions concerning temporary admission. The recourse on optional annexes does not resolve the risk of legal fragmentation related to those matters, as the annex provisions bind only Contracting Parties that have accepted the same annexes. The Istanbul Convention does not supersede the different conventions on temporary admission of specific products and materials; these still remain in force. This results in a multitude of regulations being applied to temporary import matters.

Additional Information

The Contracting Parties reserve the right to refrain form applying this Convention for non-economic reasons, especially on grounds of public safety and order, public hygiene and health or intellectual property rights. An Administrative Committee is put in place with the mission to examine the application of the 1990 Convention and to study all measures intended to ensure the uniform interpretation and application as well as all proposed amendments. This instrument is open to all Member States to the United Nations.

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