ATA Carnets A Passport for Your Goods
Ship samples, professional gear, or trade-show displays across a border and bring them home without paying duties or posting a bond abroad. We help you use an ATA Carnet correctly and clear it right at San Diego and Otay Mesa, in both directions.
What an ATA Carnet Actually Does
An ATA Carnet is an international customs document that lets you temporarily bring goods into a foreign country duty-free and tax-free, then return with them, without paying import duties or posting a temporary bond in each country you visit. People call it a merchandise passport because it works the same way a passport does for a traveler. It covers three broad uses: commercial samples, professional equipment, and goods for trade shows and exhibitions.
The value is in what it prevents. Without a carnet, moving that same equipment abroad can mean fronting duty deposits, arranging a temporary import bond in a language you do not speak, and fighting to get your money back after the goods come home. A carnet replaces all of that with one document accepted by more than 80 countries, and yes, Mexico is one of them. Get the paperwork or the border stamps wrong and the guarantee can be claimed against you, which turns a free temporary import into a real duty bill.
What’s included
- ✓ Guidance on whether an ATA Carnet or a Temporary Importation Bond (TIB) is the right tool for your shipment
- ✓ Coordination with the U.S. issuing body so your carnet is drafted with an accurate general list of goods
- ✓ Correct customs validation on U.S. export and re-import at the San Diego and Otay Mesa crossings
- ✓ Both-directions handling for goods moving to and from Mexico under the carnet
- ✓ Review of your goods against carnet-eligible categories: samples, professional equipment, exhibition goods
- ✓ Making sure every counterfoil is stamped so the carnet discharges cleanly and the guarantee is released
- ✓ Support if a country requires a partial shipment, replacement, or re-exportation certificate
- ✓ Plain-language answers on what a carnet does not cover, so you avoid a surprise duty claim
How we handle it
Confirm the carnet fits
We look at your goods, the destination country, and how long they are staying. If a carnet is right, we say so. If a TIB or a straight temporary entry is cheaper or cleaner, we tell you that instead.
Get the carnet issued
ATA Carnets in the U.S. are issued through the national guaranteeing association, not by us. We help you prepare an accurate general list of goods and values so the carnet is drafted correctly the first time.
Clear the border, both ways
We handle the customs validation on the way out and the way back at San Diego or Otay Mesa. Every crossing needs a stamp, and we make sure it happens so the document stays valid.
Discharge and close it out
When the goods return, we confirm the carnet is properly discharged and the security is released. A carnet that is not closed out correctly is a claim waiting to happen, and we close ours out.