The 20th Meeting of the eATA Working Group (WG) was held on 05 September 2022 virtually via the Zoom platform. 95 experts from 21 Contracting Parties to the Istanbul Convention, 22 Contracting Parties to the ATA Convention, 11 observer countries and 3 international organizations registered for the Meeting.
In his opening remarks the Director of Compliance and Facilitation at the World Customs Organization (WCO), welcomed Contracting Parties and observers to the eATA WG. He thanked the International Chamber of Commerce World Chambers Federation (ICC WCF) for playing a leading role in the implementation of the electronic ATA Pilot Project, stressing the importance of digitalization of the Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission (ATA) Carnet for simpler, safer, cheaper and more efficient ATA Carnet procedures both for Customs and private-sector stakeholders. He welcomed the electronic Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD) distribution system, developed by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) for greater facilitation of the temporary management of vehicles. He wished this meeting would contribute to a more efficient and secure trading environment through innovation in ATA procedures, with fruitful and result-oriented discussions. He also informed the Meeting that the Philippines had acceded to the Istanbul Convention in January 2022, thus becoming the 74th Contracting Party.
The WG designated from the European Union (EU) as Chairperson of the Meeting and discussed various topics to develop the eATA Carnet System, including new developments on eATA Pilot Project and eCPD distribution system with presentations from the ICC and the FIA, experiences with the eATA Pilot Project from Norwegian Customs, and some measures to improve the implementation of the Pilot.
Following the decision taken at the last joint ATA/Istanbul Administrative Committee (AC) meeting held in November 2021, an ad-hoc WG was established, and a meeting was held on 8 June 2022 to discuss three items: 1. the outline of a scoping paper to explore issues and future actions; 2. the update of the Istanbul Convention Handbook; and 3. the Global Transition Plan to an eATA Carnet System. The WG discussed and developed the items to be reported to the next AC meeting in November 2022 where they will undergo further discussion and development.
