UAE Launches Digital ATA Carnets, the First Country Outside Europe to Do So

The launch involved Dubai Chambers, Dubai Customs and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP). Exhibitors, film crews and companies that send samples or professional equipment across borders use ATA Carnets to avoid customs duties and deposits on goods that will be re-exported. The paper version has to be stamped at every border crossing. Dubai Chambers said the digital system relies on electronic declarations and QR codes, which should speed up clearance and cut costs for businesses.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) runs the global carnet system. On its website, the ICC lists 9 November 2026 as the UAE's activation date. That makes the UAE the first jurisdiction to go live after the 27 EU member states, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, which switched over on 1 June 2026. Moldova is scheduled for 1 January 2027 and Serbia for 1 February 2027. The ICC aims for the whole system to be digital by 1 January 2028.

The ICC describes the process as follows. A holder gets a carnet ID and PIN from the issuing chamber, downloads the digital carnet into the ATA Carnet app and prepares travel and goods declarations there. At the border, the holder shows a QR code generated by the app, and customs officers check the carnet and approve the declaration through a web portal.

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce has been the UAE's national guaranteeing and issuing association since the country joined the ATA system in 2011. The chamber said it is one of only 13 of the ICC's 1,200 member chambers implementing eATA. Between 2011 and 2025, it said, 63,591 ATA Carnets covering goods worth AED 54.4 billion were issued and received. In 2025 alone the figure was 5,960 carnets worth AED 5.6 billion, and Dubai accounted for 71% of the UAE's ATA Carnet transactions.

Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers, called the switch "a major leap in trade facilitation". Ahmed Abdullah bin Lahej Al Falasi, ICP's acting director general of customs, said: "The system will facilitate the movement of goods and equipment intended for temporary use." Dr Abdulla Busenad, director general of Dubai Customs, said "the UAE is not waiting for the future of global trade to unfold".

John W.H. Denton, the ICC's secretary general, said: "The launch of eATA Carnets in the UAE is a significant milestone in the global digitalisation of trade."

The paper and digital systems will run side by side until 2028. A UAE business can use a digital carnet only for trips to countries that have already switched over, which for now means the European countries that went live in June.