Welcome to this entertaining and thrilling Wiki entry dealing with the interesting subject of international research project in Non-Schengen countries…
If you ever find yourself in the situation that you want to conduct field measurements in a Non-Schengen country with our own GIMstruments (e.g. a seismic survey with ELVIS in Switzerland or a ERT survey in Norway), you need a Carnet A.T.A. This document can be described as “Passport for goods through a unified document that makes Customs transactions more efficient" and ensures that no additional costs for export and import accrue. However, to recieve such a “Passport for goods”, you need to pass a seemingly endless (and highly inefficient) amount of bureaucratic obstacles… This Wiki entry offers some guidance for the necessary steps that you need to follow to successfully complete the task of recieving a signed Carnet A.T.A.
Quick remark: most of the information are taken from the RWTH intranet and are supplemented with personal experiences. If you want to make sure that all of your steps are correct, contact zoll@rwth-aachen.de.
The first step is to check whether you even need a Carnet or whether your destination allows temporary import of goods using a Carnet. All information can be found in the document "Übersicht Carnet Mitgliedstaaten 2023" in the RWTH intranet.
Carnets must be applied for at the Customs and Foreign Trade Law Section of Department 9.0. First of all, a blank Carnet must be picked up from the IHK Aachen (costs currently approx. EUR 4.50, covered by the university). In addition, the forms "Antrag auf Ausstellung eines Carnet A.T.A und auf Abschluss einer Kautionsversicherung" and the respective powers of attorney for the use of the carnet must be completed. You can simply follow the advice given on the forms. It is recommended that the power of attorney is issued for two persons that are part of the international geophysical campaign - this requires two separate documents to be completed.
Before you continue with with the second step, which is filling in the Carnet with all necessary information, the export of the goods must be checked by RWTH Aachen University's export control department before the export takes place. This must be done using the form "Genehmigungsantrag Exportkontrolle Warensendungen". The information that one form has to be submitted per package is misleading - for the purpose of our field measurements, every piece of gear can be submitted in one form. However, you still need to provide a detailed list of every single part (as detailed as single batter cables and loose clamps…)., but we'll come to that in the next section.
The IHK provides you with various aids for completing the carnet that can be found on the corresponding RWTH intranet page. Please follow the provided guidelines and be careful when printing: you only have one chance - otherwise you are back at step 2! ;)
Once the export has been approved by RWTH Aachen University's export control department, the Carnet and the other applications must be signed by the staff of the Customs & Foreign Trade Law Department. Signature of the documents by employees of the institute is not permitted, as a signature must be submitted in the name of the entire RWTH Aachen University. In addition, the employees of the Customs & Foreign Trade Law Department check the documents for completeness and check the entries made.
Please note the following in particular:
1. The entry "Holder and Address" in the carnet must always contain the central address of RWTH Aachen University.
2. The application for the issue of an A.T.A. Carnet and for the conclusion of deposit insurance must also be made out to the general address of RWTH. In addition, the person who signs the Carnet must be entered as the person in charge.
3. MOST IMPORTANT: The goods should be described as precisely as possible in the carnet. In particular, serial numbers or other identification features must be included for expensive goods (e.g. ELVIS, SysCal, GPS, Drone, …).
4. Make sure that all necessary pages of the Carnet are filled in before taking the document to IHK or customs.
After printing the necessary information onto your Carnet, all documents must be signed by the staff of the Customs & Foreign Trade Law Department. You do not necessarily need to schedule an appointment since the office is open during the “normal” office hours (for RWTH standards).
As soon as the department signed the documents, you need to make an appointment at IHK Aachen (Theaterstraße). The IHK Aachen issues a carnet number and enters the validity of the carnet (1 year after completion of the carnet). The carnet may only be used until this date. It must be closed by this date. If you find that the period is not sufficient, a so-called follow-up carnet can extend the period by up to 12 months for some countries. Before applying for a follow-up carnet, please contact the Customs and Foreign Trade Law Department.
In the next step, the goods must be presented together with the A.T.A. Carnet to the Customs Office Aachen, Charlottenburger Allee 27-29, 52068 Aachen. The presentation of the goods can be waived in special cases (e.g. the consignment is not easy to transport). In these special cases, the goods can be identified by photos and corresponding serial numbers. However, this must always be agreed with the Aachen Customs Office. The HZA Aachen will check the goods and note this on the first page of the carnet. Please always make an appointment in advance by telephone with the Aachen Customs Office to sign the carnet. In addition, the Custms Office Aachen fills in the "Exportation" block on the yellow sheet in the carnet and thus confirms the export of the goods from Germany.
The goods can then be taken abroad or shipped together with the carnet. However, care must always be taken to ensure that the carnet is presented at each border crossing both on arrival in the respective third country and on subsequent export from the third country and that it is filled in and stamped accordingly by the customs officers. The goods must always remain together in their entirety and the carnet must always accompany the goods. Partial export of goods that are noted on the carnet is not permitted!
Congratulations, you successfully made it through a bureaucratic jungle and are rewarded with a geophysical field campaign abroad!
Well, it would not be Germany if there wasn't another buerocratic hurdle awaiting you at some point - in this case, even after returning from the field trip. You are responsible to hand back the carnet to the IHK as soon as possible. The latest time to return the form is before the period of validity runs out (which is one year after the carnet was handed out).
More information can be found here: