Take samples and equipment abroad temporarily

Trade samples, demonstration equipment, tools, and goods for a trade fair often leave Great Britain for a short time and come back. You still have to declare them when they leave and when they return, but you can usually claim relief so you do not pay import duty on your own goods again. Decide how you will declare the goods before you travel, because some methods only work if you choose them at the border.

Other countries set their own rules for letting goods in temporarily. Check with customs in each country you will visit before you go.

Check whether the goods need a licence

Some goods need an export licence to leave the UK, such as military or dual-use items. Using an ATA Carnet does not remove that need: if the goods are licensed, you need the export and import licences for every country you visit or pass through, and the licence number goes on the carnet. Goods that need a licence cannot be declared by conduct or orally.

Choose how to declare the goods

• Make a declaration by conduct if the goods are on the oral and by conduct list and you carry them with you. You walk or drive through the customs point, or the green channel, with the goods. There is no fee and no form.
• Make an oral declaration if the goods are on the same list and the port allows it. You speak to a customs officer in the red channel or on the red point phone. There is no fee, but the officer may ask you to fill in forms.
• Use an ATA Carnet if the countries you visit accept it. It replaces the customs declarations at each border.
• Use a Duplicate List to take the goods out of Great Britain and claim Returned Goods Relief when they come back. No other country recognises it, so you declare the goods another way when they arrive abroad.
• Make a full customs declaration if none of these suits the goods.

Use an ATA Carnet

An ATA Carnet works like a passport for goods you will bring back to the UK. You show it at each border instead of making import and export declarations, and you do not pay customs charges in the countries that accept it. It suits commercial samples, goods for a trade fair, and professional equipment such as film, sound, music, education or science equipment.

Apply to one of the chambers of commerce listed by the UK National ATA Carnet Organisation. Describe the goods in enough detail for customs to identify them, list every country the goods will visit or pass through, and say how you will use them. You can use a carnet as many times as you like while it is valid. As carnet holder, you are liable for any customs charges if the goods are not re-exported or the carnet is not used correctly. Keep a paper carnet for 12 months after it expires. A digital carnet is kept in the ATA Carnet app.

Claim Returned Goods Relief when you come back

Claim Returned Goods Relief on the declaration you make when the goods re-enter Great Britain. Customs may ask you to prove the goods were in the UK before, for example with a receipt or your export documents. HMRC can waive the 3-year limit in some cases, such as exhibition goods on long-term display or professional effects returned for use in your trade. The goods must not have been upgraded abroad.