Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to renegotiate carnet provisions between the UK and EU on the movement of vehicles and parts used in motorsport.

The UK is committed to maintaining the option of using ATA Carnets for temporary movements of professional equipment to the EU. Carnets can be a simpler and cheaper way to move goods into and out of a customs territory temporarily, compared to submitting full customs import and export declarations and paying duties.

The EU’s Temporary Admission procedure in combination with the UK’s Returned Goods Relief offers another alternative to move items temporarily into the EU and back to the UK without paying import duties. Improved guidance on the temporary movement of goods from the UK has recently been published: https://www.gov.uk/taking-goods-out-gb-temporarily.

The Government is reviewing how we can improve the UK’s own Temporary Admission procedure and simplify processes for individuals and businesses, and has engaged with the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders which included representatives from Motorsport UK. HMRC and HMT are open to further discussions and any specific concerns the motorsport industry has around the options available for temporarily moving goods.

Work to digitalise ATA Carnets and their processes is currently underway as part of a World customs Organisation (WCO) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) initiative. The Digital Pilot was launched in February 2019, initially involving the UK and five other countries. To date the UK has successfully processed a number of e-Carnets from Heathrow and is looking to collaborate with more ports to make digital Carnets more readily available. More information is available at https://iccwbo.org/media-wall/news-speeches/icc-new-ata-carnet-app-makes-digital-declarations-and-transactions-possible/