Qatar Chamber has issued the country’s first ATA Carnet to Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum after the system entered into force in Qatar on August 1, a statement announced yesterday.
Last month, the chamber revealed that the system came into force, allowing Qatar to officially implement the ATA Carnet, a temporary export-import document system used in the admission of goods to a country. 
Qatar now joins 77 other countries that employ the system. The system is being implemented by Qatar Chamber, in co-operation with International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Qatar and the General Authority of Customs.
The chamber said the first carnet was issued to Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum because it will participate in an international fair in Malta and France titled ‘Dialogue of Cultures’, organised by Unesco’s bureau in Doha, Qatar Museum Authority, and Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science.
According to Qatar Chamber director general Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi, businessmen and companies are interested in the ATA Carnet to allow them to participate in conferences and exhibitions held outside the country.
Al-Sharqi said Qatar Chamber receives applications from companies and institutions willing to use the system. He noted that business owners and customers can apply for the ATA Carnet either by visiting the chamber’s Member Affairs Department or registering on its website. He said the ATA Carnet is issued for a fixed fee and is valid for a year for commercial samples, and six months for on-display goods and professional equipment.
He noted that the system will enhance Qatar’s status as an attractive investment destination and as a global centre for trade and business, adding that this will stimulate the conference and tourism sector and support Qatar’s readiness to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum expressed its gratitude and appreciation to Qatar Chamber for its efforts to bring the ATA Carnet system to Qatar. “This will streamline the participation of companies and institutions in the international conferences and fairs held outside Qatar, as well as facilitate custom procedures accompanying the import and export processes,” the museum said.
The ATA Carnet Committee, which is headed by Sheikha Tamader al-Thani, the director of International Relations and Chambers’ Affairs at Qatar Chamber, and ICC Qatar, supervises the issuance procedures for companies and institutions.
Qatar Chamber announced earlier that it is the national guarantor of the implementation of the system in the country as required by the international convention on the temporary admission of goods.
The ATA Carnet system is an international customs document that allows the temporary import of goods for up to a year without the obligation to take any fees, taxes or customs procedures. 
The system covers all goods such as commercial samples, professional equipment, goods specific for exhibitions, markets, and entertainment events provided that they are re-exported and imported during the period approved by the relevant customs authorities.
However, the system does not cover perishable and disposable goods, or those that will be subject to processing or repair.




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