Originally Posted by
JW76
Anyone have direct experience in carrying (and declaring) commercial goods / samples at customs at either Heathrow or De Gaulle? Would appreciate any insight into the logistics of this for an upcoming trip to Europe.
Would the commercial goods be left in the country being visited? What is the approximate
actual value of the item?
Originally Posted by
JW76
I found something called an ATA Carnet online. Apparently this allows for duty and VAT-free importation into about 75 countries (including all of the EU and the US).
I believe that customs has tightened up import rules post-9/11 and failure to declare items can cause problems ... I am leaning towards the ATA Carnet approach if anyone has specific advice on that.
The ATA Carnet is probably
the best way to temporarily import goods, especially high-value items. One important note about using a Carnet is that it requires validation and stamping twice in both directions. For example, a JFK-LHR-JFK trip would require 4 contacts with border services, upon each departure and upon each arrival.