Saudi Carnet Announcement Premature

In spite of two announcements from Saudi Arabia, ATA Carnets will not be issued or accepted in Saudi Arabia as of January 1st, 2015. The U.S. Saudi Arabian Business Council and Arab News both reported that carnets would be available in and out of Saudi Arabia as of January 1st. However, according to Cynthia Duncan, Chairwoman of the WATAC (World ATA Carnet Council), although the Saudis appointed a National Guaranteeing Organization (NGO) months ago, the Secretariat has confirmed that no specific date has been set for implementing the ATA Carnet system there. Ms. Duncan assures us that the U.S. carnet service providers and U.S. carnet users will be notified of Saudi Arabia's implementation of the ATA Carnet system as soon as it is official. Until then, carnets will not be accepted there.

When Saudi Arabia officially implements the carnet system, they will be the 10th Middle Eastern country to participate in the international system of facilitating temporary imports/exports. The other 9 countries are: Cyprus, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain.