Temporary export of musical equipment for a concert in the UK. Read our account of how we did it!

In autumn 2022, we temporarily exported equipment on an Ata Carnet for a well-known Polish rock band to the UK.

With the client's authorisation, we registered the ATA Carnet at the Polish Chamber of Commerce at 4 Trębacka Street in Warsaw. Thanks to the kindness of the specialists working there, the process ended with two visits to the KIG office - the first to download the Carnet form and the second to pay for and register the completed Carnet.

The registered carnet was opened in the export procedure at the Centre for Official Clearance (CUDO) in Warsaw. This is where you had to drive up with your equipment.
Next step - GMR. According to British regulations, all freight transport must be registered in the GVMS. This registers the basic details of the load, vehicle and driver, after which a GMR number is assigned.

Once the formalities have been completed, all that is left to do is to book a ticket for the cross-Channel ferry and we can set off.

We headed to Callais, where the ferry check-in awaited us. The place is well marked, it is impossible to get lost. At the first window, the transport documents and the ferry ticket are checked. Here you are also assigned a 'line' to board the ferry. The next two counters are French and British customs control. After passing through these three posts, we drive up to our 'line' and wait to board the ferry. While we were waiting, we noticed several patrols with dogs checking the parked trucks 'by smell'.

The journey on the ferry goes quickly. It should be mentioned here that there are monitors on the ferry which display the registration numbers of vehicles selected for inspection. Drivers of the designated cars, after disembarking from the ferry, should proceed to the checkpoint in Dover.

As we were not singled out for inspection, we turned off the ferry at Dover onto the motorway and headed for the Inland Border Facility at Sevingon. This is the next point on the route where lorries with imported goods have to turn up. It is located on the M20 motorway about 21 miles from Dover Ferries and takes about half an hour to get there.

Entering the Inland Border Facility, we were asked for our GMR number and to show our ATA Carnet, after which we drove into the designated space in the car park in front of the HMRC buildings. Their appearance indicates that they were put up in a hurry, for post-Brexit customs processing, as they are container rooms assembled into blocks. One block for imports, the other for exports.

Here, you must go with your documents to the customs checkpoint, in our case - import. We would like to remind you that you have to move around the customs parking area wearing a reflective waistcoat, which is scrupulously checked by the attendants.

At the building, we approach the window with our ATA Carnet, in addition we need to fill in the Initial Driver Questionnaire form with details: GMR, vehicle registration number, import document number (LRN or other), driver's details together with telephone number.

After a short conversation about temporary importation on the ATA carnet, we leave the documents at the office, where the pages of the ATA carnet will be filled in and stamped, and return to the car park. And this is where we find out why the phone number was entered on the form. After less than half an hour, we receive a text message to report to collect the documents. We collect them and, together with a piece of paper with the bright word EXIT written on it, we can continue on our way.

Everything went smoothly and after the concert, the way back and again similar formalities.

On leaving the UK we turn up again in Sevington. We now enter the export building where we complete the paperwork for the re-export. After a 15-minute wait there is a text message that registration is complete and we leave for Dover. Before boarding the ferry - the passport control window and again the allocation of a place to board the ferry. We have some time so we can enter the shop in the duty free area. Here you can also eat or use the toilets.

We board the ferry, during the journey we check on the monitors whether our car is selected for inspection. It is not so we exit the ferry and head onto the motorway towards Poland.

On arrival, we turn up again at the Warsaw CUDO, where our ATA carnet for re-importation is registered. And that's the end of the customs formalities. The only thing left to do is to return the Carnet to the KIG on Trębacka Street in Warsaw. And that's it, the whole procedure is over!

Not as scary as it seems on the surface.