Customs Convention Regarding the E.C.S. Carnets for Commercial Samples
The Customs Convention Regarding the E.C.S. Carnets for Commercial Samples, also known as the E.C.S. Convention, is a legal agreement between countries that allows for the temporary importation of commercial samples and advertising materials without the payment of customs duties. The convention was signed in Brussels in 1956. The initials E.C.S. stand for the combined English and French words: Echantillons Commerciaux — Commercial Samples. The first countries to sign this convention were West Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey and the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acted as the depositary of the convention.

The ECS Convention institutionalised the ECS Carnet, a customs document that was issued to businesses that needed to transport commercial samples or advertising materials to foreign markets. The carnet allowed the goods to be imported temporarily without the payment of customs duties, provided that they were re-exported within a specified period of time.

The ECS carnet was a valuable tool for businesses that needed to showcase their products or services in foreign markets. It helped to reduce the costs associated with importing goods, and it can also simplify the customs clearance process.

The ECS carnet is de facto not in use any more. In recent years, the ATA Carnet has become the preferred document for the temporary importation of commercial samples and advertising materials. The ATA Carnet is valid in more countries than the ECS carnet, and it is generally easier to obtain.

At the Customs Cooperation Council's 47th / 48th Sessions (June 1976), the Council recommended Contracting Parties to the ECS Convention to denounce it as it duplicates the ATA Convention. To date, 21 countries have deposited their instruments of denunciation of the ECS Convention which, as a result, now has only one Contracting Party (Haiti)."Situations des Ratifications et Adhesions (au 1er juillet 2006) - Convention douanière sur les carnets ECS pour Èchantillons commerciaux"

(PDF). World Customs Organization. 25 July 2006.

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Category:1956 treaties