The city of Ordos in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region got the green light on July 6 from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade to participate in a World Customs Organization scheme -- promising a significant increase in commerce -- according to local officials.

They said the city got the go-ahead to handle so-called ATA carnet business.

ATA carnet -- also known as merchandise passports or passports for goods -- is an international general customs clearance document scheme created by the World Customs Organization for the entry and exit of goods.

The Ordos Council for the Promotion of International Trade will be in charge of accepting applications for issuing outbound ATA documents and entering inbound ATA documents.

Officials said that access to the ATA carnet will help promote commerce between Ordos city and the world in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, culture, sports, medical treatment and others, enhancing the international commercial profile of Ordos.

They said the scheme will provide maximum convenience for customs clearance for the movement of imported and exported goods around the world.

Using the ATA carnet, the goods carried are exempted from completing customs declaration forms, import and export tax guarantees, import and export licenses and customs declaration qualifications. 

Meanwhile, the customs clearance of the goods are not limited to entry and exit locations, and they can travel to multiple countries at one time.

Currently, it is used to clear customs in 87 countries and territories and the validity period of a piece of ATA carnet is 12 months.