Compare actual KRW quotes, refundable cash deposits, holding periods, funding costs and cash shortfalls for one overseas exhibition or professional-equipment trip from Korea. Confirm local eligibility and deadlines separately.
Use actual quotes. Blank means unknown; zero means a confirmed zero. Deposits are principal assumed fully refundable, not fees. Do not enter a guarantee limit or insured amount as a cash deposit. This tool does not determine customs approval, taxes or legal deadlines.
Inventory value (not a tax estimate): Unknown
Carnet validity and the permitted local stay are different. No statutory deadline is generated. Reflect approved replacement carnets or extensions using confirmed dates.
These are alternatives, not simultaneous payments. Funding uses ACT/365 simple interest and excludes financing of fees. Goods purchases, transport and other common costs are separate.
No lower-cost recommendation until the checks below are complete.
Even with same-day release, prepare fees plus deposit before payment. A 30-day release delay is a cost sensitivity, not an extension of a re-export deadline. Displayed KRW is rounded; comparisons use unrounded values.
Taking exhibition goods or professional equipment abroad can require more than a customs service fee.
A refundable cash deposit may leave your business account before departure and remain unavailable after you return.
This calculator compares a Korea-issued ATA Carnet with a separately confirmed ordinary customs arrangement, using KRW for every amount.
It is a cross-border planning tool using Korean source context checked in 2026, not a destination tariff calculator.
The model covers one destination country, one round trip and the return of all goods.
It does not establish eligibility, calculate foreign duties from goods value or assume that membership in the ATA system permits every purpose.
Obtain destination-specific permission and quotes before relying on a comparison.
Select exhibition or professional-equipment use and confirm that the destination accepts that use.
Enter names, serial numbers or identifiers, quantities and KRW unit values.
The summed goods value is a list and quotation reference, not a customs tax base or an automatic security calculation.
For ATA, separate issuance fees, guarantee premiums and other fees.
For ordinary customs, separate handling or other fees from non-refundable taxes and charges.
A non-refundable guarantee premium is a cost; an insurance policy guarantee limit is not a cash deposit.
Enter only cash actually paid that is expected to be returned under confirmed conditions.
Each method has its own payment and expected release dates and its own refund-terms confirmation.
Ordinary permanent-import taxes do not automatically become refundable merely because goods are later re-exported.
Enter cash available for this transaction and an annual opportunity-cost or simple financing-rate assumption.
This is not a lender quote or a promise of credit.
Blank means unknown; zero means a confirmed zero amount.
Do not fill unknown charges with zero to obtain a complete comparison.
The holding period includes the payment day and excludes the release day: [payment, release).
ACT/365 simple interest uses actual calendar days and a denominator of 365 even in a leap year.
It is a planning convention, not contractual interest.
Zero principal or same-day release produces zero funding cost.
Displayed KRW totals are rounded at the final sum; the method comparison uses unrounded values.
Returned principal is not added to net cost because full return is an explicit model assumption.
The maximum cash figure conservatively assumes that fees and principal must both be ready before payment, even with a same-day release.
The two methods are alternatives: do not add their deposits as if both were executed.
Goods purchases, common freight and travel costs and financing arrangement fees need separate budgets.
Assume goods list value of KRW 10,000,000, available cash of KRW 5,000,000 and an annual rate of 6%.
Departure is 2026-11-01, destination entry is 2026-11-02, re-export is 2026-11-10 and return to Korea is 2026-11-11.
The assumed carnet expiry is 2027-10-31 and both local re-export deadlines are 2026-11-30.
These are fictional quotes, not official fees or country-specific deposit rates.
| Measure | ATA Carnet | Ordinary customs |
|---|---|---|
| Non-refundable cost F | KRW 400,000 | KRW 250,000 |
| Returnable principal P | KRW 2,000,000 | KRW 10,000,000 |
| Payment → expected release | 2026-11-01 → 12-01 | 2026-11-02 → 2027-01-01 |
| Holding period D | 30 days | 60 days |
| Funding cost I | KRW 9,863 | KRW 98,630 |
| Estimated net cost F + I | KRW 409,863 | KRW 348,630 |
| Maximum cash F + P | KRW 2,400,000 | KRW 10,250,000 |
| Cash shortfall | KRW 0 | KRW 5,250,000 |
| Extra 30-day funding cost | KRW 9,863 | KRW 49,315 |
ATA fees comprise issuance of KRW 200,000, a guarantee premium of KRW 100,000 and other fees of KRW 100,000.
Ordinary customs comprises KRW 200,000 of other fees and KRW 50,000 of non-refundable taxes or charges.
Ordinary customs has about KRW 61,233 less net cost using the unrounded calculation, but requires KRW 7,850,000 more cash upfront.
The unconfirmed example remains on HOLD and is not a recommendation to use ordinary customs.
If cash is limited, resolve the shortfall before choosing on net cost alone.
Keep enough liquidity for wages, materials and domestic orders while the deposit is unavailable.
A zero shortfall only covers this transaction’s entered cash requirement, not every business obligation.
The exhibition end date is not necessarily the deposit release date.
Ask about customs confirmation, return of documents and review time.
The extra 30-day amount tests a delayed cash release; it does not extend any customs deadline.
The difference is ordinary net cost minus ATA net cost.
A positive result means ATA costs less under the entered assumptions; a negative result means ordinary customs costs less.
Conditional comparison requires all confirmations, quotes, dates and limits to be complete.
Known subtotals or other partial estimates are not final invoices, and missing amounts are not free services.
Multiple destinations, sales, donations, consumption, split re-exports, partial refunds, extra security, exchange-rate changes, penalties and disputes are outside scope.
Invalid dates, reversed payments and releases or out-of-range amounts must be corrected.
A cost saving cannot cure an expired permit or an overdue re-export.
The calculator does not generate legal deadlines or approve an extension.
No destination deposit rate or tax schedule is built in.
Goods value is a list reference only.
Enter the actual cash requirement quoted by the customs authority, issuer or agent.
Not if that amount is not actually paid in cash.
A non-refundable premium is a fee, while any separate refundable cash collateral is entered as principal.
Do not confuse a policy limit with unavailable cash.
Re-export verification, carnet discharge, document return and refund review can occur after the trip.
Enter the separately confirmed expected release date.
It is a planning date, not a legally guaranteed refund date.
Some fields can be calculated from the information already entered.
Those partial estimates do not resolve missing eligibility, refund terms, complete quotes or valid deadlines.
Complete the checklist before using the conditional comparison.
Record both the carnet expiry and each method’s local re-export deadline.
Neither the usual one-year carnet validity nor Korean re-import relief periods replace the destination’s deadline.
If a replacement or extension is approved, update the confirmed dates.
Source check: 2026-10-23.
The Korean Customs Act, statute ID 001556, MST 290673, effective 2026-10-02, provides the domestic context in Articles 97, 99 and 108.
The Korean notice on temporary import and export under ATA Carnets, ID 2100000271566, effective 2026-01-02, is referenced at Articles 5, 8, 12, 12-2 and 23–25.
These Korean sources do not establish foreign rates, admission conditions or refund rights.
Reconfirm issuer fees, destination procedures, deadlines and electronic arrangements for the actual trip.
Share the goods list, identifiers, round-trip itinerary and budget comparison with the issuing organization and customs agent.
Ask them to separate non-refundable fees, actual cash security, required authentication records and expected release dates in writing.
This makes the liquidity cost behind a low service fee easier to identify before departure.