How to Exhibit at a Trade Show in the Philippines: Booths, ATA Carnet, Build-Up and Re-Export

The short answer: four tracks, planned backwards from six months out

A well-run Philippine exhibition starts six months before opening day with the booth application and does not finish until re-export paperwork is closed roughly 30 days after the show. Exhibitors who treat it as three steps — book a stand, ship a crate, fly in — are the ones whose exhibits sit at the port and who sell samples they cannot invoice.

Whether a given show is worth attending at all, and what the annual calendar looks like, is covered in the Philippine trade show guide; this article starts after you have decided to exhibit.

Shell scheme or raw space: what a 9 sqm booth really buys you

A first-time exhibitor with compact samples and a fixed budget should take a shell scheme; raw space only pays off for large machinery, a branded environment, or 36 sqm and up. Philippine shows sell shell scheme in 3 m × 3 m = 9 sqm units that can be combined two to four at a time; raw space minimums vary by show but 18 or 36 sqm is common. The difference is not only cost but how many things you now have to manage yourself.

Two practical notes. Combining two shell-scheme units (18 sqm) is far cheaper than 18 sqm of raw space, because it removes the contractor and the design review. And position beats size: a 9 sqm stand on a main aisle, near the entrance or the food court routinely draws two to three times the traffic of an 18 sqm corner, so ask for the floor plan and name the stand number when you apply.

Venues, organisers and the seven contract clauses to read

International shows in Manila concentrate in five venues — SMX Convention Center Manila (Mall of Asia complex, Pasay), World Trade Center Metro Manila (Pasay), the PICC (Pasay), SMX Aura (BGC) and Megatrade Hall at SM Megamall (Mandaluyong) — and the first three sit in the Bay Area, 15-30 minutes by car from NAIA. Organisers come in three types: government bodies such as CITEM under the Department of Trade and Industry, which runs export-oriented shows; industry associations; and commercial exhibition companies. A single venue hosts 40-60 shows a year, and space is applied for per show, not per venue, so identify the show and its organiser first.

Before signing the Space Contract or Exhibitor Agreement, read these seven clauses:

1. Payment schedule: typically 30-50% on signing, balance 60 days before opening; late payment lets the organiser release the stand.
2. Cancellation: cancellations within 90 days of opening are usually non-refundable; some shows allow transfer to an affiliate.
3. Official contractor and handler: rigging, forklifts and crate storage are reserved for the appointed handler at manual rates.
4. Insurance: public liability cover is normally mandatory; raw-space contractors add construction insurance.
5. Intellectual property: infringing exhibits can be removed on the spot, so check trademarks and patents before shipping.
6. On-site sales: whether the show permits retail or display-and-order only decides your customs route (below).
7. Move-out window: 4-6 hours after closing, with hourly penalties after that.

The exhibitor name on the contract must match the name on the ATA Carnet, the customs entry and the visa invitation letter; mismatches are the first thing customs and immigration officers ask about. How to obtain the letter and whether you need a business visa is covered in Philippine trade show invitation letters and business visas.

Three customs routes for exhibits: ATA Carnet, bonded temporary import, formal entry

Exhibits enter the Philippines by one of three routes — goods going home again use an ATA Carnet or a bonded temporary import, goods to be sold or given away use formal entry — and one shipment can be split across two sets of documents. The Bureau of Customs issued CAO 02-2022 (dated 29 April 2022) as the implementing rules for the ATA system and began accepting carnets on 15 July 2024, with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) as the national guaranteeing and issuing association. Until then foreign exhibitors could only post a bond in the Philippines; now there is a route that keeps your cash out of Philippine customs altogether.

The usual combination: list machines, demo units and display structures that are going home on the carnet, and put brochures, testers, giveaways and any samples you plan to sell on a separate commercial invoice for formal entry. An exhibitor without a Philippine company must attach that formal entry to a local entity with import accreditation — see how importer-of-record arrangements work in the Philippines; how to choose the broker is covered in our separate customs broker guide.

Five categories that need a permit as well: food, cosmetics, electricals, wireless and agricultural goods

Whether an exhibit can come in at all depends first on whether it is a regulated good — and regulated goods may need the relevant agency's import permit before customs will release them even for display only, which is why this check belongs 60 days before you book freight, not when the container reaches the port.

• Food, beverages, supplements, cosmetics and medical devices fall under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): importing for sale requires the importer's Licence to Operate and a product registration (CPR); whether tasting or trial samples are exempt depends on current FDA rules. Our FDA registration guide covers the process.
• Household appliances, wiring, lighting and other products under mandatory standards fall under DTI's Bureau of Philippine Standards: sale requires the PS mark or ICC sticker. A display unit under a carnet normally does not trigger this, but a unit sold on the floor does.
• Devices with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or 4G/5G modules need type approval from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC); temporary permits for demonstration exist and follow NTC's current rules.
• Wood products, plants, seeds, meat and dairy fall under the Bureau of Plant Industry and the Bureau of Animal Industry, which issue SPS import clearances; all wooden packaging must carry ISPM 15 treatment marks or the whole container can be ordered fumigated or returned.

A carnet is not a permit waiver: it suspends duties and taxes and nothing else. The full regulated-goods list is in the Philippine import clearance guide.

Treating an ATA Carnet as a permit waiver is the costliest misreading here — it defers duty and nothing else, the regulating agency still has to clear the goods, and a missing ISPM 15 mark on the wooden packing can get an entire container fumigated on the spot or sent back. Have us screen your exhibit list for regulated goods item by item →

Build-up and move-in: voltage, drawings, contractors and three things you only discover on the day

Philippine mains power is 220 V at 60 Hz; equipment built for mainland China runs at 220 V and 50 Hz. Resistive and switch-mode devices usually run fine, but anything with a motor — fans, pumps, conveyors — will run roughly 20% faster, so test demo units at 60 Hz before shipping. This is the most common surprise for exhibitors at SMX, followed by plug types (Type A two-flat-pin and Type B three-pin are standard) and tripped breakers from under-declared loads.

The build-up checklist:

1. Design approval: raw-space stands submit drawings, structural plans and a load schedule 60-90 days before opening, reviewed by both the organiser and the venue's fire safety office; anything above 2.5 m, double-deck structures and hanging elements are approved separately.
2. Contractor: only contractors on the organiser's accredited list may build; bringing your own crew from China is possible if they enter on the right status, but rigging and forklifts remain with the official handler.
3. Power: add up nameplate ratings and declare 20-30% above that, single-phase and three-phase separately; venues typically bill per kilowatt.
4. Internet: venue Wi-Fi is effectively unusable at shows above 5,000 visitors; live demos need a dedicated wired line or your own 4G/5G router on a local SIM.
5. Printing and storage: print in Manila to keep paper off the customs list; empty crates are stored by the official handler per cubic metre, so mark each with the stand number.

Bring to move-in: the space contract, proof of payment, the contractor's insurance certificate, the electrical list, and a copy of the carnet or customs release. Interpreters and promoters for the stand are covered in arranging conference and booth interpreters in the Philippines.

Selling samples on site: duty, 12% VAT, invoices and who is allowed to sell

The moment an exhibit is sold on the floor it stops being a temporary import: duty and 12% VAT become payable, and the party issuing the invoice to a Philippine buyer must be an entity registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) — a foreign exhibitor with no local company cannot issue a compliant invoice. This section sets the limits of what you can and cannot do on site.

• Tax limit: goods under an ATA Carnet are not meant to be sold; if one is, it must be declared to BOC and converted to a formal import, with duty and VAT paid, before the re-export voucher is closed. The same applies to bonded temporary imports.
• Invoice limit: Philippine buyers, especially companies, need a BIR-registered Sales Invoice to book the expense and claim input VAT. Since Revenue Regulations 7-2024 took effect on 27 April 2024 the invoice is the primary document and the Official Receipt is only proof of payment. A foreign exhibitor has no BIR registration and cannot issue either.
• Retail limit: sales to consumers fall under the Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RA 8762 as amended by RA 11595), which sets a PHP 25 million paid-up capital floor for foreign retailers, and trade-show retail is not exempt. This is why on-floor sales at consumer shows are almost always made in the name of a local distributor or agent.
• The safer pattern: display and take orders only, then export from China with the Philippine buyer or distributor as importer; or sell the sample stock to a local distributor before the show so that they import it formally and invoice on site.

Quoting in dollars or pesos, and protecting yourself on payment after the show, is covered in the post-show section of finding B2B customers in the Philippines.

After the show: re-export, bond release and the 72-hour follow-up

Three things have to happen on closing day — count and photograph the exhibits, prepare the re-export documents, and enter every business card — because a return shipment that slips past 30 days makes both the carnet endorsement and the bond refund harder.

1. Count: check every line of the carnet list; record anything missing on the spot. Items sold or given away must be declared and taxed before re-export, or the issuing body at home will pursue the claim on discharge.
2. Re-export: the broker obtains the re-exportation endorsement at the port of exit; sea freight to China typically takes 14-25 days, air freight 3-7 days. For bonded imports, apply to BOC for release of the security afterwards, commonly 30-60 days.
3. Disposal: frames and carpet you neither ship home nor pay duty on can be donated or scrapped only through a declared customs disposal, not left with the contractor.
4. Follow-up: Philippine buying decisions usually involve 2-4 people, and the title on a card is not always the decision-maker. Send the first email or Viber/WhatsApp message within 72 hours with a photo from the stand and the quotation, the second round within 30 days, and aim for an online meeting or a return visit within 60 days.

Stay in the Bay Area or Makati to keep the drive to the venue under 30 minutes. For the booth-and-customs plan before the show, interpreting and hosting during it, and buyer revisits and distributor screening after it, Yixing provides exhibition support and market-entry services; where FDA, DTI-BPS or customs permits are involved, see our product access and import compliance advisory. For tax and contract questions, consult a licensed lawyer or accountant; this article is not professional advice.