A Right of Passage
A number of factors are involved when traveling internationally , overland . One such thing to consider is a Carnet de Passage , Mark Holmes shares his experience with these ...
Before I left the UK on 1st April 2017 I ’ d researched the need to get a Carnet to take my bike into countries beyond the EU . Online , I ’ d found conflicting , contradictory , confusing and largely obsolete information . Feeling great pressure , I gave up . There were other things I wanted to do before leaving , much more important things , spending as much time as possible with friends and family . Many motorcycle travelers had previously told me that at some point “ you just have to decide to go , ready or not ”. And that is what I did . Go ! Without a Carnet .
Was that the right decision ? Probably not !
My advice , to anyone planning a trip , with a vehicle , is to get your Carnet BEFORE you leave your home country .
A Carnet de Passages en Douane is basically a legal promise that permits you to bring a vehicle in to a country , and take it out again , within the agreed time . In making this promise , you are permitted to not pay that country ’ s import duty and tax . If you fail to honour that promise then there is a stiff price to pay . More on that later …
The Carnet document is multi-part . One page per country ; each page is divided in to three . The lower part is
for the import process and is retained at the entry border with a reference number , stamp , date and signature . The top left part has the same details , but remains attached to the Carnet document . At the exit border the middle part , bearing the same reference , is retained and later matched to the import record . It ’ s a simple principle , but most importantly , it is the Carnet
holder ’ s responsibility to make sure that the customs process is correctly followed . The top right part of each page is stamped and retained by you . Again , if at the end of the trip there is a rubber stamp or detail missing , then you are liable to the penalty unless you can prove otherwise .
The governing body for countries who accept the Carnet procedure is the Federation International de l ’ Automobile ( FIA ) http :// www . fia . com / international-cpd-network
On this page they list the countries who currently require a Carnet . But just look at the first few lines .
“ This list may not be up to date due to changes in customs formalities or border procedures . Certain countries may accept the CPD even though they fall outside the AIT / FIA customs documents network . Countries may appear in this list but NOT on the CPD cover , notably those in which there is no AIT / FIA guarantor association . In certain countries of Africa , Asia ,
the Middle East and Central & South America , the CPD is not officially required , but is sometimes used to facilitate temporary importation .”
My big mistake was deciding to ignore this and work it out as I went along . Nearing Turkey ’ s border with Iran , I learnt that I would definitely need a Carnet for Iran ; it was too late to get one sent from the UK . It cost me 28 hours and several hundred Euros to resolve . I had to buy a dedicated Iran Carnet at the border . Don ’ t try this : It is official ( so the Chief of Police told me ), but they don ’ t want to do it this way . My suspicion is that this option will soon be removed .
After Iran , I was heading for Dubai
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