Carnet / Insurance confusion

[jezwilson]

Hi,

What does the carnet do exactly? I am reading AMH and have got a little confused on the subject! So if i get the carnet do i still require insurance, if so what type?

I read some post's, and people are saying no carnet's issued for Egypt, is this a major issue, as we are going there.

Any help in this would be apreciated, preferably 'in a nutshell' type...

Many thanks

[PanEuropean]

Jez:

The carnet is basically an assurance to the customs authorities of a third country, backed up by a bond, that you will export the motorcycle (or other item covered by the carnet) from the country that you are temporarily importing it into.

By way of example: You have a motorcycle that is registered in Canada. You wish to temporarily import this motorcycle to, for example, Egypt for pleasure use. The Egyptian government has very high import tariffs on motorcycles, plus they know that you could sell the bike in Egypt for more than you paid for it in Canada. Also, the Canadian motorcycle may not conform to Egyptian safety standards, therefore the Egyptian government wants solid assurance - more than just your verbal promise - that the motorcycle will not be left behind in Egypt.

This is accomplished by having a trusted, independent organization in your home country (typically the Automobile Association, however, the Chamber of Commerce will also issue carnets for business equipment other than motor vehicles) provide a document, in internationally recognizable form, that states that they (the carnet issuer) will pay to the Egyptian government a fee equal to all import taxes, duties, penalties, that would be payable if you do not export the motorcycle at the end of your tourism.

The organization in your home country that issues you the carnet charges you a small fee for taking the risk of posting the bond on your behalf. If you do not export the motorcycle from a country that you visit, the carnet issuing organization pays the money on demand to the customs authority of that country, then the carnet issuing organization comes after you to recover their losses from you.

It is a similar concept to what the Americans call a 'bail bond', used to get untrustworthy people out of jail while awaiting trial.

The use of carnets is becoming less and less common as the years go by. No carnet is needed to temporarily import a Canadian vehicle into the United States, because the motor vehicle registration process in the USA is sophisticated enough to catch any foreign vehicles if someone attempts to register them in the USA. Plus, there is no economic incentive to import vehicles into the USA. Therefore, a carnet is considered to be unnecessary for motor vehicles.

As of 2002, the only countries that still require carnets for vehicles are (generally speaking) lesser developed countries who have not yet reviewed and updated their customs and import practices. They are still blindly following the same rules they followed in the 1950's. Countries with more up to date practices (e.g. all of Western and Central Europe, most of North Africa except for Egypt, etc.) have realized that the negative effects of requiring carnets (hassles, paperwork, reduction in tourism, etc.) greatly outweigh the positive effects generated by tourism, and no longer ask for carnets.

A carnet has nothing to do with insurance, that is a totally different matter.

Hope this helps you understand the process.

[vincent danna]

hi,
from what i understtod, to be simple, the CPD is a kind of passport of your bike, you can compare it to your own passport. You enter a country with the bike, you stamp in, you leave the country with the bike, you stamp out.
if you don't stamp out, they'll think you sold the bike or something else. Then, the money you left in your country (on a bank account) will be lost.
The CPD does not cover some countries : you have to manage on your own, negociate, bribe, etc to get in.
good luck
ask your local automobile club, you can also go on the links
the CPD gives you no insurance for the bike, only kind of passport.

[Grant Johnson]

Egypt still requires a carnet, so if you can't get a carnet valid for Egypt, don't even think of trying.

Search using the search feature at the top of the page for "Egypt carnet" and "All" on the Horizons website and you'll get lots of information. Egypt is a paperwork nightmare - if your papers aren't perfect, including a carnet, forget it.

Also search on carnet and you'll get tons of info. It's all there.

------------------
Grant Johnson

Share the Dream!
at: www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[mmaarten]

And..... The ADAC still offers a carnet for egypt, pakistan, etc... for people of all nationalities and for bike's of all nationality's. (Even if bike and person are of different nationality).
The bond is still 3000 euro.

By the way... Even though more and more country's don't insist on a carnet, usually it make's border-crossing much easyer.

Maarten

[jezwilson]

Many thanks for the info, much apreciated!

I understand it fully now.

Cheers,

Jez