Aust. bike import w/o carnet? false info?!
 

Hi all,

i read the adventure motorcycling handbook and the author wrote something about importing the bike into australia with a carnet else pay a 24% deposit or something and get for a VIA, (vehicle import approval), before shipping over to australia.

i went to this website:

Importing Vehicles to Australia

then i email them at

Imports.Vehicle@infrastructure.gov.au

Dear Sir/Mdm,

I am a citizen of Singapore and would like to import my motorbike to australia for travel purpose of 3 months. I would be arriving at sydney on 26 November 2009 and will leave from Darwin to East Timor with the bike 3 months later.


I had obtained a tourist visa.


I would like to obtain a vehicle approval (VIA) form from you as stated by the website importing a motor vehicle


Thank you for helping in our travel in Australia.


Goh Mia Chun



then 2 person at the same time replied

a)

Sorry, not that I know of. :frown:

See this info here on HU under Planning / Paperwork on the left menu:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tri...ustraliaImport

When we visited Oz earlier in the year the only way to get the motos in was a carnet.

There is a lot of wrong information around on this because up until last year you could get an easier & cheaper temporary import permit to get a vehicle into Oz. They then changed the rules & do not issue these any more. A carnet is the only way.

Good luck, sorry I can't be more help. You could just come to New Zealand instead, :thumbup1: we do have a temporary import permit system so you don't need a carnet :welcome:

Cheers
Clint

hi clint, that is really headache! what about the air ticket? we bought the ticket during feb this year and it cost us US$1300 for the 2 of us to fly to sydney from LA. then just last week, we went to the airport and changed the flight date to late november. hell mann, it cost us another US$800 just for the admin fee. hmm, kind of my own problem reading too much automobile website and adventure moto book. blame it on myself on all these unlucky things happening these few months.

what about getting another type of visa (maybe working visa?) to import the bike?

Hi Grant, i will click on the link and see, hopefully it is not out-dated.

by the way, the just replied:

Hi Goh,

As i stated before the only way to import the vehicle is via a Carnet unless the vehicle was manufactured before 1989 or has an Australian Compliance Plate fitted.

Regards,
Tim C

I don't think it's all your fault, if you have been travelling for more than a year it is highly likely that when you did the research for your trip a carnet was not required for Oz.

I started researching customs requirements late last year for the trip to Oz we did early this year, & then even the Oz customs website still had a page saying you could get a vehicle in on either a carnet or a temp permit. It was only when I phoned them up to enquire about how to get the right form to apply for one of these temp permits that they told me their own website was wrong & we needed carnets! :rolleyes2:

We NZ'ers don't need visas of any kind for Oz so I can't help there. But I think that apart from the carnet, or pre 89 exemptions, all vehicles imported to Oz must be ADR (Australian design rule) compliant - this is the compliance plate they are talking about, I don't think it is easy to get.

On the bright side, Sydney is on the way to NZ anyway, it won't cost you much more to continue on to Auckland :cool4:

Cheers
Clint

The law was amended late last year and came into effect (I think May 2009) requiring carnets for tourist's vehicles - the carnet exempts vehicles from having to get Australian Design Rule compliance, whereas the vehicle import approval scheme required ADR compliance. Its now a legislated requirement and there are no exemptions allowed.

I might add that the same legislation now requires Australian owned vehicles going out of Australia to get a carnet before Customs will allow it back into Australia. They have gone mad in Canberra!!

Aussie not working out
 

Hello
Those months you were looking at in Aussie are nearly right in the middle of thier summer. Stinking dry heat over some really big big kilometres, the more humid regions might feel like home for you but traveling in the North of Australia during summer isn,t something I,d think most Aussie,s would plan themselves.
You,d be thinking water all the time.vital stuff.

Unfortunely not everyone can thier RTW based around seasons.

There are some buget airlines to New Zealand from Sydney like Virgin Blue and Jet Star that do flights fairly cheaply and it,s a good time of the year to ride in New Zealand.
If you can,t go to Aus and just want to do more riding still. Compensate there maybe?
Singapore isn,t far from Australia for another time.

hi folks!

to the above email, i reply them with:

thanks tim, it would be easy for me to get a carnet (which is a lie) at this time. so would you sent me a VIA form? VIA=vehicle import approval

guess what they replied?!

hi goh,

You do not need a VIA if you have a carnet.

so..............................what does that mean???????????

You do not need a VIA if you have a carnet.

so..............................what does that mean???????????

You can only bring a vehicle into Australia on a tourist visa with a carnet, the vehicle must leave when you leave or you forfeit the carnet.

The VIA scheme is now (basically) only available to private citizens who are on eligible visas (457 working visa or permanent residence visa and some diplomatic appointments), or are citizens or permanent residents of Australia who want to privately import a vehicle buit before 1989.

Do a weblookup on "VSB10" which is the explanatory book, read section 5.7 http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa...f/VSB10_08.pdf

thanks buddie for the info. now on the road n have not much time on the internet.

so i 'die die' must have a carnet. do u think i can do it with other country other than singapore where my bike is registered in singapore?

what about from UK, RAC?

goh

Carnet
 

EASY ! Get a Carnet just like us aussies have to do for doing the same into Singapore See! No trouble at all mate.
cheers
Dingo

Goh

It does not look good mate. Take the advise from the other guys here and rather go and tour in New Zealand. New Zealand is awsome for biking and you can easily spend two to three months there. We plan to go over there next year.
You can always come back to tour Australia another time.
I know its a lot of money for extra flight tickets, but that is the way it is.

Kep in mind that this is not Bolivia or Colombia or one of those countries where you can get around the normalities and officials. If there is one country where you will have to work by the book, its this one.

Johan

PS: I'm expecting my bike next week, so hope all goes smooth for me.

The MAA told me that they issue carnets to foreigners and I read here on HUBB that the Swiss Touring club also does it. Are you saying you have to go in person with your bike to your AA just to get a carnet?

Forget about bank guarantee, just put up the deposit, you will get it back in full.

Cheers,
Peter.

hi Beddhist,

MAA is from Malaysia? the trouble is to get the banker's guarantee. the bank in singapore is idiot! im willing to place the deposit with the AA singapore but they strictly wants me to go thro a 3rd party, thats the bank!

One of the requirement of carnet is that it would be issued from the country where the vehicle is being registered. do you think RAC, UK can do that? im trying hard now to get paul of RAC to get a reply.

have paid for the US$2000 tickets to sydney and australia is on my way back to home...

That is not true SD, I rode from Australia to the UK and after one year my carnet expired. My bike still had Australian registration but the AA in the UK were able to issue a carnet for my Australian registered bike so I could continue my journey into Africa.
I think contacting the RAC or AA is your best bet.

Yes, that's the Malaysian AA. Try emailing erly [at] aam.org.my . The Swiss Touring Club also does carnets for non-residents, you need to use the search on HUBB to find the details. And yes, do ask Paul Gowen.

Cheers,
Peter.

Check with Customs, you can do a temporay import into Australia by paying a security deposit.
Securities

Securities can also be used for the temporary import of goods. A Customs Officer with the appropriate delegation will decide if the intended use and ownership of the goods satisfies the temporary import requirements. The security may be in the form of cash or a bank guarantee. In some circumstances Customs may accept an undertaking from a suitable client. The security is an amount equal to the duty and taxes that would have been payable at import.
Goods that may be imported under security include any goods that may be accepted under carnet, plus goods owned by tourists or temporary residents, or goods that are coming to Australia to be tested and evaluated or to be used in testing and evaluation.
To import goods using a security you apply using a http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/web...s/mime_pdf.gif Form 46 (for goods under Section 162) or http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/web...s/mime_pdf.gif Form 46aa (for goods under Section 162A).
Another provision for the temporary import of goods exists for goods that are brought into Australia for repair or alteration, not including industrial processing. This is covered by Schedule Four of the Customs Tariff Act 1995 (by-law 9640055) and goods are entered under a Section 42 security.
For entry under any of these types of securities, copies of normal commercial import documents such as invoices, packing lists, bills of lading or air waybills, quarantine certificates and other documents that verify eligibility should be lodged with the application. Any permits that would normally be required for these goods must also be obtained. If your goods qualify and if an acceptable security or undertaking has been given to Customs we will grant permission for the goods to be delivered. You will also need to lodge a Customs declaration for the goods.

Goods, yes. Vehicles are specifically mentioned as needing a CdP.

hi all, we managed to ship our bike from LA to sydney.

getting the bike out of usa is a pain in the S.

with a carnet, the whole procedure is SO EASY!

without a carnet, we think it might be possible to import the bike but by filling in all the forms will make u surrender and thoughts of burning the bike comes after that!

I might be possible to import the bike without carnet... might be...

if anyone knows this, please feed...

thanks!

goh...happy now

Coming back to Oz
 

Well, no, it's not quite like that .....

I've just brought my Tassie reg'd bike back in from the States, arrived 27 November. Had to apply to import it!!! Yaarrrrk! After myriads of phone calls, eventually got to speak with someone in Canberra who understood logic (and the utter stupidity of what the bureauratic bunglers wanted me to do), and who then assisted me greatly and expeditiously.

I needed a photo of the ADR/compliance plate (the bike was still in the Qantas (Brisbane) warehouse, but Qantas staff were fabulous, and took the photo for me!!), ID docs, copies of the current and previous registration papers, the waybill from the outbound flight (to prove it had left Oz originally) and the multi-page Vehicle Import Application form. Instead of the usual **17** days, he authorised it's entry in just ONE day! But then he posted the approval letter to my home in Tassie - I was in Brisbane!! Oops! But he did a certified copy and sent it to me in Brisbane.

But, overall, had I known about these new rules that came in in March 2009, I could have done all the paperwork over the internet and had everything ready and waiting for when I arrived. BTW, for Australians returning home, there is absolutely NO NEED to use an [ripoff:thumbdown:] agent! It is easy enough to do yourself, and the Customs staff will usually help, if you need help with anything.

Hey Goh!
Your favorite texan here... Hope all is well in ya'lls travels.

What did you end up doing with temporarily importing your motorcycle?

I'll reply to myself.. I found your other thread in trip transport:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...y-hassel-46824

Looks like you used a carnet.

Hi
Dave... Miss that Lone Star bock in that old lady's pub. izit snowing over there?

yes, we got our Carnet being sent to San Francisco. it's hell lots of stupid work.

what;s your route and time for RTW?