Carnets

Mobilvetta

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I've just read an article that a motorhome was searched by Spanish customs at arrival in Santander.

The owner of the motorhome had to pay a substantial fee as he didn't have a carnet to cover the two electric bikes he had in his motorhome garage,

According to the article you have to have a carnet to cover any goods over €430 for temporary import.

Given that I take an electric bike plus a 125cc Honda Scooter when I travel to europe, I'm wondering if anyone has gone through the process of getting a Carnet and can shed some light on how to go about it. Searched Google for answers but it is confusing.

Would I only need one for the electric bike only, as the scooter has a V5 that I take with me as well as insurance or do I also need one for my scooter. Thanks for reading, hopefully someone can shed some light on this.
 
Just remember you are not allowed to carry any powered scooter in a garage, only on the tail, only a disability scooter may be carried otherwise the van must be reg as a living/showmans van in the UK.
 
trevskoda said:
Just remember you are not allowed to carry any powered scooter in a garage, only on the tail, only a disability scooter may be carried otherwise the van must be reg as a living/showmans van in the UK.
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Yes I have seen the thread on that, don't want this article getting hijacked on whether one can carry a scooter or not in a garage, as I wasn't enquiring about that. Wanting advise if anyone has applied for a carnet and how you go about it.
 
There is a lot of worries with people that do motorsport and vehicle shows over this. Even with un-MOT'd vehicles due to age. Best get your electric bike registered for the road and insurance in place. (personally I think they should be by law)
 
Mobilvetta said:
Yes I have seen the thread on that, don't want this article getting hijacked on whether one can carry a scooter or not in a garage, as I wasn't enquiring about that. Wanting advise if anyone has applied for a carnet and how you go about it.
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Agreed, but if you did not have all the illegal crap in the garage then no requirement for a card, you could try their embassy for info or travel agent.
 
The carnet is for business use and at £360 a pop valid for a year cant be the correct document. I suspect that the Van mentioned in the article may of been a commercial transit type so the use was not obvious. Motorhome was never mentioned.
 
SquirrellCook said:
There is a lot of worries with people that do motorsport and vehicle shows over this. Even with un-MOT'd vehicles due to age. Best get your electric bike registered for the road and insurance in place. (personally I think they should be by law)
Click to expand...
At the moment the electric bike doesn't need registering as it is pedal assist only, 250watt motor and has the correct markings for the EU, plus the speed is limited.

But I do agree it should be compulsory for all bikes to have some form of third party insurance.

I'm in Spain at the moment and I went in a electric scooter shop, you have to have these insured at a cost of €35 per year and the serial number is then registered with the Spanish transport ministry in order to be able to use it legally here, plus again the speed is governed to 27kph, don't know why the UK doesn't do something like this, if they want us to use alternative transport, instead of the police saying they are illegal to use on the public highway.
 

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It appeared on Motorhome Madness and there are various comments from the usual Facebook experts, master of none. I rather know other people's personal experiences if this is necessary and if so, how you went about it.

I'm thinking you maybe need a carnet if you are temporarily importing something for business use as opposed to leisure use.

Otherwise it's going to get silly, as my mobile phone, tablet, laptop and many other things valued over the amount set would have to be declared.
 
In the report @Mobilvetta linked, Temporary Admission might be available. However, further investigation would probably be needed before committing you and your stuff to hostile foreign customs! From close to the bottom of the linked page:
  • As an alternative to an ATA carnet, Temporary Admission may be used to temporarily import items such as laptops into the EU, provided the relevant conditions are met. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authorities of the Member States. It is important that individuals and businesses confirm the processes at their port of arrival and any conditions or procedures that may apply. Information can be found at: https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/customs_en. Information on Temporary Admission procedures in the UK can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-import-goods-temporarily-to-the-uk-or-eu.
 
I’d be surprised if Spanish customs wanted to get into charges for a scooter, and if they did then simply get one person to drive the MotorHome and another to ride the scooter, ATA Carnet is for temporary export of goods (normally associated with commercial goods)
We‘ve used them for decades and with the exception of 1 or 2 countries never had to use them for personal goods (it get confusing if your a photographer for instance and your camera can be considered as commercial)
In my experience any such claim by a customs official normally comes from them being ticked off by something else you’ve done.
Be aware about how long a Carnet lasts, the 1 year bit is misleading, it will allow the port export for UPTO 1 year, but if you export and then reimport in 2 days the Carnet will NOT allow you to re export unless you paid for multiple vouchers.
Therefore if your looking to take goods into the EU and then come home and then go back to the EU again within that 12 months period ask for additional white and yellow vouchers, you MUST get these stamped in and out of the UK and the guest country (the EU is classed as 1 country for Carnet) each time.

Ive used Carnet a few times since ****** and you should disregard all the official info and go to Western Docks in Dover BOTH for export and import (they say you can’t do export at Western Docks, but you can, and you don’t need to pre-advise your arrival) in Calais they will be completely uninterested and will simply ask if you have all the goods on board when you exit.

You MUST return the completed Carnet to your agent or chamber of commerce after returning to the UK.

If your going to a non EU country after travelling in the EU (ie Switzerland) you MUST use blue transit vouchers in and out of the EU, there’s been a glut of brits stuck at the St Louis / Basel border this year because they used a white voucher to get into France and then only having 1 voucher couldn’t get into Swiss.
 
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