How the Carnet Works :
The Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD) is a customs document that identifies a driver’s motor vehicle. It is required in order to take a vehicle into a significant but diminishing number of countries around the world. The Carnet allows travelers to temporarily import their vehicles without having to leave a cash deposit at the border. It is, in essence, an international guarantee for payment of customs duties and taxes to a government should the vehicle or item not be re-exported from that country. Persons who temporarily import their vehicles or items into countries where the Carnet is required must agree to obey the laws and regulations of that country and particularly the conditions of temporary importation. The Carnet contains relevant information about the items or vehicle – make, model, colour, engine capacity, seating capacity, registration number, owner and value. It’s an international agreement, organised by the Alliance International de Tourisme (AIT) in Switzerland, and administered through agents worldwide. These agents are usually national automobile association or touring club such as : the RAC in the UK(Which is stopped issuing Carnet’s), ADAC in Germany, ANWB in the Netherlands, RACB in Belgium, ÖAMTC in Austria, TCS in Switzerland and the AAA in Australia. Theoretically, you could arrange your Carnet with any authorised agent but, in practice, they won’t issue Carnets for foreign owners or foreign vehicles e.g. the ADAC. They all have different rules.
Where you need it?
The Carnet is needed in many countries like Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Japan, Australia some of African countries and some other countries in the world.
The deposit is how much?
Here’s the bad news. In order to obtain a Carnet, the owner of the items is required to provide a security based on the age and market value of the vehicles. Import taxes are very high in some countries. The AIT classifies countries into bands from 1 to 8 according to their tax regime. To calculate your Carnet deposit, simply multiply the price of your bike by the band number of the countries you wish to cross. For example Iran is in band 5, so requires a deposit of 5 times the value of your vehicle. Carnet deposits can be huge. It’s possible to reduce the deposit by lowering the estimated value of your bike, but the agent has to agree that the figure is fair and reasonable.
Different ways to pay :
The quickest and easiest method to pay the deposit is by cash or credit card. The downside is that a large amount of money is tied up during your trip. The agents have therefore organised alternative methods of payment. You can take out a Carnet insurance policy. If you default, the insurance company pays the deposit- but the small print says you have to pay the money back. Insurance usually costs about 10% of the deposit, and the minimum value they will underwrite is typically around €2000. Your bank can also guarantee the deposit, using your property or savings as a security. Banks will usually charge for this service, and there may be additional administration fees for the agent.
Costs :
As you may have guessed, you don’t get that thing for free, in fact it isn’t even inexpensive and has it’s own difficulties. First you need to pay a fee to the automobile club to get the Carnet done which depends to your country of residence. Moreover, you need to deposit some money to the automobile club which can be used if you don’t return home with your vehicle. Of course you’ll get this money back once you arrive back home, but for some traveler to start trip with amount of deposit short will quite a hole in their budget.
Temporary Carnet de Passage at Iranian border by Hossein Sheykhlou :
So, Across the world, driving a car from a foreign country to another requires the payment of tax and duties. Carnet de Passage is a form of certification to prove you’re only ‘temporarily’ importing the vehicle into country. For some overland travelers it seems that Iran is the only country requiring a Carnet and if you want to avoid all the difficulties of getting that in your home country we have solution for those who are interested to enter into Iran without Carnet de Passage which is possible by using this specific and exclusive service.
We can provide temporary “Carnet de Passage” service at the Iran border for those travelers who wants to come and visit Iran by their own vehicle We provide official customs document which is 100% legal and approved by department of customs of the Islamic republic of Iran. With our provided document you can get your vehicle into and out of country. You must keep provided document until your exit point because it is necessary for you to have them when you are traveling in Iran and when you want to leave Iran, By our service you don’t need to put security deposit which normally you would pay if you intend to get “Carnet de Passage” in your home country, so that, you just simply pay the fee for this service and in return you will have the provided necessary official document. This service helps you to save time and money usually spend by arranging the “Carnet de Passage” in your home country. To start the process you should send some documents to us, therefore, first of all you should make contact with us at least few weeks prior to your arrival. The procedure is as following : We will be waiting for you at your point of entry into Iran to do the process on the agreed date and provide you with all the necessary documents (Please note doing the process depending on the traffic at the border will take a few hours, therefore, you should be patient). Good to know at the moment that it is only possible to use our service at the Iranian side of the border at Gurbulak/Bazargan coming via Turkey.
Please contact me for the cost, recent changes and update regarding this service
