Anyone with experience with Carnets?

[Dan McCain]

I travel often and need to get some more information about carnets. Specifically how much do they cost per trip and what do I need to get the carnet?

If the cost are high can I simply register the equipment so that when I return I show customs the registration form?

[Rob Gardner]

You get your carnet through the International Chamber of Commerce (google them). It is a pain in the ass, and you have to make sure that you clear customs correctly in each country, and there is a fee, but if you don't do it, you can have your equipment siezed until a large bond is posted in some countries—a bond, I might add, that you will wait a long time to retreve. Some people try to sneak on by iwith their equipment, but that is not a great idea.

Generally I think you will have to post a bond locally if you do not have a Carnet. But each country is different.

Getting an ATA Carnet is not difficult, but it does require filling out forms and paying a fee. And if you don't get the forms processed correctly going in and out of the various countries, you can be liable for a very large penalty after the trip. Someone responsible on the crew has to be assigned to handle the Carnet paperwork, because often a crew can arrive late or early and local customs officers may not be on duty so the paperwork just doesn't get done. Bad idea.

Best method is to have a local fixer in the country you are going to, meet you at customs and handle the whole issue (there are often language issues). In some cases, the local fixer will need to bribe somebody to get inside of the customs barriars, but that is usually only the case in third world countries.

I'm sure others on the forum can add to this.

[Dan McCain]

Also a recommendation for a good Los Angeles based company that can issue reasonably priced carnets would be appreciated.

[Dan McCain]

What Im worried about is I typically go to Nigeria and I dont trust that the customs will complete the paper work correctly, and it could open a can of worms, so perhaps it is easier just to register the equipment with U.S. customs for each trip?

Someone I spoke to said I could use the carnet simply as a registration of equipment, however I am worried about the penalties you are talking about.

[Philip Hurn]

I used http://www.atacarnet.com/

Took 3 days and cost about $750 for 100K value. It's good for 1 year.

[Rob Gardner]

I think the trick in a place like Nigeria would be to have a local fixer to make sure it happens correctly. My experience has been that even if mistakes are made going in, if you have a local guy that knows the ropes, it can be patched up with a little grease.

The important thing is to make sure you don't leave without checking out, because then it is as if you have sold all the equipment in that country. Basically, the Carnet is a bond guarenteeing that you will take out what you bring in.