The carnet de passages is an international customs declaration which is required for the temporary import of a vehicle from one country to another. It is issued in English and French languages. The import of vehicles is performed by the member companies of the European network of transportation.
The Carnet de Passages is part of several UN conventions and is recognized by two international organizations
This document is has been used since 1913 to make traveling with one’s own vehicle easier for tourists and other travelers. It is part of the framework customs convention of the UN for the temporary import of private vehicles from 1954 as well as the Customs convention of the UN for temporary import of commercial vehicles (1956). Apart from that, it is part of the so-called Istanbul conference – the Convention for temporary Admission (1990). The carnet is recognized by the International Travel Union and by the International Automobile Federation.
What does the carnet de passages guarantee?
The Carnet de Passages document guarantees that all customs taxes are paid if the vehicle is not exported from the country into which it was admitted within the time period stated in the document. The validity of the carnet is 1 year.
The data included in the Carnet de Passages
The carnet used for the import of personal vehicles by tourists or by the forwarders throughout Europe is a small A4 sized booklet of 5 to 25 pages.
The data about the owner, holder and about the vehicle itself is contained on the face side of the front cover of the booklet, as well as on the back side of the front page. It is also available on both sides of the back page of the carnet too.
On the front of the cover page there is the full name of the owner, the association which has issued the carnet as well as the validity of the carnet.
The data for the vehicle being imported by the freight forwarders is available on the back cover of the document.
The back cover also includes a list of the countries which accept the carnet as well as the associations which recognize it. The inner side of the back cover includes some useful tips about using the carnet as well as basic information regarding the carnet system functions.
The pages of the carnet are called coupons. For the import of a vehicle by international freight forwarding all the data from the cover of the carnet are filled into the coupons including:
- The full name of the owner of the vehicle
- The address of the owner
- Full information regarding the vehicle
- Validity of the carnet
- The association which issued the carnet
Benefits from using a carnet de passage or in accordance with the CPD system for importing a vehicle
The tourists or other travelers who need to temporarily import their vehicles through the services of the international freight forwarders network not only receive guarantees the payment of all customs taxes will be made in case the vehicle is not exported within the time period stated in the carnet.
Some additional benefits of using the CPD system include:
- Easy observation of the customs laws and regulations for the import of goods
- Avoiding the need for the vehicle owners to carry money in cash
- The avoidance of a number of formalities related to the import of vehicles.