TIPs, Carnet, Storage and Mates
 

Hello.

I am planning a slow motorcycle tour of Africa - anticlockwise probably from Morocco.

I will do this in several parts, flying back to UK periodically. This may take 2 years. After that I may head east into Asia rather than return home.

How does it usually work with temporary importation/ Carnet if:

(1) I fly back and leave the bike in storage, e.g. for 6 months?

(2) Change my bike at some stage en route, e.g. due to major breakdown or need for different spec?

(3) A mate flies out to do a stage of the Africa trip on the same bike without me?

I suppose I need a way to stop the importation clock ticking when I am out of the country.

Apologies if I have missed an obvious thread on this.

Thanks.

Swirl.

I can't be particularly helpful, however...

If you go with a carnet (which is what we do, although some countries insist on a TIP)), unless there are limits to the time you have the bike in a given country, then you can run the carnet for a year, and extend it for another. There are ways to go beyond this...

In terms of country-specific limits, there is a limit of 90 days to keep a vehicle on a TIP in Brazil (yes, I know Brazil's not in Africa, but it's an example).

You also need to check whether you can leave the bike in each country while you leave. For example, we have left our vehicle in Argentina while we flew home to manage some critical business - no problem! However, in Brazil they link the TIP with your passport so you cannot, in theory, leave the country without the bike (I've never tried to do this so don't know how well the database tracks this).

You need to check any limits for having your bike outside the country of registration. For example, we are not permitted to have a vehicle/bike outside our home country for more than 12 months (6 months plus a 6 month extension).

I haven't researched individual countries in Africa for this specific situation, however we have kept our vehicle over a year in Kenya while we were out of the country (most of that year) with no problems (with a carnet extension).

You need to check country by country.

Thanks, Alan - really appreciate that advice.

So I can leave the bike on a Carnet for longer periods in countries which do not insist on a (generally shorter period) TIP. And then extend the carnet when necessary - okay.

Changing or upgrading the bike en route effectively makes it an import, so that's tricky and not the point of a carnet. I would have to bring the bike home. That's so boring. I was considering taking a smaller, less valuable bike so as to not worry if I needed to change it en route or if it got stolen or broken.

I suppose without a carnet and just using TIPs, I could find a destination country where I could import it without too much fuss and duty and sell it there rather than send it home or ride it home. E.g. Morocco then south on TIPS then South Africa as a normal import and sell there. But this TIPS only option means I would not be able to leave the bike in storage for longer periods en route as I had hoped.

Hmmn.

Swirl

Be sure to read the Carnet Information page

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swirl (Post 616233) re: Changing or upgrading the bike en route effectively makes it an import, so that's tricky and not the point of a carnet. I would have to bring the bike home. That's so boring. I was considering taking a smaller, less valuable bike so as to not worry if I needed to change it en route or if it got stolen or broken.

Upgrades/modifications/repairs will not make the bike an import - as long as the papers don't change. As you say, a carnet is meant to allow temporary use, although this could be a long time. The only limit is that you cannot use a carnet if you become a resident (which I understand is not your situation).

Yes - you are supposed to return the bike to its home country - if you don;t, you lose the "deposit". In some cases this is not a major deal (if we travel in South America for example, the deposit is not much).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swirl (Post 616233) re: I suppose without a carnet and just using TIPs, I could find a destination country where I could import it without too much fuss and duty and sell it there rather than send it home or ride it home. E.g. Morocco then south on TIPS then South Africa as a normal import and sell there. But this TIPS only option means I would not be able to leave the bike in storage for longer periods en route as I had hoped.

Yes, without getting into whether this is appropriate behaviour (since the TIP is also predicated on taking the bike out of the country again) people do this, however you have to make sure that the TIP is not tied to your passport or you will run into problems when you try to leave the country (the Brazil situation). There is a well-established trade in imported Japanese vehicles (and bikes?) in Tanzania so I'm guessing that you could find a way to sell there. Selling a foreign bike in Kenya is difficult if not impossible. Once again, you need to look at each country to make a decision.