Carnet for India
 

I'm researching the Carnet I need for my RTW trip. So far it appears that the most expensive country for the Carnet is India - they require a bond for 400% of the declared value of the bike! Most other countries are 200% the value of the bike, which seems more reasonable.

Here's my questions. I assume that I need a carnet for India. On the off chance, has anyone ridden into India from Nepal without a carnet?

Let's say that I don't declare India on my carnet application. What happens when I show up at the border of India with the carnet? Will it help me get in, or is it worthless in India at that point?

And if I need the carnet for India, will the AAA really charge me 400% of the declared value of the bike if I say that I'm going to India? And along those lines, what's the lowest value I can declare for my '95 BMW PD all set up for overland travel? We know it's worth around $10,000 with all the extras and preparation, but that would mean a bond of $40,000 for the carnet! Can I get away with declaring the value of the bike ridiculously low - say $2,000?

Any advice or personal experience in this matter is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Story

story
yes you will need a (real... not forged) carnet for india.

ref valuation: in 1999 i valued my 1989 r100gs at 750gbp (about 1200 us$) and the british aa accepted the valuation for carnet purposes. in your case, don't tell them that you have all those overland goodies. in 8 years ('95 to '03) a bike can be in a horrid state and have many many miles on the odometer.

i presume the aaa doesn't inspect the vehicle...

just because it says, e.g. 30000 miles on the odometer, means it could easily have 130000 or 230000 miles on it. i would definitely call the aaa's bluff.

remember, with the aaa you are dealing with flat earth people who don't know that an old beemer hold its value... an 8 year old car would normally have depreciated to nearly 0...

cheers
ChrisB

Hi Story,

The most expensive country is actually Iran, which levies 500%! Yes, your carnet issuer really will require a bond/guarantee for that amount.

You do indeed definitely need a carnet for India. I managed to leave India this year to Pakistan without one, but I've never heard of anyone entering India without one. Indeed, there are many vehicles at the India/Pakistan border that were abandoned by their owners when they couldn't get them into India without a carnet. The Indians are well known for being sticklers on this point.

India and Nepal have a reciprocal arrangement for use of vehicles in each other's countries without the need for a carnet. For entering India from Nepal, I believe it is necessary to leave a deposit with the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, which is returned when you re-enter Nepal. Going the other way, I think there's a daily charge. However, unless you bought your bike in India or Nepal, this wouldn't be much use to you, since you'd need a carnet to enter either country in the first place.

James