Quote:
Originally Posted by MGDavid
Simon,
I postulate that you'll download a carnet blank off the net, fill it in, present it at port for checking & stamping, and proceed.
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According to their adverts, Cars UK negotiated the exclusive rights for issuing the relevant customs carnet's in the UK sometime ago.
The point of a customs carnet is to show that you have entrusted someone (I forget who - it's a while since I last applied for one!) with enough money to cover potential duties/taxes - e.g. the amount of import duty etc. that would be due if the vehicle does not leave the country.
It is possible that this could be done online assuming you have a high enough credit card limit or have transferred the funds but is likely to be as painful as it always was.
Of course in the old days the values stated for cars was occasionally recorded inaccurately.
In my experience, F3000 teams usually hoped they had been through the customs post before the big budget teams turned up because it was difficult explaining why your car cost a tenth of the price of theirs (hence only depositing a tenth of the amount of money).
And these days it is much easier for customs to check the value of a car so it will be harder to 'save money' (you aren't really saving money just losing access to it until you return the carnet).