Carnets and Taking a Tour Across a Boarder
Carnets and Taking a Tour Across a Boarder
The first time I ever heard the word carnet (kar·nay) was when I was being onboarded for my first tour as a tour manager. It was a bus tour in the U.S. with a few dates in Canada, and whether or not we needed a carnet it was discussed in a way that made me feel so dumb for not knowing what it even was. Before that, I had toured as FOH with a band that I’m pretty sure also had no idea what a carnet was because I know we never had one. I flew all over the world with that band for years with no customs issues, so why was this the first time I was hearing of this elusive document?
what is an ATA Carnet and how do you know when you need one?
The actual definition is, “an international customs document that allows for the temporary, duty-free, and tax-free import and export of goods.” The ATA stands for Admission Temporaire / Temporary Admission. In layman's terms, it’s a passport for the gear you’re carrying with you.
When you take professional audio-visual equipment into and out of a country, you have to declare to the country you're leaving and the country you’re arriving in what you are carrying with you and prove where it was purchased. It’s also kind of a little promise that you won’t sell anything you’re carrying or buy new stuff while you’re abroad. A carnet is just the legal document that proves you had the gear with you when you entered the country and had the same gear with you when you left the country, and therefore you are exempt from paying duty or tax.
It’s kind of like insurance in the sense that you annoyingly pay for car insurance every month and never use it until you get in a wreck, and then you’re so happy you have it.
I’ve never had a super harrowing experience with carnets and customs. I think I’ve just been lucky so far because everyone else seems to have crazy horror stories. The only time I’ve ever had a slight issue was when I was traveling with a super rude PM who was being a dick and pissed off the customs agent, so they held us for a couple of hours just because they could. In most cases, you can politely go up to an agent and tell them you’re new to this and would appreciate some patience because you want to learn the proper way to handle things. It’s just like anything else on tour and in life: be prepared for the worst and be happy when it works out.
Let’s jump into some common questions about crossing borders with gear and a carnet.
Do I need a carnet?
This question depends on a lot of variables. I will say, if carnets were free, everyone would have them. But in most cases, the decision to get a carnet depends on the tour’s budget. If a tour is in the red (losing money) and can’t justify the expense of a carnet, sometimes they’ll risk it and go without. I’ve been on tours with consoles and mics stuffed in unassuming suitcases with all fingers crossed we don’t get stopped at customs for any reason. Basically, if you’re traveling internationally with a lot of expensive, professional gear, you should get a carnet. The last thing you want is to get stopped at customs and deal with the shitstorm when you have a show to get to.
Also good to note is that not all countries recognize or require a carnet, so research the countries you’re traveling to and see if you even need one for where you’re going.
What gear goes on a carnet? What’s considered professional equipment?
Audio consoles/stage boxes
Microphones
Lighting consoles/fixtures
Video/film/editing equipment
Cameras
Production tools
Musical instruments
What doesn’t go on a carnet?
Anything you intend to sell. In our industry, this is usually merch. Also anything consumable like gaff tape or disposable batteries.
What happens when you don’t have a carnet?
Without a carnet, you risk your equipment being seized by customs, causing tour delays and potential legal issues. If you can’t prove where you bought your equipment, you may be subject to the import and export taxes required by the country you are entering and leaving. A carnet is a safety net that protects you, your gear, and your tour.
How many carnets do I need?
A carnet is good for one calendar year. Meaning, you can travel with all the gear listed on your carnet into and out of most countries for one year without getting a new carnet. You don’t need to get a different carnet each time you cross a border. Once you’ve submitted your gear list and a carnet is prepared for you, you can’t add anything to the gear list. If you add a piece or pieces of gear to your pack, you have to get an additional carnet and pay the fees all over again.
You can travel with less gear than is listed on your carnet, meaning if you’re not bringing a console for this run but it’s listed on your carnet, it’s fine. The idea is to have everything you could possibly travel with at any time on the carnet, regardless of whether it’s with you or not.
What info do I need about my gear to give to the broker?
You need to make a detailed list of everything the artist owns and could carry with them. Remember, the carnet’s cost is based on the value of the gear that’s on it, so only list what you could potentially carry. Start a spreadsheet with the following:
Item Description: Provide a clear and detailed description of each item, including brand names, model and serial numbers, and unique identifiers. You need to provide enough detail so that customs will be able to easily identify your item when they are checking your Carnet.
Quantity: State the number of each item you are listing.
Monetary Value: Provide the value of each item, ideally the insured value.
Weight: List the weight of each item.
Country of Origin: Indicate the country where each item was manufactured.
How do you get a carnet?
Carnet brokers are abundant. Just Google “ATA Carnet” and shop around. Be sure the broker is a member of the U.S. Council of International Business.
How much does a carnet cost?
To be perfectly frank, they aren’t cheap. The cost of a carnet and the deposit or surety bond you’ll pay depends on the value of the gear listed on it. This part gets convoluted, so I highly recommend you call reputable companies and get quotes from multiple offices, but you can plan on a fee around $300 - $500 for the carnet itself, plus the deposit or surety bond. When you call a company that issues carnets, just be honest with them. Tell them you’re new at this and would appreciate it if they explained things to you as you go.
What does a carnet look like? What do the different colors of paper in the carnet mean?
A carnet is a packet of paper. The front cover of the carnet is green. On the front of the green page is the carnet holder's info, the date, and the country the carnet was issued in, etc. On the back of the green page is a list of all your gear, their weights, the value of each piece of gear, and the country of origin.
Yellow, White, and Blue Counterfoils & Vouchers: Each sheet contains two parts – a counterfoil, which remains in the carnet and describes the actions taken by CBP officers each time goods enter or leave a country, and a removable voucher, which contains a list of the goods covered by the carnet and serves as the required CBP document.
Yellow vouchers are for the U.S. Yellow sheets in the package are to be used upon exportation from and re-importation back into the issuing country.
White vouchers are for foreign customs. White sheets are used for the temporary importation into and re-exportation from foreign countries.
Blue vouchers are used when transiting through countries. These goods are in transit.
the front and back of the Green page of the carnet.
I’m going to a lot of countries, How many pages are in the carnet?
When you call the broker’s office to get a carnet, let them know your travel plans for the next year and they can help you calculate how many pages you’ll need in your carnet. If you’re on tour and you run out of pages in your carnet, you’ll have to contact the broker’s office and have more pages sent to wherever you are. I’m sure you can imagine that is a bad situation to be in, so be sure to over estimate how many page you’ll need just to be safe.
I’ve got the carnet, now what?
Let’s assume you’re traveling with a band on an international fly date. It’s you, the band, and all the gear they need to play a fly date, like an audio console, IEMs, microphones, playback computers, guitars, etc. You’re flying from Houston, TX, to Bogota, Colombia. If you have a connecting flight somewhere between Houston and Bogota, you would get the carnet stamped in Houston and Bogota only. A good rule is you get the carnet stamped when you have full possession of your gear.
When you get to the airport in Houston, before you go through security, find the customs office. Google ahead of time or just ask someone that works at the airport and they should be able to tell you where the office is. You will take the carnet and all of your gear to the customs office and tell the customs agent you have a carnet to be stamped. The agent will look over your carnet, inspect your gear, both you and the agent will sign the carnet in front of each other (don’t sign anything if you’re not in front of the agent), and they’ll remove a slip of colored paper from the carnet for them to keep. You then take the carnet and your gear to the airline ticketing desk to check it in and go through security to your gate.
When you arrive in Bogota, it’s the same process as when you left the U.S. Get your gear from baggage claim and find the customs office in the Bogota airport. You will take the carnet and all of your gear to the customs office and tell the customs agent you have a carnet to be stamped. The agent will look over your carnet, inspect your gear, both you and the agent will sign the carnet in front of each other (don’t sign anything if you’re not in front of the agent), and they’ll remove a slip of colored paper from the carnet for them to keep.
The customs process with a carnet can potentially take hours, so plan to get to the airport 3-4 hours before your flight. It’s a good idea to let your artist know or remind them about the potential delays before the tour starts. It’s a long process, but totally necessary and worth the time.
Whatever you do, don’t leave the carnet in the customs office or anywhere other than your carry-on bag. If you lose the carnet or it gets destroyed, you’ll have to contact the carnet broker that issued your carnet and request a duplicate, and there are big, fat fees.
Returning a carnet
You have to return the carnet after it expires, or you’re done traveling for the year, or you won’t get your deposit back. Make and keep a copy of the whole carnet booklet (all used and even unused sheets), and return the original via receipted mail to the company that issued you the carnet.
you have to return it even if it was never used. If it’s not returned it’s considered “open” and the security deposit will be held until the time during which a customs claim may be submitted to USCIB has ended. You’re going to want that deposit back, so make sure to return it.