About a year ago I foolishly organised a motorbike trip with a bunch of mates to Southern Spain for September 2020.

Well that worked out really well FFS.

So we postponed to September 2021 and now we’re post Brexit another issue has arisen. We were planning on being incredibly lazy and having our bikes shipped to Malaga by truck with us flying out to meet them there. As the bikes are not being accompanied by their riders, there is a pile of customs processing to now be sorted. I envisaged that this would involve carnet charges, which, for a truck carrying about 30 motorbikes @ say £10k a piece would be ~ £700 (I ran through a quote with Birmingham chamber of commerce who specialise in motorsport carnets).

Not so says our shipper, who claims that as the vehicles are road registered and will be used on the road in Spain, they are individually subject to import duty on 21% of their value. This roughly works out at £650 per bike.

Surely this can’t be right? A carnet covers any item and is a guarantee that you’ll bring the thing back again when you’re done, irrespective of what the purpose of the thing is. Stamp in, stamp out. Anyone in the hive mind have experience of this sort of thing?

I thought you just needed a carnet for non road legal bikes?
Surely the import duty thing would be waived as the bikes are only there temporarily.

“A Carnet may not be used for:

Goods used as a means of transport “

https://www.chamber-international.com/exporting-chamber-international/documentation-for-export-and-import/what-is-an-ata-carnet/

This is for ATA carnets, I don’t think Spain accept CPD carnets.

I thought you just needed a carnet for non road legal bikes?
Surely the import duty thing would be waived as the bikes are only there temporarily.

I believe that’s correct. If you have V5s, it’s just transport rather than export.

Surely the solution is to carry a large Union flag and speak loudly?, This is the way (of the brexiteer).

Not so says our shipper, who claims that as the vehicles are road registered and will be used on the road in Spain, they are individually subject to import duty on 21% of their value. This roughly works out at £650 per bike.

Agree with him and pay up, or find another shipper – who may or may not agree with the previous shipper.

I think the problem is it’s not an accompanied import and effectively they’re coming in as freight. Various bits on web say:

“ Non residents of Spain who are citizens of countries outside the EU may temporarily import a vehicle registered outside the EU for a total period of six months within a calendar year. “

but don’t give any clues as to how this is squared away with freight and a declaration. It may be that the agents haven’t researched it too much and aren’t that keen on the job but it’s quite difficult to see anything. Maybe try a Spanish shipper.

Thanks kilo, that seems to match up with what the shipper’s telling us. They’re unaccompanied vehicles and therefore freight, carnets wont work as they’re road vehicles: pay up.

So we’re down to two options if we want to head there then:

We could drive ourselves. 24hrs in the van with a 6m trailer and four motorbikes. Woo and indeed hoo. I bet an obsequious customs officer would still consider them freight as we’re not actually riding them into Spain. Need professional advice I think.

We could ride there. I rode up from Perpignon once (to Newcastle!). A full day on the peage and then the length of England the next. It rained so much that my switchgear packed up and all the lights were then on all the time. My back tyre was so squared off it looked like I’d nicked it from a forklift.

How confident are you that (a) Spain will let you in without quarantine (assuming you have not had both vaccine doses)? (b) the UK will let you back without quarantine.

We normally take a couple of enduro bikes to Austria every year on a trailer. Not bothering to take them this year as although they are road registered, I’m not risking being turned back by some customs officer who doesn’t understand the rules.
Still. Blue passports

Tried these guys from our FB forum?
https://www.motofreight.com