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Carnet | No Stamp on Return | Fee of $23,000

RyanFrancis

RyanFrancis

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Hey all,

Has anyone had horror stories WITH Carnets? Most horror stories involve NOT having Carnets while traveling abroad with gear right?

WRONG..

I got this email this morning:
"We received a claim from the customs authorities of Canada stating that there is no proof of reexportation of your goods.... We estimate the charges to be $23,462.40."

January 2017 we traveled to Canada for a tiny production. We brought our RED EPIC-W, lenses, Ronin, Tripod. We applied for a Carnet with the goods totaling the cost at around $45,000 in gear that we planned to travel with. When we got to Canada we got the Carnet stamped that the goods arrived. NO ONE actually looked in the Pelican cases to see if the goods on the Carnet were accurate. No one stamped our Passports either. I thought this was strange.. Red flags?? When we traveled back from Canada to LAX we were greeted by one of those automated things that takes a photo of you. No long customs line like when we entered Canada. No stamped passport. We were waiting to see if we would go through the "normal customs line" and we never did. Next thing we know we are at baggage claim and heading out to the street. There was no one to stamp the Carnet (that we could see).

It gets worse.

Now we have to go to customs and claim that the equipment returned to the states. BUT most of the gear on the carnet we no longer have. We no longer have the same Epic-W. The one with the serial number that matches the carnet was sent in for repair and we got a new Epic-W with a different serial number. We sold most of the lenses and upgraded to the newer ronin..

Does anyone have experience with this? Is there ANY way to get the same body with the serial number back from RED? or some sort of a official document saying we owned it?

We could be out $23,462.40 and it's giving me heartburn.
 
I know this might be a dumb question but are you sure it is a legit letter from Canada?

I've never heard of our government sending anyone such a letter. Also that amount seems strange (being very specific). I would recommend talking to someone in our government (not by their contact info but via https://www.canada.ca/en.html) to confirm this if you haven't already.
 
As i see you did few things wrong here. First of all you dont really know how the carnet works in basics.
Lets go step by step:
1. you applied for the carnet and got it approved and stamped out on the way out of US - that was ok
2. you arrived in canada, got the stamp that gear came into the country - that was ok. that they dont look at the gear is a normal thing, sometimes the customs officers think "if you went trough all this trouble you probably have everything" and they just do random checks. no red flags here
3. on the way out of canada you should go to customs before even checking in the bags, to get your stamp leaving Canada - first wrong move
4. arriving to LAX - go to customs when you already received your bags from the belt and get the stamp that the gear came back
5. Most important one - CLOSE THE CARNET at the office you opened it - this seals the carnet and even without all the stamps from 3 and 4 they would checked if the gear came back to the country so they could close the carnet and that would be your proof that the gear came back.


now your best option is to go to the Customs office in LA and ask what to do
 
Strange thing is that they should use the deposited money as fine and not send some bill.... the amount is also strange. How much was the declared value?

Pat
 
Wil Wong said:
I know this might be a dumb question but are you sure it is a legit letter from Canada?

I've never heard of our government sending anyone such a letter. Also that amount seems strange (being very specific). I would recommend talking to someone in our government (not by their contact info but via https://www.canada.ca/en.html) to confirm this if you haven't already.
Click to expand...


Sorry I didn’t clarify. We received the notice through the Carnet agency.
 
Uros Zuraj said:
now your best option is to go to the Customs office in LA and ask what to do
Click to expand...

Yes. Our carnet agency said we have to go to the customs office and prove that he gear cane back into the country. Which will prove difficult because we don’t have the correct camera with the serial number that’s on the carnet
 
Patrick Tresch said:
Strange thing is that they should use the deposited money as fine and not send some bill.... the amount is also strange. How much was the declared value?

Pat
Click to expand...

The declared value was around $55k. Apparently they are legally allowed to ask for up to 40% of the value of the equipment.
 
Surely Red will provide a statement of receipt for the repair / swap to new serial number? And likewise, you must be able to prove having sold the items. Sounds like a drag but should be correctable.
 
The carnet process and international travel is complicated. It seems you have found yourself in a bit of a pickle. Honestly you most likely need some specific legal advice. If you don't have a clue whom to speak with you can always call a reputable large-scale rental house and kindly ask for their thoughts and any referrals of legal specialists or travel coordinators to speak to. If you're still out of luck PM me and perhaps I can share the name of a reputable travel coordinator.
 
i agree.. find some reputable legal specialist to help you out on this matter... hope things work out fine
 
I had almost the exact same situation happen to me many years ago, except I was having all my items shipped instead of taking them through the airport with me. US customs didn't sign the carnet when the items returned back to the US, even though they were instructed to do so (probably just an oversight on their part). I drove down to the closest customs office with all the gear in my car and explained to them the situation. At first they were reluctant to sign, but then they eventually did. I didn't even have to show them any of the items in my car.

Honestly, the carnet just made things more difficult. Ever since then, I just travel without a carnet. Occasionally I get customs officials asking me why I have so much gear with me. I just say that I am a travel photographer working on personal projects and they let me through every time without any problems. Just make your gear look semi used so that they don't get the impression you are trying to sell it.

If you explain your situation to US customs, I bet there is a good chance they will understand. Otherwise you may have to get a lawyer involved.
 
you had to go customs and get stamp before each flight? why did you leave the airport without getting stamp?
you said you waited on baggage claim nobody showed up of course nobody comes there to stamp your carnet you should have go to customs and declare your equipment.
 
Kemalettin Sert said:
you had to go customs and get stamp before each flight? why did you leave the airport without getting stamp?
you said you waited on baggage claim nobody showed up of course nobody comes there to stamp your carnet you should have go to customs and declare your equipment.
Click to expand...

It happened because I was ignorant and tired. Plus it seemed as if there was no border control between Canada and US. It felt like a domestic flight.
 
I would definitely look into legal advice at this point.

The most difficult thing being that you can't bring the equipment that was checked into the other country to US Customs now that it's sold. Maybe you can talk to the new owners of the equipment to let you bring it to the US Customs office, they have one at LAX or just outside the airport as well. That should provide proof to close it out if you can do that.

The basic rules are :
1. Always deal with a Customs Officer in each country.
2. Verify that the stuff on your carnet is actually with you.
3. Stamp Out ( US ) / Stamp In ( Foreign Country ) / Stamp Out ( Foreign Country ) / Stamp In ( US )

Hope you can track down the gear and get around this. If you can, it should be easy once you get US Customs to verify it's back in the US.

Best of luck, the carnet process is a pain and a time suck. You really have to be pro-active and track down the Customs agents in foreign countries.
 
Also, one more piece of advice would be, always use a carnet. Even though the process is a pain in the ass, if you do get stopped in a foreign country they can just seize it if they want. Which isn't a deal if you're traveling with a couple cases or stuff in your bag, but more than that and they can just impound it and won't let it out until you pay that countries import fees on the gear. The carnet basically gives the equipment official passage between countries.
 
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