🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3514@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> jnh@ecemwl.UUCP (Joseph N. Hall) writes:
>Europeans, who pay up to twice for Macs what Americans do, are more than
>willing to believe that people in America will try to smuggle them to
>their friends there.  It's your job to convince customs officials that the
>Mac you're carrying is YOUR Mac, it's USED, and you DON'T want to sell it.
>Theoretically you can be required to post a bond, in each country you visit,
>for the amount of duty that would be imposed on the item were you to sell it
>there.  This is the only sure-fire mechanism for avoiding customs hassles
>completely.
>
>If you want to post bonds (do this well in advance of your travel), contact
>the appropriate consulate(s) and get the required forms.  (Don't forget your
>visa if you're going to France, either...)

(1) Almost all countries have a provision for allowing temporary
    importation and re-exportation of "tools of your trade".
    (It may however take some courtesy and patience to agree that just
    as a calculator used to be the tool of the accountant's trade, a Mac
    is the tool of the programmer's trade).
(2) The proper documentation for taking valuable goods temporarily into
    one or more countries and out again is a "Carnet de passage en
    douane", "Carnet" for short. This is a green booklet of import and
    export forms, which get processed by customs whenever you cross a
    border. In Europe, these are routinely issued by the chamber of commerce
    for its members. They are intended for demonstration equipment and
    samples of merchandise carried by travelling salesmen and shipped to
    trade shows. I am not sure exactly where you get them in this
    country. Try calling the chamber of commerce, and the customs
    office.

I have travelled a lot with equipment on Carnets. I had a carnet
covering a master list of all the stuff I might need to take with me for
on-site software development, including terminals, microcomputer
development systems, disk packs etc, thrown what I needed in the back of
a car, and driven from Copenhagen to London, Zurich, Vienna and back;
dropping stuff off on the way sometimes, with the paperwork cleaned up
later. At each border crossing, filling out the next pair of forms, and
checking out with one customs office, and checking in with the new one.

The only time this was a REAL problem was when I missed a flight from
Milan to London, and got waitlisted for the next one. The customs people
would not process my paperwork before the airline promised I'd be on the
next flight, and the airline was reluctant to hold the flight for 20
minutes while I did the customs stuff after they cleared me 10 minutes
before departure time. But other than that: It's a small hassle, but no
real big deal. You learn cross-cultural stuff by having to talk to
bureaucrats in every country you go through.

/ Lars Poulsen <lars@salt.acc.com>   (800) 222-7308  or (805) 963-9431 ext 358
  ACC Customer Service              Affiliation stated for identification only
                My employer probably would not agree if he knew what I said !!