CPD Info for Overlanders in New Edition of EXPEDITION GUIDE

Author Explorer Sir Tom Sheppard asks Boomerang

                                                                                                                                  Photo courtesy of Tom Sheppard

Boomerang carnets® was recently asked to contribute to a new edition of the “Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide,” a manual and reference for overland travels and expeditions.  We provided cost estimates on the customs document Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD) for the book.  Co-authors Tom Sheppard and Jonathan Hansen are now in the fifth edition of this overlander’s “bible.”  Their accomplishments and contributions through many years of overlanding travel are formidable.  As the sole provider for CPDs in the U.S. and Canada, Boomerang was duly honored to be of assistance. 

The CPD is a customs document that is used for the temporary admission of road vehicles (private and commercial road motor vehicles) in countries where required.  The CPD is known as the “Vehicle Passport” which allows a vehicle to enter multiple countries for temporary importation without paying the import-duty and -taxes.  Boomerang also issues ATA Carnets, an internationally accepted customs document for temporarily exported merchandise or goods.  Known as the “Merchandise Passport” it allows cross border movement of those goods import-duty and -tax free into 87+ carnet countries and territories for up to a year.  The initials “ATA” are an acronym of the French and English words "Admission Temporaire|Temporary Admission."  The CPD and ATA Carnet can and are often used together.

 

The “Vehicle Dependent Expedition Guide” originally commissioned by Land Rover has become part of Special Forces instructional material in the U.K. and U.S.  Author Tom Sheppard has over 100K miles of overlanding under his belt including the widely known first coast-to-coast lateral crossing and continuous gravity survey of the Sahara, for which he received a Royal Geographical Society Award.  He has authored several books on his expeditions and was awarded the honor MBE— Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.  The new edition of the Guide incorporates extensive updates and revisions supplemented with contributions by Jonathan Hanson, originator of the three‐day Overland Expo in the U.S. and widely published author of explorations from Egypt to the Artic Tundra. 

Sir Tom’s expeditions in the field over many years has made him a revered and hard-earned authority.  The Sahara is his preferred stomping ground although customs requirements for vehicles at borders frustrate as they are sometimes needed and sometimes not.  “Overall, so long as you have advance intelligence that the particular border officials know what a CPD is and what to do with it, having a carnet is a great deal better than not having one.  Unlike playing it by ear on the day, it should get you through quicker and is corruption-proof (I think!).  There is clearly a need for credible outfits like Boomerang to set up a system of providing for such needs,” he said.

If you are ready for your own adventure and need help obtaining a CPD or ATA Carnet, our Carnet Specialists are on hand to help you with any questions you may have.  Boomerang can accommodate U.S. customers with both CPD and ATA Carnet customs documents.  In addition, we have authority to issue CPDs for Canada.  If you are in the U.K., we partner with the Liverpool Chamber who can issue an ATA Carnet and if you need a CPD, call us and we can refer you.  We are here to assist you 24/7, just call the Carnet HelpLine® 1-800-ATA-2900 |1-800-282-2900 or email us.

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