In February 2024 two British scooterists were held by Dutch customs for an hour. Their ‘crime’ was not declaring a Vespa that they were taking in their van to a European custom show.
That’s nothing. The van next to them contained a scooterist taking engines to display at the same show as a favour for the manufacturer. He was arrested, fined and handed a bill for VAT totalling almost €3,000.
If you don’t want to fall into the same trap, read on…
- Are you riding a scooter abroad this year?
- Are you taking one with you on holiday in a van or on a trailer?
- What about taking one out for a mate as a favour?
- Do you plan to take one to a show or to a race meeting?
Since Brexit, British citizens lost not only our full freedom of movement in the EU but also many previous trade freedoms. We were told that getting a trade deal with the EU would be simple, but in the end, Theresa May’s deal was scrapped and we ended up with one of the harder possible outcomes of Brexit, only slightly softened by the EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
The result is that we now have an enormous amount of additional paperwork and hoops to jump through that did not exist when we were part of the EU. The pandemic and extended periods of grace have masked the full impact of what has changed.
Now, it seems that the EU authorities have decided that since the end of grace periods in February 2024, British citizens are expected to comply with the customs rules as they stand. Like any foreign law, not knowing about it is not an adequate excuse. Ignorance is no defence.
You can read an earlier SLUK article about Brexit here.
Scooterboys go where Romans feared to tread
The old system
When the UK was part of the EU, going abroad was no more complicated than going from England to Scotland. If you wanted to ride to Scotland, you jumped on your scooter and rode. If you wanted to take a scooter there in a van, then you did so with no interference from the authorities. If you wanted to sell a scooter in Scotland then you took it, accepted the payment and it was nobody’s business but yours and the buyer.
That was the way it worked before with all countries in the EU. We had freedom of movement and freedom of trade.
The ferry port at Hook Van Holland seems to be a regular problem for both customs and immigration. Our advice is to avoid that route.
The new system
Nowadays, as a result of Brexit, things are much more complicated. A lot of work has gone on in the background between the Governments and motoring organisations in order to ease freedom of movement for individuals, but full freedom of trade no longer exists.
This is where the problem lies. What you consider a holiday, EU customs officers may believe is actually a trip for commercial purposes. Different rules apply to different activities.
The Gran Turismo parts display at Scooterist Meltdown 2024
‘This is bullshit, Brexit is not a problem.’
Perhaps you should tell that to a few British attendees of Scooterist Meltdown in February 2024.
Custom scooter builder Gary Dickenson took a van with five partially built engines to display for Gran Turismo at the show. These engines weren’t for sale, but that’s not what the Dutch customs officers believed.
As a result of going through the ‘nothing to declare’ lane Gary was first given a €250 fine, and held for four hours under arrest. The customs officers asked him to add up the value of the engines and he was then told to pay almost €3,000 in VAT immediately if he wanted to continue his journey.
Given that Gary couldn’t pay, it was eventually agreed that he would be allowed to leave as long as the bill was paid within 10 days. After the show, when leaving Holland, Gary stopped at the Dutch customs booth, where they recorded that all the engines were indeed being taken back to the UK, as he’d originally stated. Gary intends to appeal against the VAT bill.
VIDEO: Bananaman’s custom Vespa
Perhaps more pertinent for general scooterists is the situation of ‘Bananaman’ Darren from Leicester. He took his Banana-themed custom Vespa in his van, on the same ferry as Gary, to display in the custom show at Meltdown. He had the logbooks for the scooter and the van in his possession. Even so, the Dutch customs officers questioned whether the scooter was in the van to be taken for sale. Daz was held for over an hour while the customs officers decided what to do. They only released him when he showed a tattoo of his scooter on his leg to prove that it was his pride and joy, and not for sale.
Both of these circumstances were handled in a very heavy-handed way, but the information Gary was given was that, from the start of February this year, the Customs officers from the Netherlands were being instructed to operate on a zero-tolerance basis.
The fact is, both of these journeys were open to interpretation within the rules, and if the customs officers interpret the journey as having any commercial aspect, then there’s not a lot you can do about it.
The only sensible advice is to prepare correctly in the first place. For many leisure activities, this preparation can now be done at zero cost, but if there is a commercial or ‘active event participation’ aspect to your trip, then you may need to pay for an ‘ATA Carnet’. A carnet is a document that acts as a ‘passport’ for goods travelling across international borders.
The Rules Now
I spoke to Craig Carey-Clinch of the National Motorcyclists Council. The NMC operate as an umbrella organisation for almost all the UK riders’ rights groups; in terms of lobbying with the EU and British governments. They’ve been working on the issue, along with the Cabinet Office since 2021.
The NMC’s current advice as regards transporting motorcycles/scooters into the EU and vice-versa is available on this link, but I’ll summarise their advice – and what I’ve discovered myself – on a case-by-case basis below.
Not much has changed if you are riding over.
Riding to the EU on your scooter
This has actually got a little easier since immediately after Brexit. To begin with, UK motorists were expected to get a Green Card from their insurers to cover riding/driving in the EU, but because it was creating such an unworkable pain at the Irish/N.I. border, this requirement has been scrapped. Now you must simply have insurance for the countries you are visiting and a document to prove it. You should also carry the original of your vehicle logbook and driving licence.
As the UK was never in the Schengen free-movement area, this is largely the same as prior to Brexit. With the exception that Brits (and EU member state nationals visiting the UK) get a passport stamp, and are now only allowed to stay in the EU (or UK) for 90 out of every 180 days under the current rules.
Taking your scooter to the EU in a van or on a trailer for leisure use
This is where confusion reigned after Brexit; a situation which the NMC and others have helped to come to a compromise on.
The compromise, rather hilariously, is a sort of ‘verbal agreement form’. I realise that sounds like the sort of thing you’d get sent to the Post Office for as a naïve apprentice. That’s because we live in an increasingly absurd, Monty Python world.
What the verbal agreement form (available in a number of different languages) records, is your commitment that the scooter or bike you are carrying is only for leisure purposes in the EU, and not for sale or involved commercially in any sort of event. It’s a standard form across the EU.
With the form filled in on entry, the customs officers can check on exit of the EU that the bike was only temporarily imported for leisure use as stated. There is no fee for this form and as long as the customs officers have no reason to doubt your story, then everything should be fine.
This is actually a much simpler arrangement than international borders outside the EU; where time is spent at customs completing and registering various types of temporary import permits for bikes you’re riding and also those in vans.
You can find the forms on this link.
Craig additionally makes the following suggestion:
“You need a couple of copies of the form and a spare is a good idea. You may or may not get asked for it, but it’s worth completing in advance as the form is really simple and there’s no cost.”
Obviously, you must have the original log book with you (not a copy), not only for your car/van, but also for the scooter that you are carrying. You should also carry insurance and MoT certificates.
In reality, motoring document requirements have not changed post-Brexit. Even though many folks didn’t realise it, we’ve always needed to carry bike docs when travelling outside the UK.
You can read the current government advice here.
Taking a scooter to the EU in a van or on a trailer for leisure use for a friend
Let’s say, for instance, that you want to take four scooters to Europe for a ride with friends but there are only three seats in the van, so one of the group will fly out and meet you.
If the trip is purely for leisure then the ‘verbal agreement’ forms should suffice. All of the people travelling in the van must carry the logbook for their own scooter.
For the scooter whose rider is flying; the owner will need to supply the driver of the van with their logbook, a filled-in ‘verbal agreement form’ and also a signed letter of authorisation to carry their scooter on their behalf. The NMC advice covers the wording of this.
In theory, this should all go smoothly too, but it is far more open to interpretation by the customs officers. If they believe that the unaccompanied scooter is in fact going for sale in the EU, then it will be your job to persuade them otherwise. The more evidence you have that this is a scootering holiday (hotel bookings, flight details for the 4th rider etc) and not a sales trip, then the easier things are likely to run.
The regulations say that ‘personal effects and goods for sports purposes’ can be orally declared. Legislation is one thing. Interpretation is another.
Taking a scooter to the EU to race
This is where things have changed; though interpretation can vary depending on the border of entry. Again, scooter racing is an expensive hobby. There is no prize money, so really you are taking part in a sporting event at your own cost.
If, however, you were an intrinsic part of an event which drew paying spectators, or if you were asked by the organisers to attend and your bike becomes part of the organised event (paid or not), then a customs officer can decide that your trip comes under the rules for ATA Carnets. If your van is filled with brand-new race tyres for instance, then theoretically, you could be planning to use them, or you could be planning to sell them. If there are just a couple of spares, mounted to rims ready to fit, then that supports your argument that they are consumables and not for sale. If you have 10 new tyres still in wrapping then that’s a more difficult case to make.
Do you need a carnet?
If there is any commercial aspect to the trip, or you’re entering a race, exhibition, show or something similar (i.e. not just a paying punter visiting the event) then the bike you’re carrying and other relevant contents should be covered by an ATA Carnet; which is essentially a document covering temporary import and export of goods to the EU.
You will have to pay for an ATA Carnet, but if you have a large vehicle, then you can share the cost of the document with anyone with a scooter or goods inside the van. The carnet lasts up to a year and you can put multiple bikes on it, so if you need one, it pays to make the most of it.
Race vehicles are more of a problem at a border than ‘leisure scooters’. While every race scooter should still carry its chassis number, very few display a road-legal number plate. All race bikes should be accompanied by a vehicle logbook and covered by an ATA carnet. For a race team, the carnet should also include other contents of the van such as race leathers, helmets, tools and anything else that will be temporarily imported and exported to the EU.
British companies like Focussed Events, who take motorcycles to the EU for track days, use ATA Carnets to make sure that their lorries can move across borders without problems.
If all of this sounds like a massively unreasonable pain in the arse that will massively damage European sport; well that’s exactly what it is. This is a tit-for-tat situation which works just the same in the opposite direction.
However, this situation is not concrete. As an individual you may be able to carry a road-registered race scooter without an ATA carnet for personal sports use (i.e. track day use rather than entering a competition). It is possible that EU customs will accept an oral declaration.
The List of Goods Applicable to Oral and By Conduct Declarations, version 6, dated 11 December 2022 includes the following:
- Personal effects and goods for sports purposes
You could interpret that as covering the transport of racing scooters and scooter spare parts, but whether EU customs accept an oral declaration is up to the officers at the border. Sadly, it is highly likely that an unregistered race bike will be viewed as being transported to participate in an event and an ATA Carnet demanded.
You can read the current British government advice here.
The Gran Turismo engines displayed at Meltdown were incomplete and not ready to sell. This is a different situation to bringing goods to the EU for direct sale to customers.
Taking a scooter or scooter parts to the EU to display
If the customs officers determine that your presence within the function of an event constitutes an involvement with the show itself (not just a visitor), then they may judge that this is a trip with a ‘commercial’ element and not simply a leisure one. We all know that custom show entry is done for ‘the love’ and an opportunity to win a trophy, but border officers may interpret it differently.
In the case of Gary Dickenson taking the Gran Turismo engines to Scooterist Meltdown, an ATA Carnet would have formally evidenced the temporary entry and exit of goods to the EU. A carnet covers the entire contents of the transporting vehicle and costs upwards of £300.
There is an inclusion in the List of Goods Applicable to Oral and By Conduct Declarations, version 6, dated 11 December 2022 stating the following:
- Means of transport, as well as spare parts, accessories and equipment for those means of transport
You could interpret that as covering the transport of scooter spare parts, but whether EU customs accept an oral declaration is up to them.
However, Craig Carey-Clinch offers the following clarification:
“It’s important to note that a bike in a van, or on a trailer, under any circumstances ceases to be a ‘means of transport’ for the purposes of border customs. It is regarded as ‘goods’- hence the need for oral declaration for leisure use, or an ATA Carnet if displaying at shows, entering races etc. For spare parts, these will need to be just for the bike(s) you’re taking over, for use in the event of breakdowns etc while you are travelling on a tourism journey. If you’re displaying them at a show, you’ll need an ATA.”
You can read the current government advice here.
Taking scooter parts in a van to the EU to sell
This is really complex and way beyond the scope of this article, but essentially you will need proper import documentation and must pay any taxes and duties to do it legally, as this is effectively a full import for commercial activity scenario. There are so many hoops to jump through that for most traders it’s simply not feasible to take a retail stall to an EU event any more, so they have just abandoned the idea.
As a scooterist who could once have called upon the support of, for example, Andy Francis or the LCGB stalls for ‘get you home’ spares on European rallies, then Brexit has pretty much made that impossible. It is not financially viable to operate as we used to within the EU if you are required to catalogue every part in the van for an ATA Carnet.
The only people benefitting from this are customs paperwork facilitators or those who’ve sussed the system.
Bringing scooter parts back to the UK for yourself, or to sell
Most people realise that there are allowances for buying goods abroad and importing for personal use. Essentially it boils down to the fact that tax (VAT) needs to be paid somewhere; either when you bought it, or if you managed to buy it without VAT abroad, then the VAT needs paying to HMRC once in the UK.
What I only found out recently, when importing a large stock of my new Vespa Wideframe Manuals into the UK, is that you are allowed to import quite a large amount of commercial goods (for resale) either by hand or in a small vehicle and pre-declare the goods to HMRC online up to 5 days in advance.
All the details are on this web-page.
The limits for doing this are a value of up to £2,500 (at cost) as evidenced by a valid receipt, and up to 1,000kg in weight.
If you pre-declare your goods and add the registration of your vehicle (or flight number) then you can simply transit through the green ‘nothing to declare’ channel. HMRC supply a code to show if you get stopped at UK customs. It is then down to you to pay any duty (VAT) that is due on the goods you are carrying. In the case of the books that I brought back, these are zero-rated for VAT so there was nothing to pay.
Considering that I’d previously been told by certain shipping agents that I’d have to pay for documentation on both sides of the border to bring these goods back, I was quite happy to find this gem on the HMRC website.
While for my case, this all worked smoothly, for other cases, the situation is a bit more complex, as Marcus Broix explains:
“When entering the UK, you must pay UK VAT. Vice versa, when entering the EU with goods from the UK, then you must pay the VAT in the country of import.
When importing to the UK, duty is payable if the goods are not made in the EU and, vice versa, when importing to the EU duty is payable if the goods are not made in the UK. Goods with a net-value below £135 are exempt from duty.”
If you buy and bring back a whole scooter, this is a full vehicle import, which must be ‘notified’ within 14 days of arrival in the UK, via the Notification of Vehicle Arrival (NOVA) form and any VAT paid. The scooter can then be registered after that – a subject of a different article!
Like so much of the post-Brexit faff, there are ways and means of working around the bureaucracy but these are largely buried under mountains of conjecture and misinformation.
What can we do about this?
Not a lot to be honest. These are the rules as they currently stand and we just have to work around them. Our suggestion is simply to study the current advice from the National Motorcyclists Council and HMRC, and find out how that works for your usage situation.
With anything open to interpretation, yours may differ from the customs officer that stops you, so it’s your job to evidence anything you are saying to the best of your ability.
In the future, at busier times then it is simply not going to be feasible to stop and check such a large proportion of vehicles. Docks will just come to a standstill if they do. People with experience in post-Brexit trade expect that the current strict regime is intended to make a point and lead to articles just like this one. They also expect the regime to soften as time goes on, but there is no guarantee of that.
My advice, as petty as it seems, is to avoid anywhere painful. If the customs officers in the Netherlands are going to be petty in their interpretations of the rules, then travel via France or Spain, and vice versa.
Eventually, when certain ferry routes start to lose business because customs checks are too slow or too rigorous, then commercial reality will take over. It is not in anyone’s interest to kill trade or tourism on a particular route.
The UK has left the EU, but our islands have not left Europe. We still need to go there and they still need our tourism. The sooner we can get back to a sensible arrangement of trading and freedom of movement, the better for everyone. Until that time, you must just shrug your shoulders and flow around the obstacles like water.
Sticky
A comment from the Scooterists Meltdown organisers; Spirit of 84 Scooterists:
What many people do not know: The Scooterist Meltdown is something we do for fun. Our bread-and-butter job is fairly boring; we provide solutions to circumvent post-Brexit trade barriers.
As such, we’d like to contribute to this topic in two ways. Firstly, what happened this year?
Brexit is not done yet. There are still grace periods for measures to be phased in and for other schemes to be phased out (yes, the UK still receives EU funding, e.g., for certain types of farming). These are supposed to be completed by 2027. Checks for the latest big change were introduced on 1st Feb 2024. There was no indication for us to see that three years after Brexit came into force customs would set a warning example again. Most Meltdown traders travelled on the 2nd, so, unfortunately, they got the full impact of it.
Before that, cars and small vans were usually waved through. In addition, we provided all UK dealers with a letter saying that goods at the Scooterist Meltdown are for show only, not for sale. We make clear that this is not a legal document. But at least they have something in their hand that is free and might be helpful.
Marcus is up for offering scooter traders trade advice; just as soon as he’s finished ringing Carphone Whorehouse to complain about his latest handset upgrade…
What can you do?
We think the situation will revert to what it was, simply because no customs facilities on either side of the channel have the personnel on the ground to sustain this level of checks. However, this remains an assumption and, of course, you should prepare for your border crossing. For non-commercial purposes the oral agreement form should be sufficient. So, if you are a private individual simply produce one of these.
If you run a scooter business, then here is a thing: Are you looking for a solution for your UK-EU (and vice versa EU-UK) trade – regardless, if you take the goods yourself, ship them or seek a general trade solution? We would be happy to give you FREE advice. Whether this is about an ATA carnet or a complete strategy simply contact us via marcus@tradewitheurope.com. Please use the reference ‘Scooter Business’.
Marcus Broix
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Great artical Sticky /Iggy . i always ride My scooter abroad but interesting to read about the possible pitfalls of moving scooters about in vans. or taking goods out or into the uk
Managing the updated international border paperwork and securing valid insurance green cards is a crucial step for planning a smooth European scooter tour. Overlooking small details like mandatory country identifiers or safety vest regulations can lead to frustrating delays at remote border checkpoints. Personally, taking my two-wheeler across borders remains my favorite touring memory. Do you recommend carrying digital copies?