I can’t think of many situations more stressful for a professional photographer than having your equipment confiscated by authorities when you’ve got a client shoot coming right up.
Well, that’s exactly what happened to British-based photographer and filmmaker, Jacob Zatorsky, who recently saw roughly £5,000 (approximately $6,500 / AU$9,500) of his equipment seized by Belgian customs officials, leaving him in a right pickle the day before a client gig.
In a viral video shared on Instagram, Zatorsky explained that, upon arrival in Brussels on a Eurostar train, an overzealous customs official singled him out before questioning him about his equipment.
According to Zatorsky, the customs officer had clocked his professional gear – which, when you watch the video, wasn’t hard, as the Polish-born filmmaker was essentially hauling a mini full production setup – and was especially interested in knowing whether he had an ATA carnet.
Above: listen to Jacob Zatorsky explain his ordeal at the Belgian border
You see, Zatorsky needed an ATA carnet – “ATA” standing for the combined French and English words “Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission” – to bring his expensive gear into Belgium from the UK.
That’s because an ATA carnet acts like a passport for goods, enabling you to take valuable equipment into participating countries without raising alarm bells with customs officials.
You apply for an ATA carnet through an authorized chamber of commerce in your home country before your trip, registering all the items of equipment you plan on taking with you.
The carnet lasts for a certain amount of time, usually a maximum of 12 months, depending on the country(ies) you plan on spending time in, by which all of the equipment you brought in must be taken out.
If ATA carnets weren’t a thing, then you’d be able to import and export expensive professional equipment to either sell or use for work, both of which would put money in your pocket, but none into the local government’s in the form of tax. And we all know how upset Mr. Taxman gets when done out of his cut.
Unfortunately for Zatorsky, this was the first he was hearing of the necessary document and, as he was carrying much more than the £5,000 of equipment that was ultimately seized, the customs official honed in on him like a heat-seeking missile.
Now, the annoying thing about ATA carnets is that, even if you're not intending on selling or using the equipment for professional work during your trip, you may still need to acquire one, and they’re not cheap.
The price varies between Chambers of Commerce and also depends on the total value of the equipment you want to cross borders with and the carnet duration you need. However, the London Chamber of Commerce, for example, charges over £600 (approximately $800 / AU$1,100) to issue one of the cheapest forms of ATA carnets.
Ouch! That’s a hefty price to pay if you’re a serious amateur who’s traveling with a couple of camera bodies and lenses, but with no intention of earning any money from them.
And don’t think that your own social media and YouTube channels aren’t included either. If these are monetized, even if you’re only earning pocket money from advertising revenue, you technically still need an ATA carnet.
What’s even more frustrating is that there are no hard and fast rules for when you need one. For example, a professional photographer taking £15,000 (approximately $20,000 / AU$28,000) of kit from the UK to the US to shoot an assignment and then bringing exactly that kit back to the UK is a textbook ATA situation.
Whereas, a prosumer taking a single camera body, three lenses, a drone, and a tripod, all within the same backpack, might be alright without an ATA carnet, despite that equipment potentially being valued at, say, £9,000 (approximately $12,000 / AU$17,000).
Essentially, if you’re temporarily taking expensive equipment out of a carnet-participating country into another, the kit is eligible for ATA treatment, and you plan on eventually exporting the goods back to your country of origin, then you might need a carnet.
But, whether you actually get asked to present the document during a border crossing ultimately comes down to just how obvious the amount of equipment you’re carrying is and how keen individual customs officials are to enforce the law.
It’s all headache-inducing stuff, but I don’t want to complain too much about ATA carnets. After all, I’ve never been asked for one while traveling with my Sony A7 III, Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD, Sony 24-105mm G Master, nor my FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master – and it’s unlikely you will if carrying a similar amount of equipment.
Plus, if people heading to another country to work a standard 9-5 job need a visa, then it makes sense that freelance filmmakers and photographers also need to pay for some sort of permission too.
In fairness to Zatorsky, he admitted being at fault for not having the carnet. Although, it’s still a hard pill to swallow…
In his video, the videographer didn’t clarify whether he was able to get hold of replacement equipment in time for his shoot, but he did say that he got his kit back when leaving Belgium with no problem. Phew!
I did reach out to Zatorsky, however, as I’d like to know what happened after his gear was seized and how he handled the situation with the client. No response yet, but I’m keen to hear back, as there could be some golden nuggets of advice for us all on how to handle last-minute commercial job blips.
In the meantime, if you use your camera gear professionally, or even have a serious-looking setup as an amateur, I recommend familiarizing yourself further with carnets to be on the safe side before any future trip.
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