There are several things to consider that made it a little easier for our son, Will Atha, to ship his KTM Adventure bike out of Brazil and back to the USA after an overland trip earlier this year.
Factor #1: His mother lives in Brazil and loves to research things on the internet, and she was able to make many of the payments necessary through a Brazilian bank app system called Pix.
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| the mother who lives in Brazil |
Factor #3: We found a really nice and friendly freight broker in Eliane Ramos of Cargo Line. Without her none of this would have been possible. We mostly communicated with WhatsApp. If you don't have that app on your phone, it is essential for messaging in Brazil.
If you do not have dual citizenship, read on and see the items needed, and perhaps our agent can still help you. We are working with her to streamline the process and make it simpler others.
Step #1 GATHER YOUR DOCUMENTS:
- Brazilian Temporary Import Permit
- Copy of passport
- Copy of motorcycle registration
- Proof of purchase receipt (You probably won't have this on hand during a land voyage, but it you just happen to have one it could go a long ways to help the document process.)
- Safety Data Sheet for your motorcycle make and model (This can be made up for you at a small cost. Be easier to just have one. Some can be found on model's websites.)
- Purge Certificate (Link for a model form: Purge Certificate. We'll talk more about purging your motorcycle to meet air cargo regulations in just a bit.)
Step #2 CHOOSE AN IMPORT/EXPORT BROKER:
We went with Cargo Line Logistics out of Salvador, Brazil. Our actual agent was Eliane Ramos. Although this group had never exported a motorcycle by air freight, they went above and beyond to make it work. And yes, it is considered to be an "export" of sorts. Cargo Line also does maritime container shipping and has dealt with vehicles in that area. We did not consider sending the motorcycle by sea as the costs were higher. Contact information: Cargo Line Comex
Step #3 TAKE YOUR MOTORCYCLE TO SALVADOR, BAHIA
In Salvador you will need to be prepared to spend a day to prep your motorcycle for travel. All fuel and oil will need to be removed. We were even asked to remove the fuel pump. The battery will need to be disconnected and left behind. You will need to sign and date the Purge Certificate. (Later air will be removed from tires as well.) Purge Certificate Model
We were able to sign documents via a website for Brazilian citizens. (Gov.br) Non-Brazilians will have to sign documents at a notary public (cartório). I believe you can do this in person while in Salvador. You will have to also sign a temporary power of attorney to give Cargo Line the ability to deal with all the little bitty government ditties that will come up in the process of getting the motorcycle to the only airport that takes large and heavy items - GRU in São Paulo.
William was able to do the purge himself at the home of Eliane Ramos. If mechanical care of your own bike is not your thing, she can indicate a local to help with the process. Eliane also allowed the bike to stay at her house for free instead of a warehouse which would have cost more money for us.
Step #4 GO TO THE BEACH FOR A FEW DAYS
Don't leave the country yet. Stick around for a few days to make sure everything is set with the airline. Will did not have time to wait. His mama took care of all the crazy stuff that came up as the agent found out what all was needed to make all this happen. Maybe she/me should have gone to the beach! It was quite the process. The agent spent days and days trying to find a viable airline that was willing to accept the motorcycle. We actually had to hire a second logistic company with known shipper status with Delta Cargo to get shipping permissions handled. We hope this will be easier for the next person wanting to ship with Cargo Line. We have also talked to Eliane about shipping directly out of their São Paulo office and avoiding the truck cost we had.
Our agent hired land transport company (a freight truck) to get the motorcycle from Salvador to GRU. The transportation company took care of wrapping and prepping the bike for shipment. It had to be wrapped with non-flammable film and tethered to a non-wooden frame. We had hoped to use a plastic pallet base, but in the end a metal stand was made. Why not wooden crates? Wood from Brazil cannot be used in shipment due to pest concerns. Only specially treated wood can be even considered and is often rejected as an option.
Step #5 PAY UP
Since our agent had never actually shipped a motorcycle to another country by air freight, she wasn't sure how much things would cost. She was able to provide a rough estimate for the air freight, land shipping and her own fees. There were quite a few things that just came up as we went along. Most we paid individually as needed. We were able to use PIX (a digital form of money transfer here in Brazil) and an international bank transfer for the air freight. Most likely our agent friend will have to reconsider this part of the process to include non-residents that will not have access to PIX. I plan to suggest a sort of retainer to cover all expenses with reimbursement of funds not used at the end.
Here's a complete list of all that we paid out:
LAND EXPENSES
- BR$2500,00 truck transportation SSA - GRU
- BR$650,00 safety data sheet
- BR$2800,00 materials for shipping
- BR$1237,40 agent fee SSA
- BR$200,00 assistants to load motorcycle in SSA
- BR$754,00 agent fee GRU Total of R$8141,80 or around US$1521.00
PLUS AIR FREIGHT COST WITH DELTA CARGO US$2,297.00 + $100.00 import fee
Total costs for us were around US$3918.00
OBSERVATIONS:
The whole process of negotiations, delivery of the motorcycle to the agent in Salvador and actually receiving the motorcycle in the USA took around ten weeks from start to finish. This process could be greatly reduced with the knowledge our agent gained with us as her first "guinea pigs."
Payments that we made little by little could be streamlined into fewer and there is the possibility of using international bank drafts instead of the Brazilian PIX digital money transfer system and one large retainer payment.
Obtaining a safety data sheet yourself for your motorcycle make and model would save some money. It was needed for the shipment, and we opted to have a professional work it up.
One big delay we suffered was a misunderstanding between Delta Cargo and the freight agents over what a Purge Certificate really was. This confusion took over three weeks to resolve and was discovered after hours of research by yours truly - me. This was unfortunate, but now we all know making it easier for the future client.
Another small problem we had was making a change to our original Delta Cargo reservation. We needed to modify the final destination to DTW Detroit. Our motorcycle almost got sent off to DFW which is Dallas. Check and recheck and then check again is all I can say. There is a list of cities served by Delta Cargo. Shipments only go in to major airports served by direct flights of our GRU São Paulo. From the major hubs, Delta will send your motorcycle by truck to designated airports. You can check the list and find an airport closest to you. Delta Cargo Locations
It should also be noted that you do not need a customs broker in the USA to get your motorcycle out of customs. It is an easy process. With your Air Way Bill (AWB) number, you can easily access your booking on Delta Cargo's website. From there you can see information for the destination airport. Go to the nearest customs office first and take all your documents. Ask for assistance reminding them you left the USA by land and are returning with USA goods. You will not need to pay any duties, but may have to pay storage fees if you leave the motorcycle for too long after arrival. If you are not American and your motorcycle is also not registered in the USA, that's a whole other situation.
Safe and sound in Detroit after a 44 day wait.
You will need a customs broker in the United States if you are not an American and your motorcycle is not licensed and registered in the USA.
Were the grief and extensive research and constant messages with our agent worth all the hours and weeks of trouble? Yes and no. It allowed us an extra week of time with our son in Brazil instead of driving to Argentina where shipping would have been easier.
Please feel free to ask questions, and I will help as much as I can if you choose to ship out of Brazil to the USA.
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