Geneva, 17 March 1999
ECE/TRANS/99/1
THE TIR
CONVENTION REVISED
The TIR Convention, which for
decades has facilitated international transit traffic of goods in
Europe, has been revised. With the objective of stopping the
abuses of the facilities provided by this important Customs
transit system committed by internationally organized crime in
recent years, the amendments introduced in the Convention, which
entered into force on 17 February 1999, will cut Customs fraud
through a careful selection of authorized TIR transport
operators, improved cooperation among all Customs authorities of
the States Parties to the Convention and other measures.
The TIR Convention is
administered by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UN/ECE), a Geneva based organization, and, at present, 62
countries are Parties to it. The Convention establishes Customs
transit procedures which provide for wide-ranging facilities for
international goods transport by road, allowing for unhindered
goods transport under Customs seal, based on an international
guarantee, from Norway to Iran and from Portugal to Kazakhstan
with only minimal Customs control at the borders. At present,
nearly 3 million TIR transport operations are registered per year
and it can be safely said that without the TIR regime the present
volumes of land transport and trade, particularly between
countries of the European Union and Eastern Europe, would not be
possible.
Like other Customs transit
regimes (such as those in the European Union), the TIR regime has
faced in recent years considerable difficulties as a result of
the activities of international organized crime which has abused
the facilities provided by the TIR Convention. Customs stamps
were falsified, false cargo declarations were lodged and
sometimes whole truck loads of sensitive goods (tobacco, liquor,
etc.) disappeared and were sold on the black markets. National
Customs authorities coping not only with smugglers and organized
crime, but also with decreasing budgets and, in some countries,
often with de-motivated and inexperienced personnel, have often
only limited possibilities to combat effectively such criminal
activities with all their consequences for State revenues.
The modifications that entered
into force restrict access to the TIR regime only to honest
transport operators who must be approved not only by their
national transport associations but also by the respective
national Customs authorities. Strict reliability criteria for
those national associations that are authorized to issue TIR
Carnets have also been introduced.
The new TIR regime also enhances
transparency of the international insurance system providing the
financial back-bone of the system covering Customs duties and
taxes at risk during transit. Furthermore, it provides a legal
basis for an on-line EDI control for each of the more than 8,000
TIR transport operations carried out per day. Such a control is
currently provided by the so-called SAFETIR system operated by
the International Road Transport Union (IRU). Further
improvements of this electronic control system are being planned
in close cooperation with the transport industry.
Finally, the amendments to the
Convention include the creation of a new inter-governmental
structure, the TIR Executive Board (TIRExB), whose main objective
is to coordinate better the activities of the national
Governments in this field. The newly established TIRExB will
monitor closely national administrative practices in the
application of the TIR regime and will supervise the
administration of the TIR Carnet system. The TIRExB will also
provide for a well functioning international mechanism
facilitating consultations between Customs authorities, the
transport industry and the insurance groups providing the
indispensable guarantee back-up for the TIR regime.
The following nine Government
officials have been elected by the TIR Administrative Committee
at its 26th session held in Geneva at the end of February by
secret ballot as members of the TIRExB for a two-year term:
Mr. G. Bauer (Switzerland); Mr. O. Beginin (Russian
Federation); Mr. R. Ehmcke (Germany); Mr. O. Fedorov
(Ukraine); Mrs. Y. Kasikçi (Turkey); Mr. Z. Lovric (Croatia);
Mr. J. Marques (European Community); Mr. M. Olszewski
(Poland); Mr. I. Parts (Estonia). The first constitutive session
of the TIRExB will be convened on 25 and 26 March 1999 in
Geneva.
It is expected that the new
TIRExB will address, on a priority basis, difficulties in the
application of the Convention in the Russian Federation in which
nearly one third of all TIR transport operations end or start.
Some of these difficulties stem from late and sometimes
incomplete information about new control measures introduced at
frequent intervals by the competent authorities of the Russian
Federation. Other difficulties are a result of differences in
interpretation of legal and administrative provisions of the
Convention, yet others arise from pending and to-date still
unresolved Customs claims against the national guaranteeing
association and the international insurance pool.
The TIRExB is also expected to
ensure an early re-introduction of guarantee or insurance
coverage for all transported commodities under the TIR regime. At
present, tobacco and alcohol cannot be transported under the TIR
regime and a number of other Asensitive@ goods are excluded on the territory of the
European Union. Full guarantee coverage for all cargoes and in
all countries is indispensable in order to reduce attempts of
false declaration of cargo and to provide for efficient and
cost-effective international transport of all commodities to be
traded among European countries.
Additional information
on the above issues may be obtained directly from
Mr. J. Capel Ferrer
Director, Transport
Division
or
Mr. Martin Magold
Chief, Border Crossing
Facilitation Section
Transport Division
United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10
Tel: (+41 22) 917 2453
Fax: (+41 22) 917 0039
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]