The TIR Convention and transit issues 2nd OPERATIONAL MEETING OF THE PAM PANEL ON EXTERNAL TRADE AND INVESTMENTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN Geneva, 4 and 5 May 2011 The TIR Convention and transit issues

Customs transit: principles Goods are transported under Customs control from one Customs office to another in the same Customs territory or another Customs territory Without collecting the duties and taxes and without applying economic or commercial prohibitions or restrictions National or international Freedom of transit: Article V GATT

Importance of Customs transit A reliable and affordable Customs transit regime is a sine qua non for the competitiveness of national economy and economic growth. An effective transit system can bring benefits: Reduced waiting times and queues at borders and lower transport and trade transaction costs Transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory rules for all transport operators Increased efficiency of Customs authorities Better protection of Customs revenues

National transit Incoming, outgoing and through transit National guarantee system National specific transit declaration (or electronic messages) Many examples

Bilateral or regional transit Closed system between two or more countries Sometimes based on Customs union Avoid use of multiple national transit systems Common or mutually recognized guarantee systems Common Customs document (or electronic messages) Examples: Community and Common transit, NAFTA, Arab manifest, …

International or global transit Open to all interested countries Close collaboration between neighboring countries not required Internationally recognized guarantees Standards documents (or electronic messages) Examples: ATA and TIR

TIR Convention History: First Convention 1959, revision 1975 From 6 countries to 68 countries (operational: 57) Characteristics: Only operational global Customs transit procedure Also applicable in bilateral transit traffic Intermodal (trucks and containers) Based on public-private partnership (PPP)

Advantages Customs Authorities No physical inspection of goods in transit No national guarantee system No national Customs document Transport/Trade Industry Minimum of procedures at borders Reduced delays at borders No restriction in the modes of transport Lower transport and import/export costs

Number of TIR Carnets 3,253,800 2008 2,782,600 2000 748,600 1990 718,612 1980 790,035 1969 67,000 1959 TIR CARNETS ISSUED YEAR

Geographical scope Contracting Party where Convention is applied Contracting Party where Convention is not applied Potential Contracting Party

The TIR Customs transit procedure TIR Convention, 1975 5 pillars of the TIR system

eTIR: Current environment SafeTIR TIR-EPD National TIR Operation Transport sector Other Customs administrations Guarantee chain National Declaration Mechanism (Single Windows) ITDBonline Register of stamps and seals TIRExB (UNECE) To date, as a consequence of new requirements, various IT elements have already been introduced in the TIR system, such as the transmission of termination data from Customs offices of destination to the IRU SafeTIR system and the electronic submission of pre-departure or pre-arrival data in the EU and other countries. However, by and large, Customs continue to depend on the paper TIR Carnet for the management of TIR operations. 12

Fully computerized eTIR system TIR-EPD Transport sector Guarantee chain Other Customs administrations SafeTIR ? National TIR Operation e National Declaration Mechanism (Single Windows) The establishment of the eTIR international system remains crucial to the complete computerization of the TIR procedure as it allows Customs to exchange securely C2C information with each other and to manage the data on guarantees. It will offer the transport sector improved facilitation and will provide the guarantee chain the opportunity to supervise guarantees at all stages of the TIR transport. eTIR maximizes the benefits of the existing TIR tools, while providing electronic solutions for those aspects of the TIR procedure which still are paper based today. 13

Summary International intermodal Customs transit system (bilateral, inter-regional, intercontinental) Provides cost efficient Customs transit procedure and facilitation Ensures revenue protection through guarantee Boosts competitiveness & global integration Builds on Public/Private partnership model Enhances transit and supply chain security

Recommendations Accede to the TIR Convention and start its practical application, if not done yet Ensure its proper implementation Support and contribute to the computerization of the TIR procedure (eTIR project)

http://tir.unece.org