According to the Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken by the Community concerning the proposal to amend the customs Convention on the International Transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR Convention 1975), as published on December 19th, the Commission supports the proposal to change the amount which may be claimed for each TIR Carnet from 50,000USD to 60,000€.

The purpose of the proposed Decision is to amend the Explanatory Note to Article 8.3 of the TIR Convention. This amendment concerns the recommended guarantee level for the TIR Carnet.

In October 2008 the Working Party on Customs Questions Affecting Transport and the Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention decided that the recommended amount which may be claimed for each TIR Carnet should be changed from 50,000USD to 60,000€.

The concerns expressed by some Contracting Parties to the Convention regarding the present recommended guarantee level for TIR transports are mainly based on the fact that  current exchange rates and prices are different than those applicable in 1975 and that they therefore have to apply additional control measures, like customs escorts or financial securities.

In order to avoid such additional measures and problems an amendment of the Explanatory Note 0.8.3 was proposed. This proposal was discussed by the Working Party on Customs Questions Affecting Transport and the Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention and no objections were raised.

In this sense, given that  Community legislation already applies the recommended amount of 60,000€, the proposed amendment has no effect on the Community.

TIR Convention and TIR Carnets guarantees

The TIR Convention is administrated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) based in Geneva. The Convention established a customs transit procedure for the international movement of goods by road and enables goods, which are under customs and tax suspension, to cross international borders with a minimum of intervention en route by the customs authorities.

By easing traditional impediments to the international movement of goods, the TIR system encourages the development of international trade. By reducing delays in transit, it enables significant economies to be made in transport costs.

The most important advantage of the system is the fact that the TIR Convention provides, through its international guarantee chain, relatively simple access to the required guarantees. The TIR Carnets is not only a transit declaration but also a guarantee proof.