IRU - Possibilities offered by the TIR procedure for future road freight transport from China

Conference Programme
"CONTRIBUTION OF THE TIR SYSTEM TO THE SECURITY OF TRADE AND TRANSPORT"

Conference Hall of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation (FCS RF)
1-a, Komsomolskaya Ploschad, Moscow
13-14 March 2007

Possibilities offered by the TIR procedure for future road freight transport from China

Saltanat Ermekkaliyeva, Deputy Secretary General, Union of International Road Carriers of the Republic of Kazakhstan (KazATO)

This year our organisation is celebrating its 13th anniversary. It was created by the national road transport companies which, in the early 90s, when the Republic of Kazakhstan became a sovereign nation, first began international road transport operations. In April 1995 KazATO became a Member of the International Road Transport Union (IRU).

On 12 May 1995 Kazakhstan acceded to the TIR Convention of 1975, as well as two other conventions and three European agreements regulating international transport operations.

In accordance with Article 6 of the TIR Convention, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan invested KazATO, by its Decree #1307 of 29 August 1997, with the functions of the issuing authority and guarantor under the TIR System.

In July 1995 KazATO and the Republic of Kazakhstan Customs Committee signed a Guaranteeing Agreement which provides for meticulous respect of the Customs Convention by the Parties. In 2000 it was renewed.

The past 13 years have allowed the national road carriers to consolidate their positions, to gain international recognition, and to establish business relations between KazATO and similar foreign associations.

As of 1 January 2007 KazATO unites 190 transport companies and individual operators, who operate a fleet of 3500 units.

KazATO began issuing TIR Carnets to transport operators as of 15 March 1996. In 2002 9,300 TIR Carnets were issued, in 2003 – 15,479, in 2004 – 18,864, in 2005 – 22,229, and in 2006 – 29,876. During the last five years the volume of road freight transport has increased by 3.5 times. National carriers currently operate in 39 European and Asian countries.

KazATO pays special attention to monitoring respect by national operators of the rules of operations under the TIR procedure. As early as 1999 KazATO joined the SafeTIR information system. The Republic of Kazakhstan Customs Committee, the IRU and KazATO signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding concerning collection, transfer, management and distribution of information on discharge of TIR Carnets at Customs posts of destination. In 2006 we transferred to Geneva the data on termination in Kazakhstan of 52,479 TIR operations performed by national and foreign operators. Out of this number Kazakhstan carriers performed 21,710 operations or 41.4 per cent of the total. Among foreign carriers operating in Kazakhstan the leaders are Turkish with 6,656 operations, Russian with 4,727 operations, Byelorussian with 4,324 operations, Lithuanian with 3,932 operations, Ukrainian with 3,624 operations, and Iranian with 1,066 operations.

No TIR Carnet is sent to Geneva without confirmation of the goods delivery through the SafeTIR System. The success of this control system depends to a great extent on the quality, quantity and timeliness of the data transferred by Customs authorities. If all the guaranteeing bodies use the system properly, that is entering the information on all discharged TIR carnets into the system in an expedient and regular fashion, it will be much easier to find the Carnets which are absent in the SafeTIR system. Thus the SafeTIR system could turn into a highly efficient reporting system. It plays the role of a whistle-blower.

In 2001 the average gap between the date of discharge and the date of data arrival to the IRU was 17 days, while in 2006 it was reduced to 10 days. The Advisory Board on Customs Policy under the RK CC decided to transfer the data via the SafeTIR System twice a week (previously once a week).

Since August 2006 the Customs Convention contains Annex 10 which proposes that Customs authorities transfer data via the SafeTIR System, possibly on a daily basis.

The real-time exchange of data on discharged TIR Carnets will certainly contribute to better risk management, and a sustainable and secure development of the TIR System, as well as development of trade and transport.

Kazakh operators have built up a solid experience of organizing transit freight operations from China to Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Iran. In 2006 six operations to Poland were performed.

China is not a Contracting Party to the TIR Convention and for this reason such operations are organized as follows. Chinese trucks bring goods to temporary storage facilities (in the Chinese territory) situated not far from the Chinese-Kazakhstan border. Kazakh trucks having Chinese permits enter China by five border crossings (Dostyk, Bakhty, Korgas, Kuljat and Maykapshagay), are loaded there and leave for Kazakhstan. At a Kazakhstan Customs post a TIR Carnet is opened. Kazakhstan Customs officers inspect and process goods on the basis of information declared by the operator in the TIR Carnet (cargo manifest), place Customs seals on the cargo compartment and make a note in the TIR Carnet. After that one page (white) is torn off and the corresponding counterfoil is filled. The TIR Carnet is returned to the operator who starts the transport operation. The Kazakhstan Customs point of exit checks the integrity of the Customs seals, tears off the second page (green) and fills in the corresponding counterfoil. After that the goods can be released abroad, the two filled-in counterfoils being a proof that the TIR operation in Kazakhstan was terminated.

In 2006 Chinese transit via Kazakhstan amounted to 100,000 tons. Kazakh operators made more than 5,000 truck rides (including 2,000 to Kyrgyzstan).

Operations to Afghanistan follow more or less the same pattern. Last year Kazakh operators made more than 150 truck rides to Afghanistan. Afghanistan does not apply the TIR System and for this reason the last action noted in the TIR Carnet is the exit from the Uzbekistan territory. Transportation in the Afghanistan territory is done according to the national Customs procedure. Goods are delivered to Mazar'i Sharif.

The transit of Chinese goods via Russian territory is regulated by the Order of the RF FCS # 01-06/15812 of 29.04.2004 on Enhancing Control of International Customs Transit (ICT) of Goods. Authorisations for and termination of ICT operations are to be approved by regional Customs directorates. This complicates transportation of Chinese goods, especially bearing in mind goods inspections at entry and exit points. Kazakh operators have to wait for several days to get an authorisation.

As to goods flows between China and the European Union, they are almost completely covered by sea transportation.

Recently the IRU has been paying a lot of attention to the revival of the Great Silk Road.

Trying to make the best use of its transit potential as well as further developing international road transport, Kazakhstan put forward a New Eurasian Land Transport Initiative (NELTI), a project for a "green" road transport corridor between China and European countries. The RK Government adopted a Decree of 20 June #633 to serve as a legal framework for this project. In September-October the caravan China-Astana-Moscow-Riga-Vilnius-Warsaw-Berlin-Brussels was organised in the framework of this project.

The overall pattern of goods transportation from China to Europe is dictated by economic practicality of door-to-door delivery. The route from China will pass via a logistic centre to be built at the Kazakhstan-China border and probably a second logistic centre in Europe (tentatively located in Latvia).

Implementation of this project would allow the shifting of a part of the freight from sea to road. In the near future this corridor should become a major land road transport route.

The RK Customs Committee is actively introducing modern technical tools of control in the area of road goods transport. Thus, an Automated Goods Delivery Control System (ASKDT) was developed and implemented at the Korgas and Korday Customs Offices and at the B.Konysbayeva Customs post. The system is designed to enhance the efficiency of Customs control of goods delivery and to exclude to the extent possible the "human factor".

At the point of entry to the RK Customs territory the vehicle passes through a control system which allows for automated plate number recognition and determines the vehicle's weight and dimensions. At the same time the lower part of the vehicle is inspected and a picture of the vehicle is taken. Upon completion of the Customs documents an electronic means of identification (a seal) is put on the vehicle. Only after that can the vehicle enter the territory of Kazakhstan.

Then the electronic seal starts sending to the control system information on the location en route of the vehicle under Customs control. When exiting the territory of Kazakhstan the vehicle undergoes a procedure similar to the entry procedure, after which the entry and the exit data are reconciled.

Use of the ASKDT system for Customs control purposes prevents eventual cases of exit falsification (fake transit) and gives an opportunity to discover a possible unauthorised unloading of the vehicle under Customs control. In addition the ASKDT equipment allows for round-the-clock video surveillance of the Customs zone both from the border-crossing point and from the Customs Committee premises.

At present in the post-Soviet countries there is no equipment similar to the ASKDT. The system was praised by a number of international organisations and foreign Customs experts.