The TIR Convention

The Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention, 1975) was elaborated under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

It has its origins in two draft UNECE Conventions – on commercial vehicles and on goods transport by road – which entered into force on 16 June 1949 but were of a provisional nature and covered only a small number of European countries. Under the provisions of these two texts alone road vehicles could already be imported temporarily under cover of the carnet de passages en douane and/or the triptyque.

However, as regards goods in transit, a way had to be found to seal the goods in order to apply the transit bond-note system to transport operations and to enable the Customs formalities applicable to imported goods to take place at destination rather than at the border.

The solution was found by using approved vehicles which were effectively sealed and by using the TIR Carnet, equivalent to the carnet de passage en douane required for road vehicles.

The provisional agreement of 1949 was so successful that, further to recommendations by the IRU, 17 countries signed the TIR Convention of 1959 drawn up by the UNECE Inland Transport Committee which, by introducing exemption from duty on imported vehicles, had established that goods carried under seal and in approved vehicles should not be subject to payment of Customs duties or to Customs checks.  Today, the TIR Convention has 68 Contracting Parties worldwide.

The TIR Convention was revised in 1975 taking into consideration the technological progress and the experience in the operation of the system. Indeed, a new method of transport had emerged with the sea container, followed by the inland container and swap-body to facilitate rail-road combined transport.

Since its entry into force in 1978, the TIR Convention of 1975 has been updated over 20 times. The most recent amendments came into force on 12 August 2006 with the addition of Annex 10, regarding the electronic control system for TIR Carnets commonly known as SafeTIR.