Considerations on COM(2017)408 - EU position as regards the proposal to amend the Customs Convention on the international transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets

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dossier COM(2017)408 - EU position as regards the proposal to amend the Customs Convention on the international transport of goods under cover of ...
document COM(2017)408 EN
date August  8, 2017
 
(1) The Customs Convention on the International Transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (‘TIR Convention’) of 14 November 1975 was approved on behalf of the European Economic Community by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2112/78 2 and entered into force in the Community on 20 June 1983 3 .

(2) A consolidated version of the TIR Convention was published as an Annex to Council Decision 2009/477/EC 4 , according to which the Commission is to publish future amendments to the TIR Convention in the Official Journal of the European Union indicating their date of entry into force.

(3) It is necessary to broaden the scope of the provision of Article 1 (q) of the TIR Convention to allow other authorities than customs authorities to authorise an association to act as guarantor for persons using the TIR procedure. Such flexibility is necessary due to the different administrative arrangements that exist in various Contracting Parties.

(4) The word frontier currently used in Article 2 of the TIR Convention may lead to different interpretations. The text of Article 2 should be amended to specify that the word frontier refers to a customs frontier.

(5) For the sake of creating consistency in terminology applied throughout the TIR Convention the term approved shall be replaced by authorised and the words Contracting Parties by each Contracting Party.

(6) An amendment to Article 11, paragraph 3 of the TIR Convention will shorten the period at the end of which a claim for payment of the sum referred to in Article 8, paragraph 1 of the TIR Convention may be made against a guaranteeing association. The Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention consulted that proposal with the International Road Transport Union (IRU), which is the international organisation referred to in Article 6 of the TIR Convention authorised to take responsibility for the effective organisation and functioning of the international guarantee system. The IRU confirmed that the shortening of that period is not likely to have any operational impacts on the functioning of the TIR guarantee chain. The proposed shortening from three to one month is likely to make the procedure more efficient and will not prevent the customs administration from submitting their claims at a later date.

(7) Apart from a serious offence against the customs laws or regulations applicable to the international transport of goods, also a repeated offence against those laws or regulations may be a reason for a temporary or permanent exclusion of a TIR carnet holder from the TIR regime in accordance with Article 38, paragraph 1 of the TIR Convention. That Article should explicitly clarify that the Contracting Parties decide on the criteria to define the degree of seriousness of an offence. That amendment is designed to eliminate the ambiguity as to whether any discretion is given to the Contracting Parties in that respect, or not.

(8) In order to align the text of the TIR Convention with the increase in the maximum amount per TIR carnet by the guarantee chain, Annex 6 to the TIR Convention should be amended to refer to EUR 100 000 rather than USD 50 000.

(9) Amendments to Annex 6, Article 1 bis of Annex 8 and paragraph 2 of Part III of Annex 9 to the TIR Convention are to increase the transparency of the financial issues related to the functioning of the IRU, the international organisation authorised to take responsibility for the effective organisation and functioning of the international guarantee system. The amendment to Annex 9 to the TIR Convention is to set new rules on audit requirements as well as conditions and requirements for an authorised international organisation with the aim to ensure transparency and good governance of the relevant records and accounts and for the printing and distribution of TIR carnets. The amendments to Article 1 bis of Annex 8 to the TIR Convention are to introduce a requirement for the annual financial statements and audit reports submitted by the authorised international organisation in accordance with the obligations under Annex 9, Part III to the TIR Convention to be examined or even verified by the Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee is to be given the right to request additional examinations if justified on the basis of risk assessment. The amendment to Annex 6 to the TIR Convention is to specify how the additional examinations are to be performed.

(10) An amendment to Annex 9, Part I, subtitle and Annex 9, Part I, paragraph 1 to the TIR Convention to add the word minimum is to eliminate the inconsistent use of the expressions conditions and requirements and minimum conditions and requirements in Article 6 and Annex 9 to the TIR Convention.

(11) All Member States of the Union expressed their positive opinion as regards the proposed amendments within the Customs Expert Group – TIR and other UNECE Conventions.

(12) The next session of the Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention, during which the proposed amendments are to be presented for adoption, is scheduled for October 2017.

(13) The position to be adopted on behalf of the Union within the Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention should therefore be based on the draft amendments attached to this Decision.