Considerations on COM(2009)587 - EC position concerning the proposal to amend the Customs Convention on the International Transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR Convention 1975)

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dossier COM(2009)587 - EC position concerning the proposal to amend the Customs Convention on the International Transport of goods under cover of ...
document COM(2009)587 EN
date October 29, 2009
 
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 Community by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2112/78 of 25 July 1978[1]and entered into force in the Community on 20 June 1983[2].

2. A consolidated version of the TIR Convention was published as Annex to Council Decision 2009/477/EC of 28 May 2009[3], according to which the Commission shall publish future amendments to the Convention in the Official Journal of the European Union indicating their of entry into force.

3. In June 2009 the UNECE Working Party on Customs Questions Affecting Transport decided that some modifications of the TIR Convention are necessary. These modifications concern Part I of Annex 9 to the TIR Convention, which deals with the process of authorisation for associations to issue TIR Carnets and to act as guarantor.

4. The proposed amendments do not change the substance of Part I of Annex 9 to the TIR Convention but reorganize it so that it is easier to understand and apply the authorization procedure for associations to issue TIR Carnets and to act as guarantor. Additionally, some new elements are added. One of them is open access to the TIR system for associations others than those representing the transport industry. Other amendments concern practical arrangements already in use but not prescribed by the legal text of the Convention.

5. All Member States expressed their positive opinion as regards the amendment proposal. The draft produced by the Working Party on Customs Questions Affecting Transport was already discussed within the Customs Code Committee and it was approved.

6. The next session of the Administrative Committee for the TIR Convention is scheduled for September 2009 and it is expected that all Contracting Parties to the Convention will be ready to formally adopt proposed amendments of the TIR Convention.

7. Therefore, the Community position concerning the proposed amendment should be determined.