E- TIR pilot success between Iran and Turkey
Two pilot transports performed with digital procedures have brought the next generation of TIR one step closer to reality.
Geneva – Two eTIR pilot transports, using fully digital TIR processes, were successfully completed for the first time ever earlier this month. Now proven, eTIR is ready for full implementation, set to reduce international transit costs and increase security.
Crossing the Bazargan-Gurbulak border between Iran and Turkey in both directions, the two shipments passed all border and customs formalities, replacing the usual paper-based procedures with digital data exchange between transport operators, customs authorities, the TIR System guaranteeing organisations and the UN. The pilot was conducted between 27 November and 4 December.
The project was led by the Turkish and Iranian customs authorities, two pioneer volunteer transport operators and the two countries’ respective TIR Guaranteeing Associations, ICCIMA and TOBB, working together with IRU and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
“These successful pilots mean that the promise of a paperless TIR System, and the benefits it will bring to international trade facilitation and security, are closer than ever before,” said Umberto de Pretto, IRU Secretary General.
Designed for low-cost implementation, eTIR needs only minor adjustments to existing national customs systems, transport operators and national Guaranteeing Associations.
The new eTIR system allows customs to receive declaration information from the transport operator in advance to allow them to run risk assessments and ultimately speed up border transits, reducing costs. Guarantees can also be ordered on-line, avoiding paper-based processing and saving additional time and money.
As all relevant TIR stakeholders can monitor TIR transports on-line, and the guarantee status is received directly from the guarantor, security of the TIR System is also significantly enhanced.
One of the UN’s oldest and most successful private-public partnerships, TIR dates to 1949 and, with ongoing innovation through the decades, now facilitates millions of transits every year, helping boost trade, development and prosperity.