India ratifies United Nations TIR Convention

Becomes the 71st country to come on board

India on Monday said it had ratified the United Nations TIR (Transports Internationaux Routiers) Convention, a move that would ensure a secured supply chain and boost trade.

The accession to the TIR Convention is part of India’s multi-modal transport strategy that aims to integrate the economy with global and regional production networks through better connectivity.

Managed and developed by International Road Transport Union (IRU), the world road transport organisation, TIR is the global standard for goods customs transit.

The decision had put India and its neighbours at the centre  of efforts to increase overland trade and regional integration across South Asia and beyond, fast-tracking the region’s potential to become a strategic trade hub, IRU said in a statement.

In March this year, Union Cabinet had given its approval to India’s accession to the Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) and for completion of necessary procedures for ratification, for its entry into force.

IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto said: “I am delighted to welcome India into the TIR family of nations. This is an important step in harmonising standards and boosting transport, trade and development across South Asia.”

“We look forward to working closely with the Indian government and business community as we turn our attention now to implementing the TIR system,” he added.

TIR will be critical in helping India implement the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, which it entered into this year.

Compliance with the Convention shall ensure enhanced security in the supply chain as only approved transporters and vehicles are allowed to operate in terms of the Convention.

The Convention will help Indian traders have access to fast, easy, reliable and hassle-free international system for movement of goods by road or multi-modal means across the territories of other contracting parties.

The Convention will also facilitate India’s current national and multilateral connectivity-related initiatives to improve cross-border road transport, facilitating overland trade integration with both eastern and western neighbours.

On the eastern front, it will help India integrate with Myanmar and Thailand, as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

On the western front, it will enable India to move cargo along the International North-South Transport Corridor via Chabahar port in Iran, to access landlocked Afghanistan and the energy-rich Eurasian region.

The TIR system secures customs duties and taxes and provides a robust guarantee mechanism, thereby reducing trade transaction costs, and facilitating higher growth of intra-regional and inter-regional trade.

Boris Blanche, Chief Operations Officer at IRU, explained: “India’s decision to implement the TIR system will have far-reaching benefits for trade and will save significant time and money by streamlining procedures at borders, reducing administration and cutting border waiting times.”

The United Nations has confirmed that the TIR Convention will come into force in India in six months and IRU will begin work with Indian partners on training, development and outreach efforts to facilitate prompt implementation.

The Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets, 1975 (TIR Convention), is an international transit system under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to facilitate the seamless movement of goods within and among the parties to the convention. At present, there are 70 parties to the convention, including the European Union.