India's joining the UN TIR Convention has helped Indian exporters: Customs & Export Promotion Official

New Delhi, 21st July, 2018

Customs & Export Promotion Commissioner Amitabh Kumar has said that India's joining of United Nations TIR Convention has helped Indian exporters in international trade.

Addressing a two-day Training Programme on TIR system organized by FICCI in association with CBIC and the International Road Transport Union (IRU), Geneva on 19-20 July, Amitabh Kumar said TIR will help Indian traders to 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.

TIR is the only global customs transit system for moving goods across international borders. Supporting trade and development for more than 61 years, it is governed by the United Nations TIR Convention, overseen by the United Nations Economic Commission (UNECE), and managed by IRU.

One of the most successful international transport conventions, TIR makes border crossings faster, more secure and more efficient, reducing transport costs, and boosting trade and development.

India acceded to the United Nations TIR Convention on 15th June 2017 - the Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets.

Tatiana Rey-Bellet, Head-TTS Implemenation, IRU said that the major milestone-successful TIR admission audit of FICCI conducted this week by IRU Audit Commission, opens the way to the first TIR operations, which will facilitate trade exchange between India and its major trade partners.

Nirankar Saxena, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI mentioned that given the significance of TIR in boosting regional connectivity, and India's accession to the convention, it is recommended for other BBIN countries to opt for TIR to improve the effective transit procedures among the four countries and by connecting the BBIN region to other world markets.

It is expected TIR will be a boon to India's trade and aims to integrate the economy with global and regional production networks through better connectivity.

It can be an instrument for movement of goods along the International "North-South" Transport (INSTC) Corridor via Chabahar port in Iran, to access landlocked Afghanistan and the Eurasian region. India plans to export its first cargo on TIR soon.