Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan introduce eTIR process in mutual trade for the first time 

Uzbekistan delivered the first batch of digitalized cargo to Azerbaijan. First, the goods, which had room for 4 containers, were delivered to Tashkent International Airport by truck, and from there to Baku by plane.

Thus, for the first time in the world, trade between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan was carried out through the new electronic system of “international road transport” with the international designation eTIR. The European Economic Commission has announced that “the digital era has begun in international cargo transportation”.

Improvement of transport is an important factor for the development of cooperation between Central Asia and the Caucasus. TIR – the single transit permit – was a practical implementation of this idea.

In 1975, under the auspices of the European Economic Commission, the UN “Customs Convention on the Carriage of Goods Using the International Road Transport Booklet” was adopted. The purpose of the convention was to create a cargo transportation system that simplifies the clearance of cargo crossing borders (this convention entered into force in Uzbekistan on March 28, 1996).

Implementation of the new rules became possible after many years of efforts of the Secretariat of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, aimed at the modernization of international transport and transit. The TIR Convention provides for an internationally recognized process to facilitate the transit of goods using a standard internationally recognized customs document, the TIR Booklet. However, with the advancement of technology, the use of printed TIR booklets became obsolete, especially after national customs administrations switched to electronic processes.

The implementation of the eTIR process became possible after the adoption of the 11th annex to the TIR Convention, which entered into force in May 2021. This annex regulates the eTIR process, including the placement and administration in the eTIR international system, clarifying the identity of the passbook holders, as well as the composition, functions and principles of the technical body for the introduction of eTIR.