Tall system also in Latvia - increasing of the costs of hauliers

Tall system will be launched also on Latvia´s roads at 1st July 2014. Latvia as one of the last EU countries will launch tall system on their roads. Latvian hauliers are expecting increasing of their costs about 5 % that must be added to their rates for the transport.

Latvian Government refers to the fact, that their country is one of the last countries of EU without tall system and surrounding country like Belarus launched the tall system in 2012, Russia is planning to launch the tall system in 2015 and also Ukrainian Government is negotiating tall system that should be launched in short future. Yield of the tall system should be used for improving of road infrastructure.

FCS RF EXTENDS ILLEGAL TIR RESTRICTIONS TO FINNISH-RUSSIAN BORDER

Based on information from the website of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation (FCS RF), TIR Carnets will no longer be accepted in the North-West region at the Finnish-Russian border (Customs office of Torfyanovka) as of 20 March 2014.

Transport operators travelling through this high-traffic border crossing point between Europe and Russia will now be obliged to purchase additional national guarantees. The IRU therefore strongly advises all transport operators driving to, from and across Russia, to use the IRU Recommendations for TIR Carnet Holders (EN ¦ RU) in case TIR Carnets are illegally refused by Russian Customs officers.

This additional illegal decision by the FCS RF is in direct violation of the TIR Convention, as well as several Court decisions rendered by the Supreme Arbitration Court of Russia. It also defies instructions from the Russian Government taken in relation to TIR in the past few months and constitutes another worrying sign for the business climate in Russia.

ILLEGALITY OF RUSSIAN RESTRICTIVE MEASURES ON TIR RECONFIRMED

Further to the recent decision by the Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation that allegations used by the Federal Customs Service of Russia (FCS RF) and its Chairman, to justify TIR restrictions on Russian territory, are inconsistent with reality and defamatory (case number A40-134939/2013PDF document), the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation on 24 February once again judged the FCS RF’s decisions and letters issued as from 14 October 2013 invalid, reconfirming the illegality of the restrictions on TIR imposed by the FCS RF (case number VAS-17458/2013). Further to this significant decision by the highest judicial body of Russia, the IRU has reiterated its appeal to President Putin to ensure that the Chairman of the FCS RF fully respects this decision and confirms the reinstatement of the full functioning of the TIR System for import, transit and export on the entire territory of the Russian Federation with immediate effect. Source: IRU website 26/2/2014

Toll system will darn holes in state budget of the Slovak Government and it should fund overcharged building of Slovak roads

Hauliers will pay more in toll system for using of Slovak roads. This obligation was revised by ministerial regulation Nr. 343/2013 Z.z. that is publishing new legs of highways, motorways and 1^st class road with electronically toll collection and by this regulation is extended the network of paid roads for about 25 kilometers. 

Moreover Slovak Parliament pass a new bill about tall collect for using of leg roads, that will be valid from the 1^st January 2014. This act of parliament together with referring regulations and directions will prepare the ground for phase in payment for the next legs of the roads 1^st class, 2^nd class and 3^rd class by electronically tall collect system. Although there will be on the new legs “in the meantime” only zero tax for using of the leg of the road. After data evaluation and obtaining of information we can await new ministerial regulation that will extend the network of paid roads again. The most exposed legs of roads will be paid soon.

There is also the new obligation for hauliers that all the trucks over 3,5 tons of gross vehicle weight must be compulsorily equipped OBU unit for data recording of the moving of the trucks on the roads by satellite toll collect system also in that case that they are not using paid legs of roads. It means that everyone movement of the truck over 3.5 tons will be carefully monitored. This rule means in the praxis that haulier have to invest 50 EUR for leasing of OBU unit and another 50 EUR for minimum compulsory credit.

I hope that after this regulations  the Slovak Government will have enough money that they can fund overcharged building of Slovak roads by the companies sponsoring the ruling party.

Prolongation of using of Carnets TIR in Russia untill 1st July 2014

By the information from IRU: The Federal Customs Service of Russia (FCS RF) has officially notified the Russian TIR guaranteeing association ASMAP about the extension of its agreement until 1 July 2014.

In line with the TIR Convention, Russian customs authorities must therefore continue to accept TIR Carnets at the Russian borders including after 1 December 2013.

Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation decided about finishing of the use of Carnet TIR in the Russian federation

Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic published on the internet portal the information that Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation (FCS RF) confirmed that they will finish process of abrogation of agreement about issuing and using of Carnet TIR between FCS RF and Association of the international road transpor carriers in Russia (ASMAP) up to date 1.12.2012. The reason of this is that the direction of FCS RF about acceptance actions for assurance customs transit of the goods and special insurance of transit goods on the territory of the Russian Federation issued at 14.10.2013 will come into force all over the territory of the Russian Federation.

Diplomatic mission in Moscow see as the best way for securing insurance of the goods in transit in the Russian Federation through the certified companies ( in so-called system custody, probably customs ticket something similar how it was in our country in the past) that are represented by certified companies.
These companies should secure customs services like this in full standard at the border checkpoint.

There are web pages of some companies.
http://www.payhd.ru/multiservisnaya-platejnaya-sistema/o-kompanii.htm,
http://www.customscard.ru/,
http://www.rosteck.ru/nashi_uslugi/transit/tarif/,
http://www.rostekbr.ru/14sept.php
http://www.rostekbr.ru/index.php

Electronic consignment note (e-CMR)

Delegate of CESMAD Slovakia Mgr. Juraj Kindl attended the meeting of juridical committee of IRU in Geneva by the information from magazine Kilometer. There were on the program also General conditions IRU for international road transport, the final document is visible in several languages on webpage IRU  http://www.iru.org.

There were also discussed multimodal transport and also mainly electronic consignment note. I would like to inform you about this:

Electronic consignment note (e-CMR) is used by the additional protocol to the Agreement CMR.

e-CMR is simplified – electronically agreed contract of carriage on the basis of electronic consignment note e-CMR that should be theoretically similar trustworthy as classical paper consignment note CMR.

e-CMR is used only in rare event up to now and there are many reasons why it is like this. The determining reason is that the additional protocol to the Agreement CMR was agreed and implemented to system of law only 7 countries: Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Czech Republic. e-CMR is most often used mainly in Benelux region. Company DSV normally use e-CMR in Denmark. Traditional critic is Germany by the way.

The next reason of limited use is nearly not existing suitable infrastructure of equipment for use of e-CMR (not only in business sector but also in state authority and organization), and it is mainly from financial point of view. This is typical also for Slovak Republic as was presented. There is no space for creation of other costs at the transport market of the most of all countries.

The next reason of limited use of e-CMR is impossibility of change of its content for example in case that there is some reservation from the driver. More over there is insufficient and at anytime possible access to the content of the e-CMR and also the process of electronic signature in the international point of view

It is supposed in the future that the use of e-CMR in practice will be more initiated or demanded by the biggest logistic companies and also by the biggest consignees of the goods (supermarkets) in spite of the fact that the additional protocol to the Agreement CMR will not be validated by the government of most of the countries. This assumption of the preferable use of by these subjects results of this that the administration processes are more and more in electronic form without the paper.

This tendency and the firs swallow from the use of e-CMR in our country confirm information from the portal eulogy.sk:

METRO Cash & Carry SR Is the first company in Slovakia that is using for stock receipts from the suppliers e-CMR in EDI format completed with the identification of the palettes through SSCC codes. They put this in the practice in pilot project in the communication with the company Henkel that was also the first supplier in Czech republic that use this communication. The professional guarantee of realization of this project became EDI provider and consolidator CCV CCV Informačné systémy

IRU wants to help with the creating of uniform infrastructure for e-CMR however meantime only on the basis of internet interface. They offer this possibility through application TIR-EPD and SafeTIR that are used for customs purpose TIR. These applications include also the data shown in consignment note and form the potential through the extension of these applications for possible though phased and voluntary universal use of e-CMR