From October 25 to 27, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10) organised a technical assistance mission in the form of a meeting on analysis of the current customs legislation in the transit area, gathering experts from the European Union member states and Turkmen national experts in the development of a national transit declaration/control system.

The mission assisted the State Customs Service in Turkmenistan with reviewing the existing national transit system, in applying the Transit Internationaux Routier (TIR) Convention, identifying needs for improvement in legislation and relevant administrative instructions on transit areas, and developing recommendations for its further improvement. The Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention, 1975) is considered to be one of the most successful international transport conventions, and is so far the only universal customs transit system in existence. To date, it has 77 Contracting Parties, including the European Union. 

To facilitate and accelerate customs controls, risk analysis and guarantee controls, there is a requirement for a computerised transit procedure by making transit data available to customs services in digital form, as well as by ensuring electronic exchange of information between customs authorities and business operators. It is essential to harmonise the national legal frameworks with the international legislative acts, including the TIR Convention, ATA Convention, and WCO standards on the way to a modern and efficient transit control system.

One of the most important measures is the introduction of electronic exchange of information between the customs authorities of Central Asia, to enhance cooperation between the countries in the areas of international movements of goods, rapid border crossings and smooth customs controls. Harmonisation of national legislative acts is the key step to ensuring digitalisation and automation of customs processes.

Upon completion of this technical assistance mission, the experts will provide recommendations on concrete actions, based on the findings of analysis of relevant primary/secondary legislative acts, and the relevant administrative instructions on transit regimes, as applied in Turkmenistan.

This activity continues a series of national activities in the region – similar workshops were implemented in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.