WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/133/Rev.1 
7 February 2008 
 
 (08-0587) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation 
 Original:   English 
 
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, 
THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA, RWANDA, SWITZERLAND, AND SWAZILAND 
 
Revision  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 7 February 20 08, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of the Former Yugos lav Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, 
Switzerland, and Swaziland.  
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TRANSIT – CONSOLIDATION OF TEXTUAL PROPOSALS IN  
TN/TF/W/113 AND TN/TF/W/119 
 
  
 This submission consolidates the textual proposals made in TN/TF/W/113
1 and 
TN/TF/W/1192 while deleting duplication between them.  It  is being circulated by the proponents to 
the Negotiating Group with a view to facilitating pr ogress in the negotiations.  The textual proposal 
does not intend to substitute, but comp lement the current GATT Article V. 
 
(a) Scope 
1. Definition of traffic in transit :  Goods (including those moved via fixed infrastructure, inter alia 
pipelines, baggage and the personal belongings of the person operating the means of transport), and 
means of transport, shall be deemed to be in tran sit across the territory of a Member when the passage 
across such territory is only a portion of a comp lete journey beginning a nd terminating beyond the 
frontier of the Member whose territory the traffic passe s.  Traffic of this nature is termed "traffic in 
transit" irrespective of  (i) trans-shipment, short-term  storage, breaking bulk, or change in the mode of 
transport, and  (ii) whether the goods or means of transport, after passing across a territory of a 
Member, return to the territory of a Member in which they originate or through which they have 
previously transited.  
2. Exception :  The provisions of this Agreement shall not apply to the operation of aircraft in 
transit, but shall apply to air tran sit of goods (including baggage). 
                                                      
1 Communication from Armenia, the European Co mmunities, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of  Macedonia, and the Republic of  Moldova of 6 June 2006. 
2 Communication from Mongolia, Rwanda, Paraguay and Switzerland of 7 June 2006. TN/TF/W/133/Rev.1 
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  (b) General and security exceptions 
3. Members recognize that the general and security exceptions provided for in GATT 
Articles XX and XXI shall be fully applicable.  
(c) Freedom of transit 
4. Freedom of transit and choice of routes and means of transport most convenient for 
international transit :  There shall be freedom of transit through the territory of each Member via the 
routes most convenient for international transit.  Only when it considers such a measure to be an 
important part of a measure taken in conformity with GATT Article XX or XXI, shall a Member:  
(i) require goods to follow a prescribed route;  or 
(ii) require goods to be transported under escort.   
No distinction shall be made which is based on the choice of means of transport, the flag of 
vessels, the place of origin, departure, entry, exit or  destination, or any circumstances relating to the 
ownership of goods or means of transport.  
(d) Non-discrimination 
5. National treatment :  With respect to all fees and charges imposed on or in connection with 
transit, including transportation charges, each Member shall accord to traffic in transit to or from the 
territory of any Member, treatment no less favourable  than that accorded to domestic goods, exports 
and imports, and their movement.  
6. Most-favoured-nation treatment :  Without prejudice to paragrap h 20, with respect to all laws, 
regulations, formalities and fees an d charges, including transportation charges, on or in connection with 
transit, each Member shall accord to traffic in tran sit to or from the territory of any other Member 
treatment no less favourable than the treatment accorded to tr affic in transit to or from any third country. 
7. Treatment following transit :  Each Member shall accord to pr oducts which have been in transit 
through the territory of any other Member treatment no  less favourable than that which would have been 
accorded to such products had they been transporte d from their place of origin to their destination 
without going through the territory of such other Member.  Any Member shall, however, be free to 
maintain its requirements of direct consignment exis ting on the date of the GATT 1994 in respect of any 
goods in regard to which such direct consignment is  a requisite condition of eligibility for entry of the 
goods at preferential rates of duty or has relation to the Member's pr escribed method of valuation for 
duty purposes.  
(e) Fees and charges 
8. Members shall exempt traffic in transit from all transit duties and other fees and charges 
imposed in respect of transit, except reasonabl e fees and charges for transportation or those 
commensurate with the administrative expenses entaile d by transit or with the cost of the service 
rendered.  Any transit fee and charge shall: 
- only be imposed for transit services provi ded directly linked to the specific 
transit movement in question;  
- not exceed the approximate cost of the transit service rendered;  and 
- not be calculated on an ad valorem basis.   TN/TF/W/133/Rev.1 
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  9. Publication :  Members shall publish information on a ll transit fees and charges.  This 
information shall include the reason for the transit fee or charge (the service provided), the responsible authority, the transit fees and charges th at will be applied, and when and how payment is 
to be made.  Members shall make this information re adily available to all interested parties and inform 
other Members where this information is available.  The information shall be published via an 
officially designated medium, and to the extent practicable, an official website.  
10. Prior publication :  Except in urgent circumstances and other limited exceptions, which are 
made public, Members shall accord an adequate ti me period between the publication of information 
on new or amended transit fees and charges and their entry into force.  
11. Periodic review :  Each Member shall periodically review its transit fees and charges to ensure 
that they are in line with WTO commitments and w ith a view to reducing their number and diversity, 
where appropriate.  
(f) Transparency 
12. Publication :  Members shall publish all transit formal ities and documentation requirements, and 
regional transit agreements or arrangements.  Memb ers shall make this information readily available 
to all interested parties and inform other Memb ers where this information is available.  The 
information shall be published via an officially d esignated medium, and to the extent practicable, an 
official website.  
13. Prior publication :  Except in urgent circumstances and other limited exceptions, which are 
made public, Members shall accord an adequate time period between the publication of new or 
amended transit formalities a nd documentation requirements and their entry into force. 
(g) Transit formalities and documentation requirements 
14. Any Member may require that traffic in trans it through its territory be entered at the proper 
customs office without prejudice to the other commitm ents on transit, but, except in cases of failure to 
comply with applicable laws and regulations, such tr affic in transit through their territory shall not be 
subject to any unnecessary delays or restrictions, inspections or controls and shall be granted 
expedited and simplified treatment at border crossi ng points, including sea, fl uvial and air ports or 
inland terminals as applicable. Such expe dited and simplified treatment implies, inter alia : 
(i) Special border crossing facilities for transit :  To the extent practicable, 
physically separate transit lanes shall be made available for traffic in transit.  
(ii) Formalities adjusted to the specificities of the goods in transit :  In designing 
and applying transit formalities and documentation requirements, Members 
shall take account of the inherent ch aracteristics of the goods concerned. 
(iii) Limited physical inspections of goods:  where goods not subject to restriction 
are placed under a transit procedure, Members shall use risk management techniques to enable any inspections to be targeted on the basis of the degree 
of risk attached to individual consignments. Furthermore, Members shall not 
apply quality controls or controls of compliance with technical standards. 
Unless such measures are necessary where there is a risk of contamination, 
Members shall not impose physical inspec tion on goods in transit. This shall 
not prevent Members from carrying out spot checks on the goods, based on 
risk management.  TN/TF/W/133/Rev.1 
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  (iv) Reducing the administrative bur den for traffic in transit:   Transit formalities 
and documentation requirements shall be  reasonable having regard to the 
conditions of transit, applied uniformly and be not more trade restrictive than 
necessary to permit the control of th e operation and to ensure that all 
requirements relating to the application of relevant law have been complied 
with.  For traffic in transit, Members shall provide for: 
- the processing of transit documents and data prior to the arrival of the 
 transiting consignment;  
-  the use, to the extent possibl e, of any commercial or transport 
 document setting out clearly the necessary particulars as the 
 descriptive part of transit declarations as a complement of the paper 
 based transit declarations;  
-  the establishment of a single window;  and 
 - the establishment of an authorised trader scheme with a view to grant 
 simplified treatment to traders with a good track record of  
 compliance with transit formalities and documentation requirements.  
(h) Bonded transit regime and guarantees / interna tional, regional or na tional customs guarantee 
system 
15. Members shall not impose
 cash guarantees to secure revenue in case of inland diversion of 
goods.  Where a Member operates a bonded transit system, this Member shall ensure that the guarantees required from transit operators are: 
- reasonable having regard to the conditions  of transit and the characteristics 
and the nature and value of the consig nment in question, and limited to the 
amount of customs debt or other charges which may be incurred in respect of the goods; 
- designed and applied on a regional or international basis to as great an extent 
as possible;  and 
- released promptly and in full after the completion of the transit operation.  
16. Guarantees shall be renewable for subsequent consignments on ce a previous one is proved to 
have reached its destination.  No fees and charges shall be imposed in relation to the use of bonded 
transport regimes and guarantees except for those di rectly related to the approximate cost of any 
service rendered.  
17. When a Member is satisfied that an obligation to its customs and other border agencies will 
be fulfilled it shall not require any guarantee.  
(i) Cooperation and coordination 
18. Amongst authorities :  Members shall ensure cooperation and coordination between all 
concerned authorities and agencies in their territory to facilitate traffic in transit.  Members shall 
ensure cooperation with other Members on issues of traffic in transit, including with regard to 
standardizing transit formalities and documenta tion requirements and coordinating operations of 
border crossings.  To this end, neighbouring Members shall, as far as  necessary, meet periodically to  TN/TF/W/133/Rev.1 
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  discuss and come to an understanding on the fees a nd charges, formalities, legal requirements and 
practical operation of transit regimes relating to goods moving in transit between them.  
19. Between authorities and the private sector :  Members shall provide opportunities for 
interested traders to comment on the transit regime  and its operation, including with regard to the 
introduction of new or amended transit fees and char ges, and transit formalities and documentation 
requirements, with a view to minimizing unnecessary delays and restrictions on traffic in transit.  
(j) Promotion of regional transit agreements or arrangements 
20. Members shall promote bilateral and regional tr ansit agreements or arrangements which are 
consistent with all other commitments on Trade Facilitation and with a view to reducing trade 
barriers. Members agree to cooperate and coordina te in designing and applyi ng bilateral and regional 
transit agreements or arrangements.  Members sha ll take full account of inte rnational standards and 
instruments when designing and applying those agreemen ts or arrangements. In particular, contracting 
parties to regional transit agreements or arrangements should agree on common, simplified 
documents, or electronic messages, that shall be aligned with internationa l standards.  Members 
involved in transit should allow the same set of documents or electronic messages to accompany the 
consignment from the country of departure to destin ation.  Furthermore, it is recommended that such 
agreements or arrangements go beyond customs matter s which are relevant in the context of transit, 
such as road and transport issues.  Members shall not enforce unilateral rules affecting traffic in transit 
which are not in accordance with the bilateral or re gional transit agreements or arrangements in which 
they participate.  Members participating in regiona l transit agreements or arrangements shall afford 
adequate opportunity for other interested Members to negotiate their accession to such an agreement 
or arrangement or to negotiate comparable ones with it.  
(k) Periodic review / Monitoring with a view to enhancing efficiency, transparency and 
predictability of the transit agreement or arrangement  
21. Periodic review :  Each Member shall periodically review its transit formalities and 
documentation requirements to ensure that they ar e in line with WTO commitments and with a view 
to consolidating them and reducing their impact  on trade.  Such reviews shall allow for the 
participation of all interested parties and, as appr opriate, may be held at a regional or international 
level.  
22. Monitoring:   Recognizing the importance of efficient implementation of such transit 
agreements or arrangements, the parties of such re gional agreements or arrangements are encouraged 
to incorporate measures relating to the monitoring of  transit into their agreements or arrangements. 
Such measures can foresee inter alia  the appointment of national tr ansit coordinators; performance 
indicators (e.g., target clearance times) or public private partnerships to manage and monitor the 
arrangement.  
(l) Special and differential treatment and technical assistance  
23. The co-sponsors propose that S&D treatment and TA&CB be taken forward through the 
development of a horizontal mechanism that would take account of the needs, priorities, and 
implementation capacities of developing and least-d eveloped Members in relation to commitments. 
Therein, special attention could be given to aspects of regional implementation of commitments. 
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