WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/119 
7 June 2006 
 (06-2721) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM MONGOLIA, PARAGUAY, RWANDA,  
AND SWITZERLAND 
  
 The following communication, dated 2 June 2006, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegations of Mongolia, Paragua y, Rwanda, and Switzerland. 
 
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TRADE FACILITATION: IM PROVEMENT OF ELEMENTS RELATED TO TRANSIT 
  
1. Following-up with the joint communication TN /TF/W/39 by the dele gations of Rwanda, 
Paraguay and Switzerland, the following draft text is submitted for consideration by the Negotiating 
Group. This paper is without prejudice to the co -sponsors' position on transit proposal TN/TF/W/113, 
and should not be understood to be an alternative or in conflict with that proposal.  
2. The textual proposal is based on Part IV – common features – of the communication 
TN/TF/W/39 that were found to be common to most or  all bilateral, regional or international transit 
arrangements. We wish to recall that the proposed measures all strive to strike the right balance 
between legitimate safety/security concerns (including  the illegal diversion of goods into the domestic 
market) and the faster and more efficient movement of goods in transit. 
3. The proponents wish to underscore the high economic relevance of efficient transit 
procedures for landlocked Members, whose economic  growth has lagged as a consequence of their 
geographical situation. Thus, la ndlocked developing-country Member s hope that the transit issue 
receives particularly positive consid eration by the Negotiating Group. 
Textual proposal on the use of inte rnational trade facilitation standards
 
 
1. Special border crossing facilities for transit 
 Traffic in transit shall not be subject to an y unnecessary delays or restrictions and shall be 
granted expedited and simp lified treatment at border crossing points, including sea, fluvial and air 
ports or inland terminals as appli cable. As far as possible, physically separate transit lanes shall be 
made available for traffic in transit. 
 
2. Formalities adjusted to the specificities of the goods in transit 
 Members shall adapt the treatment of goods in transit to the expected degree and nature of the 
hazard, whether fiscal, sanitary or security related,  that can be derived from the characteristics of 
goods in transit. Categories such as "normal goods", "dangerous goods",  "perishable goods" and 
"sensitive goods" may be established at national level together with related procedures and shall be 
made publicly available. TN/TF/W/119 
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  3. Limited physical inspections of goods 
 Members shall limit physical inspections of goods  in transit to the case where circumstances 
may require them. Consignments secured by customs seals shall not as a general rule be subjected to 
customs examination. No quality control and no  veterinary, medicosanitary or phytosanitary 
inspection shall be imposed on goods in transit, excep t in cases where risks have been identified. This 
shall not prevent customs from carrying out spot  checks on the goods, based on risk management. 
Only when customs consider such measure indispen sable in relation with the characteristics of the 
goods as referred in Article [2] shall they (i) require goods to follow a prescribed itinerary; or (ii) require goods to be conveyed under customs escort su rveillance. Normally customs shall not impose 
such treatment to sealed consignments confor ming with the national regulatory requirements.
1 
 
4. Common customs documentation and procedures 
 For goods entering a Member under custom s transit procedure, Members should accept 
commercially available information, including as part of transit declarations. Contracting parties to 
regional transit agreements or arrangements should agree on common,  simplified documents that are 
aligned with international standards. In both cases, Members involved in transit shall allow the same 
set of documents to accompany the consignment fro m the country of departure to destination. 
 
5. International, regional or national customs guarantee system2 
 In order to avoid provisional taxation while  securing revenue in case of inland diversion of 
goods, Members shall operate bonded tr ansport regimes that allow the transit of goods through the 
territory Members without payment of customs duties,  taxes or other charges subject to the provision 
of an appropriate guarantee. Members shall ensure that guarantees required form transit operators are 
(i) reasonable having regard to the conditions of tr ansit and the characteristics and the value of the 
consignment, and limited to the amount of customs debt or other charges which may be incurred in 
respect of the goods; (ii) designed and applied on a re gional or international basis to as great an extent 
as possible; and (iii) released promptly and in full  after the completion of the transit operation. 
Guarantees shall be renewable fo r subsequent consignments once a previous one is proved to have 
reached its destination.   
6. Promotion of regional transi t agreements or arrangements
3 
 Members shall promote bilateral and regional transit 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 international standards and 
instruments when designing and applying those agreem ents or arrangements. It is recommended that 
such agreements or arrangements go beyond customs matters which are relevant in the context of 
transit, such as road and transport issues. Members sh all not enforce unilateral rules affecting traffic in 
transit which are not in accordance with the bilatera l or regional transit agreem ents or arrangements in 
which they participate. Members participating in regional transit agreements or arrangements shall 
give positive consideration to reasoned requests to participate by other Members who meet the 
requisite participation criteria. 
                                                      
1 Members shall consider using Annex E, Standard 3 of the Revised Kyoto Convention as the basis for 
the national requirements on seals and fastening. 
2  This text is an almost identical copy of the text contained in TN/TF/W/113. 
3  This text is an almost identical copy of the text contained in TN/TF/W/113.  TN/TF/W/119 
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  7. Monitoring with a view to enhancing efficiency, transparency and predictability of the 
transit agreement or arrangement 
 Recognizing the importance of efficient impl ementation of such transit agreements or 
arrangements, the parties of such regional agreemen ts 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 transit coor dinators; performance indicators (e.g., 
target clearance times) or public private partners hips to manage and monitor the arrangement.  
 
8. Use of international standards 
 Members should give careful consideration to  the possibility of acceding to international 
instruments relating to Customs transit4. Alternatively, they shall cons ider, when drawing up bilateral 
or regional agreements with a view to setting up international Customs transit procedure, the 
Standards and Recommended Practices of the Specifi c Annex E of the Revised Kyoto Convention. 
 Elements on which substantive discussion has taken place in the NGTF on a horizontal basis
 
4. Special and differential treatment, tec hnical assistance and capacity building : The co-
sponsors propose that these issues be taken forward through through the deve lopment of a horizontal 
mechanism that would, among others, take full account  of the needs, priorities, cost concerns and 
implementation capacities of developing and least developed Members in relation to commitments. A number of relevant submissions on this issue have been made to the Negotiating Group, one of which 
contained a textual proposal. Such textual proposals shoul d continue to be developed in parallel to the 
textual proposal set out above. 
5. Because of the important regional component of transit regimes and their importance to 
landlocked Members, special attention should  be devoted to regionally synchronized 
implementation and coordinated development c ooperation programs, including training of 
officials.  
 
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4 E.g., the UN TIR Convention or equivalent.