Clearing transit cargo: documents and security

Goods that only pass through the country are not cleared under import rules. But this is no document-free passage: they stay under customs control, and the risk is an undischarged procedure.

Transit and how it differs from import

Transit is a separate customs procedure: goods move under supervision between two customs offices. There is no release, so import stages do not apply.

international transit — foreign goods move without customs duty, VAT or excise and without trade policy measures;
internal transit — domestic goods move under supervision between two points in the customs territory, with no change of status;
both forms are possible only with customs authorisation.

The route sets the documentary regime

The country sits where the East–West and North–South corridors cross: the port of Alat, the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars line. Each leg has its own transport document.

Every transhipment in multimodal carriage requires customs authorisation; we arrange that side when delivering your cargo.

Documents specific to transit

The principal document is the transit declaration; a transport or commercial document may replace it.

the declaration is lodged by the declarant or a customs representative;
road carriage uses the TIR carnet, issued to the carrier by the national guaranteeing association;
document copies are kept at the customs office for the period set by law;

Certificates of origin and conformity work differently in transit — see import and export documents.

Means of identification and financial security

Two mechanisms run in transit: identifying the goods and securing the customs debt.

means of identification — seals, stamps and markings; only customs may remove them, and force majeure is reported at once;
financial security — a pledge, bank guarantee, insurance, suretyship or deposit; the form depends on the goods and customs may require more.

When the procedure is discharged

Transit is discharged not by the goods leaving the country but by matching the data of the two offices; until then the obligation remains.

on delay or an accident the carrier applies to the nearest customs office and a report is drawn up;
if the goods are not delivered, a payment obligation arises, settled against the security given;
where the destination office is inland the goods pass into temporary storage; discharged at the exit border they leave the country.

If you are planning transit, send the route and document copies: the declaration, the authorisation application, presenting the cargo for sealing and tracking the discharge are on us.