Clampdown on GV60 dodgers
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M CUSTOMS and Excise are amping down heavily on 3erators who lose or destroy teir GV60 forms.
The GV60 is issued under le Customs Convention on le international transport of )ods by road, and is a certifiite of approval for a trailer to ?. used on TIR journeys.
According to a Customs ficial in London, they are ittg misused and in some ises forgeries are being used.
The Customs officer said at even a forged GV60 could sold for £65. The tough tactics of the Customs officers are being used in every country that is a signatory to the Convention.
It means that if a trailer is presented at a border post without the certificate of approval it cannot move under TIR facilities, and the Customs officer can demand the right to inspect the load.
This, of course, can take anything from a few minutes to a few days depending on the type of traffic and the availability of Customs officers.
If a certificate cannot be produced the operator will no longer be able to apply for a duplicate, instead he must now present the vehicle for re-certification.
Certificates are valid for two years after the test.
A new GV60 has been designed and will come into use shortly.
It has space for the Customs officer to make notes of any defects on the TIR equipment.
Any defects will stop the trailer's ability to engage on TIR work.
Roger Williams of Willhire Ltd, one of, the country's largest trailer rental firms, is concerned over the delays which could occur as a result of the clamp down.
He estimates that drivers could be delayed for weeks on return journeys because the Customs officers will not issue photostat duplicate GV60s.
The London Customs official was quite unsympathetic. He said: "The situation is of their own making.
"Cowboy operators have been doing big business with GV60s and now everyone good and bad alike will be held to the rules."
He did say that special arrangements would be made for anyone who found himself in difficulties in Turkey, but with that exception the rules will be applied implicitly.