'The new TIR carnet system is loaded in
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favour of big companies' yet again the British haulier operating to Eastern Europe is facing problems and unfair competition with the new rules for the issue of TIR carnets.
Long ago, we gave up expecting a level playing field. But it is getting more and more of an uphill struggle to keep going. The new system demands that the carnet holder must lodge a guarantee of £3,500 for ordinary carnets and a further £33,000 if carnets for sensitive goods are required. Since Eastern Europe and Russia have opened up, taxes and transit charges have continually increased. If there is any way of getting hard currency out of us, they will find it.
Days have been lost sitting in queues on borders because the officials do not want to work. Our rates have been cut by Eastern European companies and now they have found another way of discouraging the small western operator. Due to customs fraud and evasion of duties, mainly in Russia, the TIR system has had to be overhauled. As a result, hauliers will be restricted to clearing at specified customs' offices and will then have a further check carried out on their TIR carnet at an IRU-SGS control office.
This new security system will cause more delays and inconvenience. Over the last year the cost of TIR carnets has steadily increased. At the end of 1994, a 14-volet carnet cost £26 and was valid for two months. We paid an additional indemnity of 2260 per vehicle per year. Under new rules, a 14-valet carnet now costs £70, which includes compulsory insurance cover, and is only valid for 14 days. There is worse to come.
The sensitive goods which require the premium guarantee of £33,000 include livestock, meat, milk and milk products, sugar and confectionary. The guarantee can be in cash or an irrevocable guarantee from a bank or insurance company. It must remain in place for at least 27 months after the date ofissue of the last carnet. These guarantees are the some regardless of whether you expect to use 10 carnets in a year or 1,000.
We think that it is very unfair and totally unacceptable that we should be expected to lodge the same guarantees as the multi
nationals and the big Eastern European exstate transport companies such as Hungarocamion and Sovtrans. We have only one vehicle and would expect to use a maximum of 25 carnets in a year including about 10 for sensitive goods. We have been using TIR carnets for over five years and have never had any problems or claims. Is Eastern European and Russian work really worth all the trouble, expense and risk? We may have a fridge trailer but we won't be carrying sensitive goods under TIR carnet in future.
We have not found an insurance company prepared to cover the guarantee and the bank would require collateral. We are not prepared to put our house on the line and risk losing it because a carnet is not cleared correctly. We feel that the whole system is loaded in favour of the big companies and that the owner-driver is being driven out.
• If you want to sound off about a road transport issue write to features editor Patric Cunnane.