Azernews.Az

The Association of International Road Carries of Uzbekistan (AIRCUZ) has renewed its Carnet TIR transit license with the Republican Road Carriers, an association representative told Trend.

"A disagreement between Uzbekistan and the Geneva due to the International Road Carriers Union (IRU) held up the reissuiance of the canceled license. But the license was finally renewed on July 15 by the Uzbek Road Carriers Association", a representative of the association said. According to a source close to the association, an IRU ban on the issuance of licenses to Uzbek companies, took effect on April 1 of this year.

The source said that TIRs allow the transit of goods across international borders with simplified customs procedures. Without the license, cross border hauling becomes very costly and difficult. Several transport companies bribed customs officials. This allowed for the avoidance of customs duties, in one case, a fruit truck avoided paying fees of $1,500.
The corruption had a very negative impact on the transit sector which was paralyzed for almost three months.

The source did not specify what exactly caused the disagreement between Uzbekistan and the Union.

As was previously reported, since August of 2012, Uzbekistan has placed many restrictions on cross border haulers. In particular, foreign shippers must receive preliminary permission to enter the country. Up until then, shippers could get such permission at the border. Also, transit fees were increased for foreign shippers.

Uzbekistan is one of two double landlocked countries in the world.

Some 90 percent of all cargo in Uzbekistan is transported by truck.