Table of Contents
The Common Transit Convention is the treaty that lets goods move between the European Union and its partner countries under one transit declaration and one guarantee, with import duty and VAT suspended until arrival. Its formal title is the Convention on a common transit procedure, done at Interlaken on 20 May 1987.
What is the Common Transit Convention?
The Convention on a common transit procedure was published at OJ L 226, 13 August 1987, and Article 22 brought it into force on 1 January 1988 once the contracting parties deposited their acceptances. It was originally concluded between the European Economic Community and the EFTA states of the day, including Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Several of those states later joined the EU, so the party list has shifted repeatedly.
The treaty body is short. Article 1 sets the scope and Article 2 creates the T1 and T2 procedures. Article 7 lets competent offices act as offices of departure, transit, destination and guarantee. Article 9 governs reconsignment from a common transit country, Article 10 deals with guarantees and Article 11 with sealing. Article 13a covers recovery. Articles 14 to 15a create the Joint Committee and the accession mechanism, and Article 21 lets a party withdraw on twelve months’ written notice.
The operating detail sits in the appendices, and that is where practitioners actually work. Appendix I carries the common transit procedures in three titles: general provisions, operation of the procedure, and simplifications. The remaining appendices cover the status of goods, transit declarations and documents, and mutual assistance for the recovery of claims. Amendments are made by decision of the Joint Committee rather than by renegotiating the treaty, which is why appendix article numbers move over time and why you should read the consolidated version rather than the 1987 original.
Which countries are parties to the Common Transit Convention?
The parties are the European Union, acting as a single customs territory for its member states, the four EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the United Kingdom, Türkiye, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine. Ukraine’s accession took effect on 1 October 2022, following domestic legislation aligning its customs rules with the EU model.
Treat party lists published by software vendors and general reference sites with care. Several include countries invited to accede but not yet acceded. In July 2025 the European Commission proposed a Council Decision on the EU position in the relevant Joint Committees, covering invitations for Moldova and Montenegro to accede. Accession takes effect on the first day of the second month after the acceding country lodges its instrument of accession. Until then, a movement to or through that country is not a Convention movement. The authoritative record is the Joint Committee decisions and the customs office list, both published by the European Commission.
Where a journey touches a country outside the Convention, the options narrow to a TIR carnet, a national transit procedure, or clearing and re-exporting at each frontier. A customs broker in the departure country can confirm which the route supports.
How does common transit differ from Union transit?
The Convention is one of several transit frameworks, and the route decides which one applies.
| Journey | Framework | Declaration | What closes the movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotterdam to Warsaw, uncleared goods | Union transit, under the Union Customs Code | T1 | Presentation at the Polish office of destination, then discharge |
| Munich to Milan via Switzerland, EU goods | Common transit, under the Convention | T2 | Presentation in Italy, with Union status preserved |
| Felixstowe to Lyon, uncleared goods | Common transit, under the Convention | T1 | Presentation at the French office of destination |
| Vienna to Belgrade, uncleared goods | Common transit, Serbia being a party | T1 | Presentation at the Serbian office of destination |
| Poland to Kazakhstan by road | TIR Convention 1975 for the non-party leg | TIR carnet, declared in NCTS for the EU leg | Carnet discharge at each customs office en route |
Union transit and common transit are two legal bases running on one rulebook. Union transit applies inside the EU customs territory under the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, and its delegated and implementing acts, Regulations 2015/2446 and 2015/2447. Common transit applies when a movement involves a non-EU contracting party, and it runs on the Convention on a common transit procedure. The substantive provisions are mirrored, so the declaration data, the guarantee logic and the discharge mechanics match.
Both are operated through the New Computerised Transit System. Under NCTS Phase 5 the messaging is XML based, the declaration message is IE015, and release for transit is IE029. A single movement can straddle both bases without the trader noticing: a lorry leaving Germany for Italy via Switzerland is on one declaration throughout, and the system handles the legal switch.
The practical difference is territorial scope of authorisations. A transit authorisation issued by one authority is valid for movements as described in that authorisation, and Article 56 of Appendix I to the Convention sets the territorial scope of each simplification. Some simplifications work across contracting parties. Others bind only in the issuing country. Check the authorisation wording before you assume cross-border coverage.
When does a movement use T1 and when T2?
Article 2 of the Convention on a common transit procedure answers this. Article 2(2) allows the T1 procedure for any goods carried under Article 1(1), which makes T1 the default and the safe choice when status is unclear. Article 2(3) restricts the T2 procedure: inside the Community it applies only to Union goods, and in a common transit country only to goods reconsigned under the conditions in Article 9. Article 2(4) extends those conditions to documents certifying the customs status of Union goods.
Put plainly, T2 is for goods that already have Union status and need to keep it while crossing a non-EU party. T1 is for everything else, including non-Union goods and Union goods being exported to a Convention country. Getting this wrong has consequences at destination. A T1 arriving where the consignee expected Union status means duty is payable, and the preferential origin claim becomes the only route to a zero rate.
What guarantee does the Common Transit Convention require?
Article 10(1) of the Convention requires a guarantee valid for all contracting parties involved in the operation. That single-guarantee principle is the Convention’s main commercial benefit, because one security covers a journey that would otherwise need separate cover in each country. Article 10(2) allows exceptions, including bilateral waivers and the leg between the office of departure and the first office of transit.
Appendix I, Articles 10 to 23, set out the forms. An individual guarantee covers one operation as a cash deposit, a guarantor’s undertaking, or guarantee vouchers carrying EUR 10,000 of cover each. A comprehensive guarantee covers repeated operations against a reference amount agreed with the authority, and that cover can be reduced or waived where the applicant meets conditions on solvency, records and financial standing. Holders of authorised economic operator status are treated as satisfying several of those conditions. Appendix I, Article 13, lists movements requiring no guarantee, including certain carriage by air, by rail, on the Rhine and the Danube, and by fixed installation.
Which simplifications can a trader be authorised for?
Appendix I, Article 55, lists the authorisable simplifications. They include a guarantee authorisation covering repeated operations or a waiver, use of special seals, authorised consignor status, authorised consignee status, paper based procedures for goods carried by air and by rail, use of an electronic transport document as a transit declaration for air cargo, declarations with a reduced data set, and other simplifications agreed under Article 6 of the Convention.
Authorised consignor and authorised consignee
Authorised consignor status lets a movement start at the holder’s own premises without presenting the goods at a customs office. Authorised consignee status lets a movement end at the consignee’s premises, where arrival is notified and the procedure is discharged. Both remove a queue at a frontier office, and both require electronic access to NCTS plus a guarantee covering repeated movements.
Conditions and consequences
Appendix I, Article 57, sets the general conditions for authorisation, including establishment in a contracting party and a record of compliance with customs and tax rules. Authorisations can be suspended or revoked for non-compliance, and transit data is visible to the customs authorities of every party to a movement. The review usually arrives as a customs audit.
What obligations run from departure to discharge?
Article 8(1) of Appendix I to the Convention on a common transit procedure puts four obligations on the holder of the transit procedure: present the goods intact with the required information at the office of destination within the time limit, comply with the transit rules, provide the guarantee, and keep the goods under customs supervision throughout.
Article 34 gives the office of departure the power to set the time limit for presentation, and Article 34(2) makes that limit binding on the countries transited. Article 33 requires an economically justified route and lets the office of departure prescribe an itinerary. Articles 36 to 40 cover identification, and Article 40 permits release only where the goods are properly sealed or otherwise identified. Article 43 requires presentation at each office of transit. Article 45 governs presentation at destination, and Article 48 provides that the procedure ends when the goods and information are available there, with discharge following a comparison of departure and arrival data.
Discharge releases the guarantee. It does not release the goods. A separate declaration to a release procedure is still needed, supported by the commercial and transport documents for the consignment. Article 44 handles incidents en route, requiring the carrier to report events such as a broken seal, a forced deviation or a transfer between vehicles to the nearest customs authority without delay.
What happens when a movement does not close?
Article 49 of Appendix I to the Convention on a common transit procedure sets an enquiry procedure with fixed deadlines. The office of departure requests control results not received within six days of the expected notification. Information requests go out within seven days of the relevant deadline expiring. The destination office should reply within 28 days. The holder of the procedure is approached no later than 35 days after the enquiry opens, and supplementary replies are expected within 40 days.
Article 51 allows alternative proof that the procedure ended, which is the holder’s practical defence. A customs endorsed document or commercial records showing the goods were presented at destination will usually close the file. Where no proof exists, the suspended duty and VAT become payable, Article 50 allows recovery to be transferred to the country where the debt arose, and Article 13a supports cross-border recovery assistance. An undischarged movement is a finance problem as much as a compliance one, so holders should run a daily open-movement report.
Key takeaways
- The Common Transit Convention is formally the Convention on a common transit procedure, done at Interlaken on 20 May 1987 and in force since 1 January 1988 under its Article 22.
- Its parties are the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Türkiye, North Macedonia, Serbia and Ukraine, whose accession took effect on 1 October 2022.
- Article 10(1) requires one guarantee valid for all contracting parties involved, which is the Convention’s main commercial advantage over separate national transit procedures.
- Article 2 makes T1 available for any goods carried under the Convention, while T2 is restricted to Union goods and to goods reconsigned under Article 9.
- Article 55 of Appendix I lists the authorisable simplifications, including authorised consignor, authorised consignee, special seals and reduced data set declarations.
- Article 48 of Appendix I discharges the procedure and releases the guarantee, but the goods still need a separate declaration to a release procedure.
- Article 49 of Appendix I sets the enquiry timetable, and Article 51 allows alternative proof that a movement ended.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Common Transit Convention the same as Union transit?
No, though the rules are mirrored. Union transit operates inside the EU customs territory under the Union Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013. Common transit operates under the Convention on a common transit procedure when a movement involves a non-EU contracting party. Both run through the New Computerised Transit System, and a single movement can switch legal basis mid-journey without a new declaration.
Does the Common Transit Convention remove customs duty?
No. It suspends import duty, VAT and trade measures while the goods move, and they become payable when the goods are declared to a release procedure at destination. Preferential tariff treatment is a separate question decided by origin rules, not by transit. The Convention saves formalities and security, not duty.
Do I need to be established in a contracting party to use common transit?
To hold an authorisation, yes. Article 57 of Appendix I to the Convention on a common transit procedure requires establishment in a contracting party, together with a record of compliance with customs and tax rules. Traders established elsewhere use a haulier, forwarder or broker that holds the transit authorisation and the guarantee, and that party becomes the holder of the procedure.
Can a country leave the Common Transit Convention?
Yes. Article 21 of the Convention on a common transit procedure allows a contracting party to withdraw on twelve months’ written notice. Accession works through the Joint Committee invitation mechanism in Articles 14 to 15a, and an accession takes effect on the first day of the second month after the acceding country lodges its instrument of accession.
How do I check the current list of parties and customs offices?
Use the European Commission’s customs transit pages and the published customs office list, together with the Joint Committee decisions amending the Convention. Vendor country lists and general reference sites often include states that have been invited to accede but have not completed accession. Movements to those countries are not Convention movements until accession takes effect.
How will EU customs reform affect common transit?
The Convention is a separate treaty, so changes to EU customs law do not amend it automatically. In practice the two track each other, because the Joint Committee aligns the appendices with Union provisions. Traders following the EU customs reform programme should expect consequential appendix amendments rather than a different transit model.
If you need a view on which framework your routes fall under, or help closing a backlog of open movements, our team can work through it with you. Contact Globalior to get started.