Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 14 January 2021, the Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, concerning the electronic consignment note (e-CMR), signed in Geneva on 20 February 2008, will enter into force for the Republic of Uzbekistan. Earlier, Uzbekistan joined the Protocol in accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PP-4842 from 25 September 2020.

Since 1995, Uzbekistan has been a party to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR). The Additional Protocol to the said Convention was adopted in order to simplify the optional procedure for the preparation of the consignment note using the methods used for electronic registration and data processing.

According to the Depositary, 29 states are parties to the Additional Protocol, including Belarus, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Iran, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Estonia and others.

The document envisages the simplification and acceleration of the procedure for drawing up a contract of carriage by electronic means of communication by introducing an electronic waybill, which has equal legal force with its paper version. At the same time, participation in the Protocol does not restrict the use of paper media, ensuring a gradual transition to the use of e-CMR.

The use of e-CMR facilitates the interaction of modes of transport in multimodal transport, increases the ability to manage actions related to the CMR consignment note, and also helps to reduce the costs of transport operators and cargo owners for printing, processing and archiving invoices and other related documents.

The participation of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Additional Protocol will create favorable conditions for national carriers by simplifying transport and transit procedures, speeding up the process of data exchange within modern supply chains, and reducing time and cost administration costs.