India, Iran put in place digital tool to push trade

India and Iran recently successfully concluded the first pilot of a fully digital intermodal TIR transport (international customs transit system) to push trade via International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) between India and Russia. The container was released less than a day after arriving at Iran's Bandar Abbas port, which would have otherwise taken up to five days. The project was completed with the support of Indian and Iranian customs authorities, ET has learnt.

TIR is the only global transit system. It enables goods to be shipped from the country of origin, through transit countries, to a country of destination in sealed load compartments that are controlled by customs via a multilateral, mutually recognised system. It is the easiest, safest and most reliable way to move goods across multiple international borders, saving time and money for transport operators and customs authorities. The pilot project demonstrated the efficiency of a fully intermodal TIR transport, an official said.

An electronic guarantee was issued instead of a TIR carnet, and all messages, such as the pre-declaration, were exchanged electronically in advance with relevant public and private actors, including customs authorities, which expedited the customs and port procedures, the official said.


INSTC has been facilitating a higher volume of trade between India and Russia via Iran amid the West’s sanctions on Moscow after Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The 7,200-km-long network of highways, sea and rail routes under INSTC offers the shortest connectivity route between Russia and India. It also reduces the carriage cost between the two nations by about 30%, experts said.

At present, most of the commodities that are transported through Iran along this route are shipments between Russia and India. Iran shipping lines had formed an operational working group for the development of transportation along INSTC in early April.

INSTC links the Indian Ocean to the Caspian Sea via the Persian Gulf onwards into Russia and Northern Europe, and offers the shortest connectivity route between them.

There are also plans to link the northern route via the Russian Arctic with INSTC for transportation of goods.

The foundation of the north-south transport corridor was laid on September 12, 2000, in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran and India. Azerbaijan joined this agreement in 2005. This agreement was ratified by 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Armenia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Ukraine).

The project has a number of components: Northern and Western Europe-Russian Federation, Caucasus-Persian Gulf (western route); Central Asia-Persian Gulf (eastern route); and Caspian Sea-Iran-Persian Gulf (central route).