CHAPTER XI

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

A

Custom Matters6Convention concerning Customs Facilities for TouringNew York, 4 June 1954Entry into force11 September 1957, in accordance with article 16.Registration11 September 1957, No. 3992StatusSignatories32Parties8012TextUnited Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 276, p. 191; vol. 596, p. 542 (amendment to article 2).<superscript>3</superscript>The Convention was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Customs Formalities for the Temporary Importation of Private Road Motor Vehicles and for Tourism, held at the Headquarters of the United Nations, New York, from 11 May to 4 June 1954. It also adopted the Additional Protocol to the said Convention, relating to the Importation of Tourist Publicity Documents and Material, and the Customs Convention on the Temporary Importation of Private Road Vehicles. The Conference was convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in accordance with resolution <a href="/doc/source/docs/E_RES_468_F_XV-E.pdf" target="_blank">468 F (XV)</a><superscript>4</superscript> adopted by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations on 15 April 1953. For the text of the Final Act of the Conference, see United Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 276, p. 191.

Participant<superscript>5,6,7</superscript>SignatureRatification, Accession(a), Succession(d)Albania 9 Aug 2010 aAlgeria31 Oct 1963 aArgentina 4 Jun 1954 19 Dec 1986 Australia 6 Jan 1967 aAustria 4 Jun 1954 30 Mar 1956 Barbados 5 Mar 1971 dBelgium 4 Jun 1954 21 Feb 1955 Bosnia and Herzegovina<superscript>8</superscript> 1 Sep 1993 dBulgaria 7 Oct 1959 aCambodia 4 Jun 1954 29 Nov 1955 Canada 1 Jun 1955 aCentral African Republic15 Oct 1962 aChile15 Aug 1974 aCosta Rica20 Jul 1954 4 Sep 1963 Croatia<superscript>8</superscript>31 Aug 1994 dCuba 4 Jun 1954 23 Oct 1963 Cyprus16 May 1963 dDenmark13 Oct 1955 aDominican Republic 4 Jun 1954 Ecuador 4 Jun 1954 30 Aug 1962 Egypt 4 Jun 1954 4 Apr 1957 El Salvador18 Jun 1958 aFiji31 Oct 1972 dFinland21 Jun 1962 aFrance 4 Jun 1954 24 Apr 1959 Germany<superscript>9,10</superscript> 4 Jun 1954 16 Sep 1957 Ghana16 Jun 1958 aGreece<superscript>11</superscript>15 Jan 1974 aGuatemala 4 Jun 1954 Haiti 4 Jun 1954 12 Feb 1958 Holy See 4 Jun 1954 Honduras15 Jun 1954 Hungary29 Oct 1963 aIndia30 Dec 1954 5 May 1958 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 3 Apr 1968 aIreland14 Aug 1967 aIsrael 1 Aug 1957 aItaly 4 Jun 1954 12 Feb 1958 Jamaica11 Nov 1963 dJapan 2 Dec 1954 7 Sep 1955 Jordan18 Dec 1957 aLebanon16 Mar 1971 aLiberia16 Sep 2005 aLithuania 1 Dec 2005 aLuxembourg 6 Dec 1954 21 Nov 1956 Malaysia 7 May 1958 dMali 1 Aug 1973 aMalta 3 Jan 1966 dMauritius18 Jul 1969 dMexico 4 Jun 1954 13 Jun 1957 Monaco 4 Jun 1954 Montenegro<superscript>12</superscript>23 Oct 2006 dMorocco25 Sep 1957 aNepal21 Sep 1960 aNetherlands (Kingdom of the)<superscript>13</superscript> 4 Jun 1954 7 Mar 1958 New Zealand<superscript>14</superscript>17 Aug 1962 aNigeria26 Jun 1961 dNorway10 Oct 1961 aPanama 4 Jun 1954 Peru16 Jan 1959 aPhilippines 4 Jun 1954 9 Feb 1960 Poland16 Mar 1960 aPortugal<superscript>5</superscript> 4 Jun 1954 18 Sep 1958 Romania26 Jan 1961 aRussian Federation17 Aug 1959 aRwanda 1 Dec 1964 dSenegal19 Apr 1972 aSerbia<superscript>8</superscript>12 Mar 2001 dSierra Leone13 Mar 1962 dSingapore<superscript>1</superscript>[22 Nov 1966 d]Slovenia<superscript>8</superscript> 6 Jul 1992 dSolomon Islands 3 Sep 1981 dSpain 4 Jun 1954 18 Aug 1958 Sri Lanka 4 Jun 1954 28 Nov 1955 Sweden 4 Jun 1954 11 Jun 1957 Switzerland<superscript>2</superscript> 4 Jun 1954 23 May 1956 Syrian Arab Republic<superscript>15</superscript>26 Mar 1959 Tonga11 Nov 1977 dTrinidad and Tobago11 Apr 1966 dTunisia20 Jun 1974 aTürkiye26 Apr 1983 aUganda15 Apr 1965 aUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland<superscript>6</superscript> 4 Jun 1954 27 Feb 1956 United Republic of Tanzania22 Jun 1964 aUnited States of America 4 Jun 1954 25 Jul 1956 Uruguay 4 Jun 1954 8 Sep 1967 Viet Nam31 Jan 1956 aAlgeriaThe Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria reserves the right, notwithstanding article 1 of the said Convention, not to regard as tourists persons who, in the course of their visit, accept any paid employment.The Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 21 of the said Convention concerning compulsory arbitration and declares that the agreement of all the parties in dispute is required for the submission of each individual dispute to arbitration.Bulgaria<superscript>16</superscript>CubaThe Revolutionary Government of Cuba does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 21 of the Convention.DenmarkNotwithstanding the provisions of article 3 of this Conven- tion, the Scandinavian countries shall be permitted to make special rules applicable to persons residing in those countries.Egypt"The Delegation of Egypt reserves its Government's right to withhold the advantages provided for by the Convention con- cerning Customs Facilities for Touring from any person who, while visiting Egypt as a tourist, takes up employment with or without pay."Finland" (i) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 3 the Govern- ment of Finland shall be permitted to make special rules appli- cable to persons residing in the Scandinavian countries;"(ii) Taking into account the relevant provisions in the Fin- nish legislation the Government of Finland apply the rule in ar- ticle 10, paragraph 2 so far as sub-paragraph c is concerned to tourists under 21 years of age."Ghana"(1) The exemption on arms and ammunition included in ar- ticle 2 (3) of the Convention shall not be applicable to Ghana."(2) The authorization contained in article 4 (b) of the Con- vention, to export travel souvenirs of a total value not exceeding 100 USA dollars, without the formalities applying to Exchange Control and without payment of export duties shall not apply to Ghana."Guatemala"The Guatemalan Government reserves the right:"(1) Not to consider as tourists persons who enter the country for business as provided in article 1."(2) Not to accept the provisions of article 19 in respect of territories in dispute which are under the <i>de facto </i> administration of another State."HaitiThe Delegation of Haiti reserves its Government's right to withhold the advantages provided for by the Convention con- cerning Customs Facilities for Touring from any person who, while visiting Haiti as a tourist, accepts any paid employment or engages in any other form of gainful occupation.Hungary"The Hungarian People's Republic does not consider itself bound by the terms of paragraphs 2 and 3 of article 21 of the Convention."Poland<superscript>17,18</superscript>1. The Government of the People's Republic of Poland reserves the right not to apply the provisions of article 4 of the Convention concerning Customs Facilities for Touring.Romania<superscript>19</superscript>The Romanian People's Republic does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 21, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention. The position of the Romanian People's Republic is that a dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention may be submitted to arbitration only with the agreement of all the parties in dispute and that only persons nominated by unanimous agreement of the parties in dispute may act as arbitrators.Russian Federation<superscript>20</superscript>The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, considering that disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention concerning Customs Facilities for Touring can be decided by arbitration, declares that a dispute may be submitted to arbitration only with the agreement of all the parties in dispute and that only persons nominated by unanimous agreement of the parties in dispute may act as arbitrators.Senegal1. The Government of the Republic of Senegal reserves the right to withhold the benefits of the provisions of the Conven- tion concerning Customs Facilities for Touring from any person who, while visiting Senegal as a tourist takes, any employment paid or not;2. The Government of the Republic of Senegal reserves the right:a) Not to consider as tourists persons who enter the country for business as provided in article 1.b) Not to accept the provisions of article 19 in respect of territories in dispute which are under the <i>de facto </i> administration of another State.Singapore<superscript>1</superscript>Sweden"Notwithstanding the provisions of article 3 of the Conven- tion concerning Customs Facilities for Touring, the Scandinavian countries shall be permitted to make special rules applicable to persons residing in those countries."Syrian Arab RepublicReserving "the right of the Government to deny the privileges and facilities provided in the said Convention, to any tourist who takes up any job paid or unpaid during his stay in the country".TunisiaA dispute may be submitted to arbitration only with the agreement of all the parties in dispute.Uganda"The Government of Uganda shall be bound by Article 2 provided that a tourist's stay in the East African Territories does not exceed six months, but shall not be bound by Article 2 in so far as it refers to portable gramophones with records, portable sound recording apparatus, portable wireless receiving sets, tents and other camping equipment, fishing outfits, non-powered bicycles, skis, tennis racquets and other similar articles if the period of stay in the Territories does not exceed six months, but undertakes to allow the temporary importation of these articles in accordance with the temporary importation permit procedure."The Government of Uganda shall not be bound by Article 3 but undertakes to grant reasonable concessions."The Government of Uganda shall not be bound by Article 4 and reserves the right to require that such goods shall be dealt with in accordance with the temporary importation permit procedure."United Republic of Tanzania<superscript>21</superscript>"The Government of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar [Tanzania] shall not be bound by article 3 of the Convention, but undertakes to grant reasonable concessions in respect of the items referred to therein."

ParticipantDate of receipt of the notificationTerritories

Belgium<superscript>22</superscript>21 Feb 1955Belgian Congo and the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi, with reservationsNetherlands (Kingdom of the)<superscript>13</superscript> 7 Mar 1958Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands New Guinea and SurinameNew Zealand21 May 1963Cook Islands (including Niue)Portugal<superscript>5</superscript>18 Sep 1958Overseas Provinces30 Mar 1983MacauUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland<superscript>6,23,24</superscript> 7 Aug 1957North Borneo, Cyprus, Fiji, Jamaica, Federation of Malaya, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somaliland Protectorate, Tonga and Zanzibar; and Malta with reservation14 Jan 1958Brunei, Antigua, Mauritius, Sarawak, Dominica, Bermuda, Gambia, Montserrat, Federation of Nigeria, British Solomon Islands Protectorate, Gibraltar, Virgin Islands, St. Helena, Grenada, St. Vincent; and Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika with reservations16 Jun 1959Barbados12 Sep 1960British Honduras11 Nov 1960Hong Kong 9 Jan 1961St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla15 Sep 1961Trinidad and Tobago 5 Feb 1962British GuianaUnited States of America25 Jul 1956Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands1On 3 November 1999, the Government of Singapore informed the Secretary-General that it had decided to denounce the Convention [with effect from 3 February 2001 in accordance with its article 17 (2)]. It will be recalled that the Government of Singapore had, on 12 July 1999, communicated to the Secretary-General, the following reservation:“... the Government of the Republic of Singapore wishes to make a reservation to article 3 of the [Convention]."Subsequently, the Secretary-General received objections to the reservation from the following Governments on the dates indicated hereinafter:<i>Finland (22 October 1999) </i>[The Government of Finland] notes that, according to the well-established rule under the international law of treaties, codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, reservations to treaties are only allowed when signing, ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to a treaty. Under international law, after a State has bound itself by a treaty it can no longer submit reservations.The Government of Finland therefore objects to the aforesaid reservation made by the Government of Singapore to the Convention concerning Customs Facilities for Touring.”<i>United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (22 October 1999): </i>“As it is well established in international law that, in the absence of express provision in the treaty itself, a party may not formulate a reservation to a treaty by which it is already bound, the United Kingdom is unable to agree that the reservation referred to above be accepted for deposit.”Consequently, the reservation in question is not accepted, the Governments of Finland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland having objected thereto.2On 16 June 1975, the Government of Switzerland declared that the provisions of the Convention apply to the Principality of Liechtenstein so long as it is linked to Switzerland by a customs union treaty.3In a communication received by the Secretary-General on 9 August 1966, the Government of the Netherlands proposed an amendment to article 2, paragraph 3 of the Convention to the effect that the words "one portable television set" be inserted after the words "one portable wireless receiving set". The text of the proposed amendment was circulated by the Secretary-General to all contracting States on 6 September 1966. No objection having been expressed to the proposed amendment within the period of six months from the date of the circulation of its text by any of the contracting States, the amendment is deemed to have been accepted, in accordance with paragraph 2 of article 23 of the Convention. Pursuant to paragraph 3 of the same article, the amendment entered into force for all contracting States three months after the expiration of the said period of six months, that is to say, on 6 June 1967.4<i>Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, Fifteenth Session, Supplement No. 1 </i> (E/2419), p. 9.5On 29 September and on 19 October 1999, the Secretary-General received communications regarding the status of Macao from China and Portugal (see also note 3 under “China” and note 1 under “Portgual” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume). Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Macao, China notified the Secretary-General that the Convention will continue to apply to the Macao Special Administrative Region6The Secretary-General, received on 6 and 10 June 1997 communications regarding the status of Hong Kong from China and the United Kingdom of Great Brtiain and Northern Ireland (see also note 2 under “China” and note 2 under “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume). Upon resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, China notified the Secretary-General that the Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.7The Republic of Viet-Nam had acceded to the Convention on 31 January 1956. See also note 1under “Viet Nam” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.8The former Yugoslavia had acceeded to the Convention on 10 July 1958. See also note 1 under “Bosnia and Herzegovina”, “Croatia”, “former Yugoslavia”, “Slovenia”, “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and “Yugoslavia” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.9See note 1 under “Germany” regarding Berlin (West) in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.10See note 2 under “Germany” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.11In a notification received on 4 April 1974, the Government of Greece stated that it accepted the decisions, recommendations and dec- larations contained in the Final Act of the Conference.12See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.13See note 1 under “Netherlands” regarding Aruba/Netherlands Antilles in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.14See note 1 under “New Zealand” regarding Tokelau in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.15Notification by the United Arab Republic. See also note 1 under “United Arab Republic” in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.16The Governments of Italy and Switzerland have notified the Secretary-General that they object to this reservation. The Government of the United States of America has notified the Secretary-General that it has no objection to this reservation, but "considers that it may, and hereby states that it will, apply the aforesaid reservation reciprocally with respect to Bulgaria".Subsequently, in a notification received on 6 May 1994, the Government of Bulgaria notified the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw the reservation made upon accession with regard to article 21 (2) and (3). For the text of the reservation, see United Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 348, p. 358.17On 16 October 1997, the Government of Poland notified the Secretary-General that it had decided to withdraw its reservation with regard to article 21 of the Convention made upon accession. For the text of the reservation see United Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 367, p. 334. (See also note 13.)18The Governments of Italy and Switzerland have notified the Secretary-General that they object to these reservations.19The Governments of Switzerland and the Republic of Viet-Nam informed the Secretary-General that they object to this reservation. The Government of the United States of America informed the Secretary-General that it has no objection to this reservation but "considers that it may and hereby states that it will apply this reservation reciprocally with respect to Romania".20The Governments of Italy and Switzerland have notified the Secretary-General that they object to this reservation. The Government of the United States of America has notified the Secretary-General that it has no objection to this reservation, but "considers that it may and hereby states that it will apply this reservation reciprocally with respect to the Soviet Union". The Government of Yugoslavia has informed the Secretary-General that it does not object to this reservation subject to the provisions of paragraph 7 of article 20 of the Convention.21In a communication received on 2 August 1965, the Government of Portugal notified the Secretary-General that, in accordance with paragraph 7 of article 20 and paragraph 7 of article 14, respectively, of the Convention and Additional Protocol, Portugal reserves the right of not extending to the United Republic of Tanzania the benefit of those provisions of the Convention and the Additional Protocol to which apply the reservations made upon accession by the United Republic of Tanzania.22This Convention is applicable to the Territory of the Belgian Congo and to the Trust Territory of Ruanda-Urundi, subject to the following reservations: (1) The temporary importation of firearms and their ammunition cannot be considered without a temporary importation document (article 2 of the Convention); (2) The exemption in the case of wine, spirits, toilet water and perfume must continue to be limited to opened containers and subject, in the case of alcoholic beverages in particular, to the observance of the legal provisions in force (article 3 of the Convention); (3) Worked ivory and objects of indigenous art must be excluded from the operation of the Convention (article 4). The Government of Rwanda notified the Secretary-General of its succession to the Convention on 1 December 1964. Subsequently, in a communication received on 10 February 1965, the Government of Rwanda informed the Secretary-General that it did not intend to maintain any of the above-mentioned reservations.23[As concerns Malta] "The definition of `Personal effects' contained in paragraph 3 of article 2 of the Convention shall not include `one portable wireless set'." On 3 January 1966, the Government of Malta notified the Secretary-General of its succession to the Convention. In a communication received on 28 February 1966, the Government of Malta notified the Secretary-General that it did not intend to maintain the said reservation, which had been made on its behalf by the Government of the United Kingdom at the time of the notification of the extension of the Convention to Malta.24"(i) The Governments of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika shall not be bound by article 2 of the Convention in so far as it refers to portable musical instruments, portable gramophones with records, portable sound-recording apparatus, non-powered bicycles and sporting firearms with cartridges, but undertake to allow the temporary importation of these articles in accordance with the temporary importation permit procedure. "(ii) The Governments of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika shall not be bound by article 3 of the Convention but undertake to grant reasonable concessions in respect of the items referred to therein. "(iii) The Governments of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika shall not be bound by article 4 of the Convention and reserve the right to require a temporary importation permit in respect of the articles referred to therein." For the reservations made on accession by the Governments of Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, see under "Declarations and Reservations".