Ukraine, after a long period of preparation, is finally switching to electronic waybills. The local Ministry of Infrastructure stated that the regulation on changes in transport came into force on 12 July this year.
The implementation of e-CMR will allow Ukraine to introduce a number of changes that will improve the quality of domestic transport services: shorter transportation times, elimination of paperwork and, above all, automation of the delivery process. This, in turn, is supposed to reduce corruption.
To this end, a register will be created which will allow market participants to generate electronic documents themselves. The Ministry of Infrastructure, as the entity regulating this process, will not be involved in practice. The Ministry’s role will be limited to maintaining the e-CMR generation system.
Using an electronic waybill, the shipper will have to send e-CMR to the persons responsible for transport in his company, the forwarder, the driver and the consignees. It must take place immediately after the cargo has been sealed. One paper version should be given to the truck driver for possible checks by the enforcement agencies.
The exchange of electronic transport documents can already be carried out using commercially available tools such as M.E.Doc.
Paper waybills will, however, continue to be a fully-fledged form of documentation.
e-CMR also in Lithuania
Lithuania has also decided to introduce electronic waybills. The local Ministry of Infrastructure has signed a memorandum on the digitisation of cross-border road transport with stakeholders from the private and public sectors to support the transition to electronic waybills. For the time being, Lithuania is preparing to implement e-CMR in the Baltic and Scandinavian regions through a pilot project.
Photo: Trans.INFO
