[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65238-65240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30668]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 20
Interim Rule Amending International Mail Manual Subchapter 790,
Items Mailed Abroad by or on Behalf of Senders in the U.S. and Certain
Other Countries
AGENCY: Postal Service.
ACTION: Interim rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On March 10, 1994, the Postal Service published in the Federal
Register (59 FR 11188-11193) amendments to certain rules in
International Mail Manual (IMM) subchapter 790 to clarify when a
mailing in a foreign country is by or on behalf of a resident of the
United States for the purposes of collecting U.S. domestic postage; and
to authorize the collection of U.S. domestic postage on certain mail
posted in a foreign country by or on behalf of a person who is not a
resident of that foreign country. This document amends IMM subchapter
790 to remove the threshold of 1,000 pieces mailed abroad in a 30-day
period by a U.S. resident and to remove the standards relative to the
collection of U.S. domestic postage on ``A-B-C remail''.The basis for
the amended rules is contained in article 25, Posting Abroad of Letter-
Post Items, of the Universal Postal Convention (Washington, 1989).
DATES: The interim rule is effective January 1, 1996. Comments must be
received on or before January 18, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or delivered to the
Manager,
[[Page 65239]]
International Pricing, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW RM
4400-EB, Washington, DC 20260-6500. Copies of all written comments will
be available at the above address for public inspection and
photocopying between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John F. Alepa, (202) 268-4071.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1994, the Universal Postal Union (UPU)
met in Congress in Seoul, Korea, to amend and adopt the Acts of the
Universal Postal Union. The Acts come into force on January 1, 1996.
The United States is a member of the UPU. By virtue of that membership,
the U.S. Postal Service must adhere to the Agreements of the UPU to
which it is a signatory.
The UPU adopted revisions to the Acts of the Universal Postal
Union, including article 25 of the Universal Postal Convention. Article
25 no longer contains a provision permitting the Postal Service to
collect U.S. domestic postage from a resident of the United States when
mailings made abroad for that resident exceed 1,000 pieces in a 30-day
period without regard to whether the postage paid in the foreign
country is less than the applicable U.S. domestic postage. In addition,
article 25 no longer grants authority to the Postal Service to collect
U.S. domestic postage for items for delivery in the United States from
a mailer who posts, or causes to be posted, such items in a country
other than the country of that mailer's residence. Rather, any charge
will be due from the dispatching postal administration.
As a result of the revisions to article 25, the Postal Service is
amending IMM subchapter 790 to remove the threshold of 1,000 pieces
mailed abroad in a 30-day period by a U.S. resident and to remove the
standards relative to the collection of U.S. domestic postage on ``A-B-
C remail'' (that is, a method of mailing in which a person or firm
mails from a country other than the one of which it is a resident to a
third country in order to benefit from lower international postage
rates in the country of mailing).
Specifically, the 1994 Congress amended article 25, Posting Abroad
of Letter-Post Items, which contains four paragraphs. Paragraphs 1
through 3 relate to items mailed from abroad back into the country of
residence of the sender. Paragraph 4 relates to items mailed by
residents of one country from a second country for delivery in a third
country. This method of mailing (as discussed above) is commonly
referred to as ``A-B-C remail.''
Paragraph 1 was amended to remove the provision that permitted
postal administrations to invoke action against a person or firm
mailing to that person's or firm's country of residence from another
country solely on the basis of the number of items mailed. Article 25,
paragraph 1, requires that the mailing be made ``with the object of
profiting by more favorable rate conditions there.'' To comply with
this revision, the Postal Service is removing from IMM subchapter 790
the provision that provides that applicable U.S. domestic postage is
due when ``1,000 or more such items are mailed in a 30-day period
regardless of whether the foreign postage is lower than the comparable
U.S. postage.''
Paragraph 4 regulates ``A-B-C remail.'' This method of mailing
occurs when a resident of country A mails from country B mail
destinating in country C. This method is generally economically
feasible because of differences in the terminal dues system provided by
the Universal Postal Convention. Most developing countries (which
generally originate small volumes of outgoing international mail) are
assigned a lower terminal dues rate than developed countries (which
generally originate large volumes of outgoing international mail).
Under the current terminal dues system, for example, two countries
each annually exchanging more than 150 tons of mail would pay terminal
dues equivalent to 25 cents for a \1/2\-ounce item. By contrast, two
countries each annually exchanging 150 tons or less of mail would pay
terminal dues equivalent to only 6 cents for the same \1/2\-ounce item.
When ``A-B-C remail'' is used, that mailing method harms both
country A (because it loses revenue and mail volume) and country C
(because it receives less in terminal dues from country B than it would
receive from country A). This lower rate of terminal dues generally
does not compensate the delivering country for the actual cost of
handling such mail.
To correct this situation, the 1994 Universal Postal Congress
adopted a new terminal dues system and introduced a separate rate for
``bulk mail,'' regardless of where that mail originates. The delivering
country will be able to collect the same rate in terminal dues without
regard to the country originating the mail. This revised system should
reduce considerably the volume of mail migrating from developed
countries to developing countries solely to take advantage of lower
international rates made possible from different terminal dues rates.
In some cases, the 1994 Congress recognized that even this ``bulk
mail'' rate of terminal dues would not provide full compensation to the
delivering postal administration and that migration of mail might
continue. Accordingly, article 25, paragraph 4, allows the delivering
postal administration to collect the equivalent of ``bulk mail''
terminal dues from the dispatching postal administration if the
delivering administration is not receiving appropriate remuneration.
However, the delivering administration will no longer be able to
collect extra compensation from the sender of the items. Remuneration
is strictly between the dispatching and delivering postal
administrations. Therefore, the Postal Service is eliminating its rules
in IMM subchapter 790 concerning the collection of U.S. domestic
postage from the sender of so-called ``A-B-C remail.''
Although 39 U.S.C. 407 does not require advance notice and
opportunity for submission of comments, and the Postal Service is
exempted by 39 U.S.C. 410(a) from the advance notice requirements of
the Administrative Procedure Act regarding rulemaking (5 U.S.C. 553),
the Postal Service invites public comment.
The Postal Service adopts on an interim basis, pending receipt and
consideration of public comment, the following amendments to subchapter
790 of the International Mail Manual, which is incorporated by
reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 20.1.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 20
Foreign relations, Incorporation by reference, International postal
services.
PART 20--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 20 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 401, 404, 407, 408.
2. The International Mail Manual is amended by revising subchapter
790, Items Mailed Abroad by or on Behalf of Senders in the U.S. and
Certain Other Countries, to read as follows:
790 Items Mailed Abroad by or on Behalf of Senders in the United
States
791 Postage Payment Required
Payment of U.S. postage is required to secure delivery of mail when
the mailing is by or on behalf of a person or firm that is a resident
of the United States and the foreign postage rate applied to such items
is lower than the comparable U.S. domestic postage rate.
[[Page 65240]]
792 Definition of Terms
792.1 Resident
A resident of the United States includes any firm that has a place
of business in the United States or is incorporated or otherwise
organized in the United States, its territories, or its possessions.
792.2 By or on Behalf
A mailing is made by or on behalf of a person or firm that is a
resident of the United States if such a resident seeks or expects to
derive economic benefit or advantage from that mailing.
792.3 Place of Business
A place of business in the United States is any location in the
United States, its territories, or its possessions where a firm's
employees or agents regularly have personal contact with other
individuals for conducting the firm's business. For the purposes of
this section, a firm whose employees or agents have personal contact
with others for conducting the firm's business in different places in
the United States for short periods (for example, at hotels in
different cities for 1 or 2 days at a time) is considered to have a
place of business in the United States if the aggregate amount of time
spent in the United States is 180 days or more within 12 consecutive
months.
792.4 Agent
The use of a nonexclusive agent in the United States for the sole
purpose of accepting orders and remissions for transmission to a firm
in another country or for the sole purpose of distributing merchandise
manufactured in another country and shipped to the United States in
bulk does not by itself establish a place of business in the United
States.
793 Advance Payment Required
793.1 Sample Mailpiece
A sender affected by the provisions in 791 must submit a sample
mailpiece (envelope and contents) from the proposed mailing; a
statement about the number of items to be mailed, the date of mailing,
and the place of mailing; and a check, made payable to the U.S. Postal
Service, to cover the amount of the applicable U.S. postage. The sample
mailpiece, statement, and check must be sent to: Manager, International
Pricing, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plz. SW., Washington, DC
20260-6500.
793.2 Headquarters Notification
Headquarters provides notification of postage acceptance and
approval of the mailing to the sender and to the receiving U.S.
exchange office. This notification permits the items in the mailing to
go forward to the addressees without delay when the items reach the
United States.
794 Advance Payment Not Made
794.1 Return or Disposal of Items
Items may be returned to origin or disposed of in accordance with
postal regulations if U.S. postage is not paid.
794.2 Mailings Without Advance Payment
A mailing subject to the provisions in 791 received without advance
payment of U.S. domestic postage is held at the receiving U.S. exchange
office. The exchange office reports the mailing to the manager of
International Pricing, USPS Headquarters. (The exchange office is
advised to release the mail when the applicable postage is paid.) The
report must contain the following information:
a. Title and/or nature of the items.
b. Identity of the sender.
c. Number of items detained.
d. Weight of a single item.
e. Foreign postage paid per item.
f. Country of mailing.
795 Report of Mailings
The receiving U.S. exchange office must report any mail appearing
to be subject to the provisions of this subchapter to the manager of
International Pricing, USPS Headquarters.
Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 95-30668 Filed 12-18-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P
