Universal Postal Convention (Seoul, 1994)
UNIVERSAL POSTAL CONVENTION
The undersigned, plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the member countries of the Union, having regard to article 22, paragraph 3, of the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union concluded at Vienna on 10 July 1964, have by common consent and subject to article 25, paragraph 4, of the Constitution drawn up in this Convention the rules applicable in common throughout the international postal service and the provisions concerning the letter-post services.
PART I. RULES APPLICABLE IN COMMON THROUGHOUT THE INTERNATIONAL POSTAL SERVICE[edit]
SOLE CHAPTER
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Freedom of transit
1 The principle of the freedom of transit is set forth in article 1 of the Constitution. It shall carry with it the obligation for each postal administration to forward always by the quickest routes and the most secure means which it uses for its own items, closed mails and à découvert letter-post items which are passed to it by another administration.
2 Member countries which do not participate in the exchange of letters containing perishable biological substances or radioactive substances shall have the option of not admitting these items in transit à découvert through their territory. The same shall apply to letter-post items, other than letters, postcards and literature for the blind which do not satisfy the legal requirements governing the conditions of their publication or circulation in the country crossed.
3 Freedom of transit for postal parcels to be forwarded by land and sea routes shall be limited to the territory of the countries taking part in this service.
4 Freedom of transit for air parcels shall be guaranteed throughout the territory of the Union. However, member countries which are not parties to the Postal Parcels Agreement shall not be required to forward air parcels by surface.
5 If a member country fails to observe the provisions regarding freedom of transit, other member countries may discontinue their postal service with that country.
Article 2
Ownership of postal items
1 A postal item shall remain the property of the sender until it is delivered to the rightful owner, except when the item has been seized in pursuance of the legislation of the country of destination.
Article 3
Creation of new service
1 Administrations may by mutual consent create a new service not expressly provided for in the Acts of the Union. Charges for a new service shall be laid down by each administration concerned, having regard to the expenses of operating the service.
Article 4
Monetary unit
1 The monetary unit laid down in article 7 of the Constitution and used in the Convention and the Agreements as well as in their Detailed Regulations shall be the Special Drawing Right (SDR).
Article 5
Postage stamps
1 Only postal administrations shall issue postage stamps attesting payment of postage according to the Acts of the Union. Postal prepayment impressions, franking machine impressions and impressions made by a printing press or other printing or stamping process in accordance with the provisions of the Detailed Regulations may be used only with the authorization of the postal administration.
2 The subjects and designs of postage stamps shall be in keeping with the spirit of the Preamble to the UPU Constitution and of decisions taken by the Union's bodies.
Article 6
Charges
1 The charges for the various international postal services shall be laid down in the Convention and the Agreements. The charges shall in principle be related to the costs of providing these services.
2 The charges collected, including those laid down for guideline purposes in the Acts, shall be at least equal to those collected on internal service items presenting the same characteristics (category, quantity, handling time, etc).
3 Postal administrations shall be authorized to exceed any charges appearing in the Convention and the Agreements, including those laid down for guideline purposes:
3.1 if the charges they collect for the same services in their internal service are higher than the ones laid down;
3.2 if this is necessary to cover the costs of operating their services or on any other reasonable grounds.
4 No postal charge of any kind may be collected from customers other than those provided for in the Convention and Agreements.
5 Except where otherwise provided by the Convention and the Agreements, each postal administration shall retain the charges which it has collected.
Article 7
Exemption from postal charges
1 Principle
1.1 Cases of exemption from postal charges shall be expressly laid down by the Convention and the Agreements.
2 Postal service
2.1 Letter-post items relating to the postal service sent by postal administrations or their offices shall be exempt from all postal charges.
2.2 Letter-post items relating to the postal service shall be exempt from all postal charges, with the exception of air surcharges, if they are:
2.2.1 exchanged between bodies of the Universal Postal Union and bodies of the Restricted Unions;
2.2.2 exchanged between bodies of those Unions;
2.2.3 sent by such bodies to postal administrations or their offices.
3 Prisoners of war and civilian internees
3.1 Letter-post items, postal parcels and postal financial services items addressed to or sent by prisoners of war, either direct or through the offices mentioned in the Detailed Regulations, shall be exempt from all postal charges, with the exception of air surcharges. Belligerents apprehended and interned in a neutral country shall be classed with prisoners of war proper so far as the application of the foregoing provisions is concerned.
3.2 The provisions set out under 3.1 shall also apply to letter-post items, postal parcels and postal financial services items originating in other countries and addressed to or sent by civilian internees as defined by the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war, either direct or through the offices mentioned in the Detailed Regulations.
3.3 The offices mentioned in the Detailed Regulations shall also enjoy exemption from postal charges in respect of letter-post items, postal parcels and postal financial services items which concern the persons referred to under 3.1 and 3.2, which they send or receive, either direct or as intermediaries.
3.4 Parcels shall be admitted free of postage up to a weight of 5 kilograms. The weight limit shall be increased to 10 kilograms in the case of parcels the contents of which cannot be split up and of parcels addressed to a camp or the prisoners' representatives there (hommes de confiance) for distribution to the prisoners.
4 Literature for the blind
4.1 Literature for the blind shall be exempt from all postal charges, with the exception of air surcharges.
PART II. PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE LETTER POST: PROVISION OF SERVICES[edit]
CHAPTER 1
BASIC SERVICES
Article 8
Letter-post items
1 Letter-post items shall be classified according to one of the following two systems. Every postal administration shall be free to choose the system that it applies to its outward traffic.
2 The first system shall be based on the speed of treatment of the items. The latter shall therefore be divided into:
2.1 priority items, ie items conveyed by the quickest route (air or surface) with priority; weight limits: 2 kilograms in general, 5 kilograms for items containing books and pamphlets (optional service), 7 kilograms for literature for the blind;
2.2 non-priority items, ie items for which the sender has chosen a lower rate, implying a longer delivery time; weight limits: same as those in 2.1.
3 The second system shall be based on the contents of the items. The latter shall therefore be divided into:
3.1 letters and postcards, together called "LC"; weight limit: 2 kilograms;
3.2 printed papers, literature for the blind and small packets together called "AO"; weight limits 2 kilograms for small packets, 5 kilograms for printed papers, 7 kilograms for literature for the blind.
4 In the classification system based on contents:
4.1 letter-post items conveyed by air with priority shall be called "airmail items";
4.2 surface items conveyed by air with reduced priority shall be called "S.A.L. items".
5 Every administration may admit priority items and airmail items consisting of a sheet of paper suitably folded and gummed on all sides. Such items shall be called "aerogrammes".
6 Mail consisting of letter-post items posted in bulk by the same sender and received in the same dispatch or in separate dispatches, in accordance with the conditions specified in the Detailed Regulations, shall be called "bulk mail".
7 Special bags containing newspapers, periodicals, books and other printed papers for the same addressee at the same address shall, in both systems, be called "M bags"; weight limit: 30 kilograms.
8 The limits of size and the conditions of admission, as well as particulars regarding the limits of weight, are laid down in the Detailed Regulations.
Article 9
Postage charges
1 The administration of origin shall fix the postage charges for the conveyance of letter-post items throughout the entire extent of the Union. The postage charges shall cover delivery of the items to the place of address provided that this delivery service is operated in the country of destination for the items in question. The conditions of application are laid down in the Detailed Regulations.
2 Guideline postage charges are given in the table below:
┌─────────────────┬─────────────────────────┬────────────────────┐ │ Items │ Weight step │ Guideline │ │ │ │ charges │ ├─────────────────┼─────────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ ├─────────────────┼─────────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │ │ │ SDR │ │ │ │ 2.1 Charges in the system based on speed: │ │ │ │Priority │up to 20g │ 0.37 │ │items │above 20g up to 100g │ 0.88 │ │ │above 100g up to 250g │ 1.76 │ │ │above 250g up to 500g │ 3.38 │ │ │above 500g up to 1000g │ 5.88 │ │ │above 1000g up to 2000g │ 9.56 │ │ │per additional step │ │ │ │ of 1000g │ 4.78 │ │ │ │ (optional) │ │Non-priority │up to 20g │ 0.18 │ │items │above 20g up to 100g │ 0.40 │ │ │above 100g up to 250g │ 0.74 │ │ │above 250g up to 500g │ 1.32 │ │ │above 500g up to 1000g │ 2.21 │ │ │above 1000g up to 2000g │ 3.09 │ │ │per additional step │ │ │ │ of 1000g │ 1.54 │ │ │ │ (optional) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 2.2 Charges in the system based on contents: │ │ │ │Letters │up to 20g │ 0.37 │ │ │above 20g up to 100g │ 0.88 │ │ │above 100g up to 250g │ 1.76 │ │ │above 250g up to 500g │ 3.38 │ │ │above 500g up to 1000g │ 5.88 │ │ │above 1000g up to 2000g │ 9.56 │ │Postcards │ │ 0.26 │ │Printed papers │up to 20g │ 0.18 │ │ │above 20g up to 100g │ 0.40 │ │ │above 100g up to 250g │ 0.74 │ │ │above 250g up to 500g │ 1.32 │ │ │above 500g up to 1000g │ 2.21 │ │ │above 1000g up to 2000g │ 3.09 │ │ │per additional step │ │ │ │ of 1000g │ 1.54 │ │Small packets │above 20g up to 100g │ 0.40 │ │ │above 100g up to 250g │ 0.74 │ │ │above 250g up to 500g │ 1.32 │ │ │above 500g up to 1000g │ 2.21 │ │ │above 1000g up to 2000g │ 3.09 │ └─────────────────┴─────────────────────────┴────────────────────┘
3 The Postal Operations Council shall be authorized to revise and to amend, subject to Council of Administration approval, the guideline charges given under 2 between two Congresses. The revised charges shall be based on the median value of the charges fixed by the members of the Union for international items from their countries.
4 The administration of origin may allow, for letter-post items containing:
4.1 newspapers and periodicals published in its country, a reduction of not more than 50 percent of the tariff applicable to the category of items used;
4.2 books and pamphlets, music scores and maps, provided they contain no publicity matter or advertisement other than that appearing on the cover or the fly leaves, the same reduction as that provided for under 4.1.
5 The charge applicable to M bags shall be calculated by weight steps of 1 kilogram up to the total weight of each bag. The administration of origin may allow a reduction for such bags of up to 20 percent of the charge payable for the category of item used. This reduction may be independent of the reduction provided for under 4.
6 The administration of origin may apply to non-standardized items charges different from those applicable to standardized items. Standardized items are defined in the Detailed Regulations.
7 In the system based on contents, the combining in one item of articles on which different charges are payable shall be authorized on condition that the total weight does not exceed the maximum weight of the category whose weight limit is the highest. The charge applicable on such an item shall, at the option of the originating administration, be that of the category with the highest rate or the sum of the separate charges applicable to each article in the item. Such items shall bear the endorsement Envois mixtes ("Combination mailing").
Article 10
Rate-fixing based on method of conveyance or speed
1 The charges applicable to priority items, which shall always be conveyed by the quickest route (air or surface), shall include any additional costs of fast transmission.
2 Administrations that apply the system based on contents shall be authorized:
2.1 to collect air surcharges for airmail items. The surcharges shall be related to the air conveyance dues and shall be uniform for at least the whole of the territory of each country of destination whatever the route used. In calculating the air surcharge for an airmail item, administrations shall be authorized to take into account the weight of any forms used by the public which may be attached to the item;
2.2 to collect for S.A.L. items surcharges lower than those which they collect for airmail items;
2.3 to fix combined charges for the prepayment of airmail items and S.A.L. items, taking into account the cost of the postal services rendered by them and the cost of the air conveyance.
3 The reductions in charges pursuant to articles 9.4 and 9.5 shall also apply to items conveyed by air, but no reduction shall be granted on the portion of the charge intended to cover the costs of such conveyance.
Article 11
Preferential rates
1 Above the minimum level of charges laid down in article 6.2, postal administrations may allow reduced charges based on their internal legislation for letter-post items posted in their country. They may, for instance, give preferential rates to major users of the Post.
Article 12
Special charges
1 No delivery charge may be collected from the addressee in respect of small packets weighing less than 500 grams.
2 Where domestic small packet items weighing over 500 grams are subject to a delivery charge, the same charge may be collected in respect of incoming international small packets.
3 Administrations shall be authorized to collect in the cases mentioned below the same charges as in the domestic service.
3.1 Charge on items posted after the latest time for posting, collected from the sender.
3.2 Charge on items posted outside normal counter opening hours, collected from the sender.
3.3 Charge for collection at the sender's address, collected from the sender.
3.4 Charge, for withdrawal outside normal counter opening hours, collected from the addressee.
3.5 Poste restante charge collected from the addressee.
3.6 A storage charge for any letter-post item weighing more than 500 grams of which the addressee has not taken delivery within the period during which the item is held at his disposal free of charge. This charge shall not apply to literature for the blind.
Article 13
Payment of postage
1 As a general rule, letter-post items shall be fully prepaid by the sender. The methods of denoting prepayment are defined in the Detailed Regulations.
2 The administration of origin may return unpaid or underpaid letter-post items to the sender for the latter to make up the postage himself.
3 The administration of origin may also itself undertake to prepay unpaid letter-post items or make up the postage on underpaid items and collect the missing amount from the sender. In this case, it shall be authorized to also collect a handling charge of 0.33 SDR at most. The missing prepayment shall be denoted by one of the methods defined in the Detailed Regulations.
4 In cases in which the options described under 2 and 3 are not applied, unpaid or underpaid items shall be liable to a special charge, payable by the addressee or, in the case of returned items, by the sender. Calculation of this special charge is defined in the Detailed Regulations.
Article 14
Prepayment of letter-post items on board ship
1 Items posted on board ship at the two terminal points of the voyage or at any intermediate port of call shall be prepaid by means of postage stamps and according to the rates of the country in whose waters the ship is lying.
2 If the items are posted on board on the high seas, they may be prepaid, in the absence of special agreement between the administrations concerned, by means of the postage stamps and according to the rates of the country to which the ship appertains or is under contract. Items prepaid in this way must be handed over to the post office at the port of call as soon as possible after the arrival of the ship.
Article 15
International reply coupons
1 Postal administrations shall be permitted to sell international reply coupons issued by the International Bureau and to limit their sale in accordance with their internal legislation.
2 The value of the reply coupon shall be 0.74 SDR. The selling price fixed by the administrations concerned may not be less than this value.
3 Reply coupons shall be exchangeable in any member country for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage prepayable on an unregistered priority item or an unregistered airmail letter sent abroad. Where not precluded by the internal legislation of the country of exchange, reply coupons shall also be exchangeable for postal stationery or for other postal prepayment marks or impressions.
4 The administration of a member country may, in addition, reserve the right to require the reply coupons and the items to be prepaid in exchange for those reply coupons to be presented at the same time.
CHAPTER 2
SPECIAL SERVICES
Article 16
Registered items
1 Letter-post items may be sent as registered items.
2 The charge on registered items shall be paid in advance. It shall be made up of the postage charge, according to the classification system and category of item, and of a fixed registration charge of 1.31 SDR at most. For each M bag, administrations shall collect, instead of the charge per item, a bulk charge not exceeding five times the charge per item.
3 In cases where exceptional security measures are required, administrations may collect from the sender or from the addressee, in addition to the charge mentioned under 2, the special charges provided for by their internal legislation.
4 Postal administrations prepared to cover risks of force majeure shall be authorized to collect a special charge of 0.13 SDR at most for each registered item.
Article 17
Recorded delivery items
1 Letter-post items may be sent by the recorded delivery items service in relations between administrations which agree to provide this service.
2 The charge on recorded delivery items shall be paid in advance. It shall be made up of the postage charge, according to the classification system and category of item, and of the recorded delivery charge fixed by the administration of origin. This charge shall be less than the registration charge.
Article 18
Insured items
1 Priority and non-priority items and letters containing securities, valuable documents or articles shall be called "insured items" and may be exchanged with insurance of the contents for the value declared by the sender. This exchange shall be restricted to those member countries whose postal administrations have declared their willingness to admit such items, whether reciprocally or in one direction only.
2 In principle, the amount of the insured value shall be unlimited. Every administration may limit the insured value, so far as it is concerned, to an amount which may not be less than 4000 SDR. However, the limit of insured value adopted in the internal service shall be applicable if it is less than that amount.
3 The charge on insured items shall be paid in advance. It shall be made up of the ordinary postage charge, the fixed registration charge laid down in article 16.2 and an insurance charge.
4 Instead of the fixed registration charge, postal administrations may collect the corresponding charge of their internal service or, exceptionally, a charge of 3.27 SDR at most.
5 The insurance charge shall be at most 0.33 SDR for each 65.34 SDR of insured value or fraction thereof, or 0.5 percent of the scale of the insured value. This charge shall apply whatever the country of destination, even in countries which undertake to cover risks of force majeure.
6 In cases where exceptional security measures are required, administrations may collect from the sender or from the addressee, in addition to the charges mentioned under 3, 4 and 5, the special charges provided for by their internal legislation.
Article 19
Express items
1 At the sender's request, letter-post items for countries where the administration performs the service shall be delivered by special messenger as soon as possible after their arrival at the delivery office. Any administration shall have the right to confine this service to priority items, to airmail items and, when this is the only means used between two administrations, to surface LC items. Express items may he dealt with in a different manner as long as the overall level of the service provided to the addressee is at least equal to that which would have been obtained through special messenger delivery.
2 If the items arrive at the delivery office after the last routine delivery, they shall be delivered by special messenger on the same day and under the same conditions as apply internally, in those countries which provide this facility.
3 Administrations which have various streams of letter mail shall enter express items into the fastest internal letters stream upon their arrival at the inward office of exchange and thereafter handle these items in the speediest manner possible.
4 Express items shall be subject, in addition to the postage, to a charge which may not be less than the amount of postage prepayable on an unregistered priority/non-priority item, as the case may be, or on an unregistered single rate letter and not more than 1.63 SDR. For each M bag, administrations shall collect, instead of the charge per item, a bulk charge not exceeding five times the charge per item. This charge shall be paid in full in advance.
5 When express delivery involves special demands, an additional charge may be collected in accordance with the provisions relating to items of the same kind in the internal service.
6 If the regulations of the administration of destination permit, addressees may ask the delivery office for express delivery immediately on arrival of items which are intended for them. In that case the administration of destination shall be authorized to collect, on delivery, the charge that applies in its internal service.
Article 20
Advice of delivery
1 The sender of a registered item, a recorded delivery item or an insured item may apply for an advice of delivery at the time of posting by paying a charge of 0.98 SDR at most. This advice of delivery shall be returned to him by the quickest route (air or surface).
2 When the sender inquires about an advice of delivery which he has not received within a normal period, a second charge shall not be collected.
Article 21
Delivery to the addressee in person
1 At the sender's request, and in the service between those administrations which have given their consent, registered items, recorded delivery items and insured items shall be delivered to the addressee in person. Administrations may agree to allow this option only for such items accompanied by an advice of delivery. In all cases, the sender shall pay a charge for delivery to the addressee in person of 0.16 SDR at most
Article 22
Items for delivery free of charges and fees
1 In the service between postal administrations which have notified their agreement to that effect senders may, by means of a previous declaration at the office of origin, undertake to pay the whole of the charges and fees to which the items are subject on delivery. So long as an item has not been delivered to the addressee, the sender may ask after posting that the item be delivered free of charges and fees.
2 In the cases provided for in paragraph 1, senders shall undertake to pay the amounts which may be claimed by the office of destination. If necessary, they shall make a provisional payment.
3 The administration of origin shall collect from the sender a charge of 0.98 SDR at most which it shall retain as payment for services rendered in the country of origin.
4 In the case of a request made after posting, the administration of origin shall also collect an additional charge not exceeding 1.31 SDR per request. If the request is to be forwarded by telecommunications, the sender shall pay in addition the corresponding charge.
5 The administration of destination shall be authorized to collect on each item a commission charge not exceeding 0.98 SDR. This charge shall be independent of the presentation-to-Customs charge. It shall be collected from the sender on behalf of the administration of destination.
6 Every administration may restrict to registered items and insured items the service of delivery free of charges and fees.
Article 23
International business reply service
1 Administrations may agree with each other to participate in an optional international business reply service (IBRS).
2 Administrations which operate this service shall comply with the provisions laid down in the Detailed Regulations.
3 Two administrations may, nevertheless, agree bilaterally on another system to be applied between themselves.
4 Administrations may establish a compensation system that takes account of the costs borne.
Article 24
Perishable biological substances. Radioactive materials
1 Perishable biological substances and radioactive materials made up and packed in accordance with the respective provisions of the Detailed Regulations shall be subject to the tariff for priority items or to the tariff for letters and to registration. Their admission shall be restricted to those member countries whose postal administrations have declared their willingness to admit such items, whether reciprocally or in one direction only. Such substances shall be forwarded by the quickest route, normally by air, subject to payment of the corresponding air surcharges.
2 Furthermore, perishable biological substances may be exchanged only between officially recognized qualified laboratories, while radioactive materials may be posted only by duly authorized senders.
CHAPTER 3
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Article 25
Posting abroad of letter-post items
1 A member country shall not be bound to forward or deliver to the addressee letter-post items which senders residing in its territory post or cause to be posted in a foreign country with the object of profiting by the more favourable rate conditions there.
2 The provisions set out under 1 shall be applied without distinction both to letter-post items made up in the sender's country of residence and then carried across the frontier and to letter-post items made up in a foreign country.
3 The administration of destination may claim from the sender and, failing this, from the administration of posting, payment of the internal rates. If neither the sender nor the administration of posting agrees to pay these rates within a time limit set by the administration of destination, the latter may either return the items to the administration of posting and shall be entitled to claim reimbursement of the redirection costs, or handle them in accordance with its own legislation.
4 A member country shall not be bound to forward or deliver to the addressees letter-post items which senders post or cause to be posted in large quantities in a country other than the country where they reside, without receiving appropriate remuneration. The administration of destination may claim from the administration of posting payment commensurate with the costs incurred and which may not exceed the higher of the following two amounts: either 80 percent of the domestic tariff for equivalent items, or 0.14 SDR per item plus 1 SDR per kilogram. If the administration of posting does not agree to pay the amount claimed within a time limit set by the administration of destination, the administration of destination may either return the items to the administration of posting and shall be entitled to claim reimbursement of the redirection costs, or handle them in accordance with its own legislation.
Article 26
Items not admitted. Prohibitions
1 Items not fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Convention and its Detailed Regulations shall not be admitted.
2 Items other than insured items may not contain coin, bank notes, currency notes or securities of any kind payable to bearer, travellers' cheques, platinum, gold or silver, whether manufactured or not, precious stones, jewels or other valuable articles. However, if the internal legislation of the countries of origin and destination permits this, such articles may be sent in a closed envelope as registered items.
3 Letters may not contain documents having the character of current and personal correspondence exchanged between persons other than the sender and the addressee or persons living with them. If the administration of the country of origin or destination discovers the presence of such documents, it shall deal with them according to its legislation.
4 Except as otherwise provided in the Detailed Regulations, printed papers and literature for the blind:
4.1 shall not bear any inscription or contain any document having the character of current and personal correspondence;
4.2 shall not contain any postage stamp or form of prepayment, whether cancelled or not, or any paper representing a monetary value.
5 The insertion in letter-post items of the following articles shall be prohibited:
5.1 narcotics and psychotropic substances;
5.2 explosive, flammable or other dangerous substances: nevertheless, the perishable biological substances and radioactive substances mentioned in article 24 shall not come within this prohibition;
5.3 obscene or immoral articles;
5.4 articles of which the importation and circulation are prohibited in the country of destination.
6 The insertion of live animals in letter post items shall be prohibited.
6.1 However, the following shall be admitted in letter-post items other than insured items:
6.1.1 bees, leeches and silk-worms;
6.1.2 parasites and destroyers of noxious insects intended for the control of those insects and exchanged between officially recognized institutions.
7 The treatment of items wrongly admitted is set out in the Detailed Regulations. Nevertheless, items containing articles mentioned in 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 shall in no circumstances be forwarded to their destination, delivered to the addressees or returned to origin.
Article 27
Redirection
1 If an addressee changes his address, letter-post items shall be reforwarded to him forthwith, under the conditions prescribed in the internal service.
2 Items shall not however be redirected:
2.1 if the sender has forbidden redirection by means of a note on the address side in a language known in the country of destination;
2.2 if they bear in addition to the addressee's address the expression "or occupant".
3 Administrations which collect a charge for requests for redirection in their internal services shall be authorized to collect this same charge in the international service.
4 Apart from the exceptions provided for in the Detailed Regulations, no additional charge shall be collected for letter-post items redirected from country to country. However, administrations which collect a charge for redirection of items in their internal service shall be authorized to collect this same charge on the international mail redirected within their own countries.
5 The conditions for redirection are set out in the Detailed Regulations.
Article 28
Undeliverable items
1 Items which it has not proved possible to deliver to the addressees for whatever reason shall be considered as undeliverable items.
2 The return of undeliverable items as well as their period of retention are governed by the Detailed Regulations.
3 Apart from the exceptions provided for in the Detailed Regulations, no additional charge shall be collected for undeliverable items returned to the country of origin. However, administrations which collect a charge for return of items in their internal service shall be authorized to collect this same charge on the international mail returned to them.
Article 29
Withdrawal from the post. Alteration or correction of address at the sender's request
1 The sender of a letter-post item may have it withdrawn from the post, or have its address altered or corrected, so long as the item:
1.1 has not been delivered to the addressee;
1.2 has not been confiscated or destroyed by the competent authorities because of infringement of article 26;
1.3 has not been seized by virtue of the legislation of the country of destination.
2 If its legislation permits, each administration shall be bound to accept requests for withdrawal from the post or alteration or correction of the address in respect of any letter-post item posted in the service of other administrations.
3 The sender shall pay, for each request, a special charge of 1.31 SDR at most.
4 The request shall be forwarded by post or by telecommunication at the sender's expense. The forwarding conditions and the provisions relating to the use of telecommunications are set out in the Detailed Regulations.
5 The charges prescribed under 3 and 4 shall be levied only once for each request for withdrawal from the post or alteration or correction of address involving several items posted at the same time, at the same office, by the same sender to the same addressee.
Article 30
Inquiries
1 Inquiries shall be entertained within a period of a year from the day after that on which the item was posted.
2 Within this timespan, inquiries shall be accepted as soon as the problem is reported by the sender or the addressee. However, where a sender's inquiry concerns an undelivered item and the anticipated transmission time has not expired, the sender should be informed of this transmission time.
3 Each administration shall be bound to accept inquiries relating to any item posted in the service of another administration.
4 Inquiries shall be free of charge. However, if a request is made for transmission by telecommunications or by EMS, the additional costs shall, in principle, be borne by the person making the request. The relevant provisions are set out in the Detailed Regulations.
CHAPTER 4
CUSTOMS MATTERS
Article 31
Customs control
1 The postal administrations of the countries of origin and destination shall be authorized to submit letter-post items to customs control, according to the legislation of those countries.
Article 32
Presentation-to-Customs charge
1 Items submitted to customs control in the country of origin or of destination, as the case may be, may be subjected to a special charge of 2.61 SDR at most as a postal charge. For each M bag, the special charge may be up to 3.27 SDR at most. This charge shall only be collected for the submission to Customs and customs clearance of items which have attracted customs charges or any other similar charge.
Article 33
Customs duty and other fees
1 Postal administrations shall be authorized to collect from the senders or addressees of items, as the case may be, the customs duty and all other fees which may be due.
CHAPTER 5
LIABILITY
Article 34
Liability of postal administrations. Indemnities
1 General
1.1 Except for the cases provided for in article 35, postal administrations shall be liable for:
1.1.1 the loss of, theft from or damage to registered items and insured items;
1.1.2 the loss of recorded delivery items.
1.2 Postal administrations may undertake to cover risks arising from a case of force majeure.
2 Registered items
2.1 The sender of a registered item shall be entitled to an indemnity if his item is lost.
2.1.1 The indemnity for the loss of a registered item shall amount to 30 SDR, including the cost of the charges paid on posting the item.
2.1.2 The indemnity for the loss of a registered M bag amounts to 150 SDR, including the cost of the charges paid on posting the item.
2.2 The sender of a registered item shall be entitled to an indemnity if the contents of his item are rifled or damaged. However, the packing must have been recognized as being sufficient to guarantee the contents effectively against accidental risks of theft or damage.
2.2.1 The indemnity for a rifled or damaged registered item shall correspond, in principle, to the actual value of the theft or damage. It may, however, in no case exceed the amounts fixed under 2.1.1 and 2.1.2. Consequential losses or loss of profits shall not be taken into account.
3 Recorded delivery items
3.1 If a recorded delivery item is lost, the sender shall be entitled to refund of the charges paid.
3.2 The sender shall also be entitled to a refund of the charges paid in the event of total theft of or total damage to the contents. However, the packing must have been recognized as being sufficient to guarantee the contents effectively against accidental risks of theft or damage.
4 Insured items
4.1 In the event of theft from or damage to an insured item, the sender shall be entitled to an indemnity corresponding, in principle, to the actual amount of the loss, theft or damage. Consequential losses or loss of profits shall not be taken into consideration. However, this indemnity may in no case exceed the amount of the insured value in SDRs.
4.2 The indemnity shall be calculated according to the current price, converted into SDRs, of articles of value of the same kind at the place and time at which they were accepted for conveyance. Failing a current price, the indemnity shall be calculated according to the ordinary value of articles whose value is assessed on the same bases.
4.3 When an indemnity is due for the loss of, total theft from or total damage to an insured item, the sender, or the addressee, as the case may be, shall also be entitled to repayment of the charges and fees paid. However, the insurance charge shall in no case be repaid; it shall be retained by the administration of origin.
5 Notwithstanding the provisions set out under 2.1 and 4.1, the addressee shall be entitled to the indemnity after delivery of a rifled or damaged registered item or insured item.
6 The administration of origin shall have the option of paying senders in its country the indemnities prescribed by its internal legislation for registered items, provided that they are not lower than those laid down in 2.1. The same shall apply to the administration of destination when the indemnity is paid to the addressee. However, the amounts laid down in 2.1 shall remain applicable:
6.1 in the event of recourse against the administration liable; or
6.2 if the sender waives his rights in favour of the addressee or vice versa.
Article 35
Non-liability of postal administrations
1 Postal administrations shall cease to be liable for registered items, recorded delivery items and insured items which they have delivered according to the conditions laid down in their regulations for items of the same kind. Liability shall, however, be maintained:
1.1 when theft or damage is discovered either prior to or at the time of delivery of the item;
1.2 when, internal regulations permitting, the addressee, or the sender if it is returned to origin, makes reservations on taking delivery of a rifled or damaged item;
1.3 when, internal regulations permitting, the registered item was delivered to a private mail-box and, in the course of the inquiry, the addressee declares that he did not receive the item;
1.4 when the addressee or, in the case of return to origin, the sender of an insured item although having given a proper discharge, notifies the delivery administration without delay that he has found theft or damage. He shall furnish proof that such theft or damage did not occur after delivery.
2 Postal administrations shall not be liable:
2.1 in cases of force majeure, subject to article 34.1.2;
2.2 when they cannot account for items owing to the destruction of official records by force majeure, provided that proof of their liability has not been otherwise produced;
2.3 when such loss, theft or damage has been caused by the fault or negligence of the sender or arises from the nature of the contents;
2.4 in the case of items whose contents fall within the prohibitions specified in article 26, in so far as these items have been confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority because of their contents;
2.5 when the items have been seized under the legislation of the country of destination, as notified by the administration of that country;
2.6 in the case of insured items which have been fraudulently insured for a sum greater than the actual value of the contents;
2.7 when the sender has made no inquiry within one year from the day after that on which the item was posted.
3 Postal administrations shall accept no liability for customs declarations in whatever form these are made or for decisions taken by the Customs on examination of items submitted to customs control.
Article 36
Sender's liability
1 The sender of a letter-post item shall be liable for any damage caused to other postal items as a result of the dispatch of articles not acceptable for conveyance or the non-observance of the conditions of acceptance.
2 The sender shall be liable within the same limits as postal administrations.
3 The sender shall remain liable even if the office of posting accepts such an item.
4 The sender shall not be liable if there has been fault or negligence on the part of administrations or carriers.
Article 37
Payment of indemnity
1 Subject to the right of recourse against the administration which is liable, the obligation to pay the indemnity shall rest either with the administration of origin or with the administration of destination. The obligation to refund the charges for recorded delivery items shall rest with the administration of origin.
2 The sender may waive his rights to the indemnity in favour of the addressee. Conversely, the addressee may waive his rights in favour of the sender. The sender or the addressee may authorize a third party to receive the indemnity if internal legislation allows this.
3 The administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, shall be authorized to indemnify the rightful claimant on behalf of the administration which, having participated in the conveyance and having been duly informed, has allowed two months to pass without finally settling the matter, or without having reported:
3.1 that the damage appeared to be due to a case of force majeure;
3.2 that the item had been detained, confiscated or destroyed by the competent authority because of its contents or seized under the legislation of the country of destination.
4 The administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, shall he authorized to indemnify the rightful claimant in cases where the inquiry form is not properly completed and has to be returned for additional information, thereby causing the time limit set in 3 to be exceeded.
Article 38
Possible recovery of the indemnity from the sender or the addressee
1 If, after payment of the indemnity, a registered item or an insured item or part of the contents previously considered as lost is found, the sender or the addressee, as the case may be, shall be advised that the item is being held at his disposal for a period of three months on repayment of the amount of the indemnity paid. At the same time he shall be asked to whom the item is to be delivered. In the event of refusal or failure to reply within the prescribed period, the same approach shall be made to the addressee or the sender as the case may be.
2 If the sender and the addressee refuse to take delivery of the item, it shall become the property of the administration or, where appropriate, administrations which bore the loss.
3 In the case of subsequent discovery of an insured item the contents of which are found to be of less value than the amount of the indemnity paid, the sender shall repay the amount of this indemnity against return of the item, without prejudice to the consequences of fraudulent insurance.
CHAPTER 6
ELECTRONIC MAIL
Article 39
General provisions
1 Administrations may agree with each other to participate in electronic mail services.
2 Electronic mail is a postal service which uses telecommunications for transmitting within seconds messages true to the original posted by the sender in either a physical or an electronic form for delivery to the addressee in a physical or electronic form. In the case of physical delivery, the information is generally transmitted by electronic means for the longest possible part of the way and reproduced in physical form as near as possible to the addressee. Physical messages are delivered in an envelope to the addressee as a letter-post item.
3 The tariffs applicable to electronic mail are fixed by administrations, taking costs and market requirements into account.
Article 40
Facsimile-based services
1 The bureaufax range of services permits the transmission of texts and illustrations true to the original by facsimile.
Article 41
Text-based services
1 The range of text-based services permits the transmission of texts and illustrations produced by means of data-processing equipment (PC, mainframe computer).
PART III. PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE LETTER POST: RELATIONS BETWEEN POSTAL ADMINISTRATIONS[edit]
CHAPTER 1
TREATMENT OF LETTER-POST ITEMS
Article 42
Quality of service targets
1 Administrations shall fix a service target for the handling of priority and airmail items and for the handling of surface and non-priority items addressed to or sent from their country. The target shall be no less favourable than those applied to comparable items in their domestic service.
2 Administrations of origin shall publish service targets for priority and airmail items for abroad by reference to the targets fixed by the administrations of origin and destination and including the conveyance time.
3 Postal administrations shall undertake to verify periodically that the established times are achieved either within the framework of the surveys organized by the International Bureau or by the Restricted Unions, or on the basis of bilateral agreements.
4 It is also desirable that postal administrations should verify periodically that the established times are achieved, using other quality control systems, in particular, external quality control.
5 Wherever possible, administrations shall implement quality measurement systems for international mails (both outgoing and incoming); this should, as far as possible, include measurement from posting to delivery (end to end).
6 An member countries shall provide the International Bureau with up-to-date information about the latest acceptance times (heures limites de dépôt) against which they operate for international postal purposes.
7 Where possible, separate information shall be provided for priority and non-priority streams of traffic.
Article 43
Exchange of items
1 Administrations may exchange, via one or more of their number, closed mails as well as à découvert items according to needs and service requirements.
2 When the conveyance of mail in transit through a country takes place without the participation of the postal administration of that country, this administration shall be informed in advance. This form of transit shall not involve the liability of the postal administration of the transit country.
3 Administrations may send surface mails by air, with reduced priority, subject to the agreement of the administrations which receive such mails at the airports of their country.
4 Exchanges shall take place on the basis of the provisions of the Detailed Regulations.
Article 44
Exchange of closed mails with military units
1 Closed mails may be exchanged through the intermediary of the land, sea or air services of other countries:
1.1 between the post offices of any member country and the commanding officers of military units placed at the disposal of the United Nations;
1.2 between the commanding officers of such military units;
1.3 between the post offices of any member country and the commanding officers of naval or air units, warships or military aircraft of the same country stationed abroad;
1.4 between the commanding officers of naval or air units, warships or military aircraft of the same country.
2 Letter-post items enclosed in the mails referred to under 1 shall be confined to items addressed to or sent by members of military units or the officers and crews of the ships or aircraft to or from which the mails are forwarded. The rates and conditions of dispatch applicable to them shall be fixed, according to its regulations, by the postal administration of the country which has made the military unit available or to which the ships or aircraft belong.
3 In the absence of special agreement, the administration of the country which has made the military unit available or to which the warships or military aircraft belong shall be liable to the administrations concerned for the transit charges for the mails, the terminal dues and the air conveyance dues.
Article 45
Temporary suspension of services
1 When exceptional circumstances oblige a postal administration temporarily to suspend its services wholly or in part it shall immediately inform the administrations concerned.
CHAPTER 2
TREATMENT OF CASES OF LIABILITY
Article 46
Determination of liability between postal administrations
1 Until the contrary is proved, liability shall rest with the postal administration which, having received the item without comment and being furnished with all the prescribed means of inquiry, cannot prove either delivery to the addressee or, where appropriate, correct transfer to another administration.
2 If the loss, theft or damage occurs in course of conveyance without it being possible to establish in which country's territory or service it happened, the administrations concerned shall bear the loss equally.
3 The liability of an administration towards other administrations shall in no case exceed the maximum insured value that it has adopted.
4 Postal administrations not providing the insured items service shall assume, in respect of such items conveyed in closed mails, the liability laid down for registered items. This provision shall also apply when postal administrations do not accept liability for insured items carried on board the ships or aircraft used by them.
5 If the loss, theft or damage occurs in the territory or service of an intermediate administration which does not provide the insured items service, the administration of origin shall bear the loss not covered by the intermediate administration. The same rule shall apply if the amount of the damage is higher than the maximum insured value adopted by the intermediate administration.
6 Customs duty and other fees of which it has not been possible to secure cancellation shall be borne by the administrations liable for the loss, theft or damage.
7 An administration which has paid the indemnity shall take over the rights, up to the amount of the indemnity, of the person who has received it in any action which may be taken against the addressee, the sender or third parties.
CHAPTER 3
TRANSIT CHARGES AND TERMINAL DUES
Article 47
Transit charges
1 Subject to article 50, closed mails exchanged between two administrations or between two offices of the same country by means of the services of one or more other administrations (third party services) shall be subject to the payment of transit charges. The latter shall constitute remuneration for the services rendered in respect of land transit and sea transit.
2 À découvert items may also be subject to transit charges. The conditions for application are specified in the Detailed Regulations.
Article 48
Transit charge scales
1 The transit charges shall be calculated in accordance with the scales set out in the following table:
┌───────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Distances traversed │ Charge per kg gross │ ├───────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ 1 │ 2 │ ├───────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────┤ │1.1 Distances traversed by │ SDR │ │ land expressed in kilometres │ │ │ │ │ │Up to 100 km │ 0.14 │ │Above 100 up to 200 │ 0.17 │ │ 200 300 │ 0.20 │ │ 300 400 │ 0.22 │ │ 400 500 │ 0.24 │ │ 500 600 │ 0.26 │ │ 600 700 │ 0.27 │ │ 700 800 │ 0.29 │ │ 800 900 │ 0.31 │ │ 900 1000 │ 0.32 │ │ 1000 1100 │ 0.34 │ │ 1100 1200 │ 0.35 │ │ 1200 1300 │ 0.37 │ │ 1300 1500 │ 0.39 │ │ 1500 2000 │ 0.43 │ │ 2000 2500 │ 0.49 │ │ 2500 2750 │ 0.53 │ │ 2750 3000 │ 0.56 │ │ 3000 4000 │ 0.62 │ │ 4000 5000 │ 0.72 │ │ 5000 6000 │ 0.81 │ │ 6000 7000 │ 0.89 │ │Above 7000 up to 8000 │ 0.97 │ │ 8000 9000 │ 1.05 │ │ 9000 10000 │ 1.12 │ │ 10000 11000 │ 1.19 │ │ 11000 12000 │ 1.26 │ │ 12000 13000 │ 1.32 │ │ 13000 14000 │ 1.39 │ │ 14000 │ 1.45 │ │ │ │ │1.2. Distances traversed by sea│ SDR │ │ expressed in nautical miles │ │ │ │expressed in kilometres after conversion │ │ │on the basis of 1 nautical mile = 1.852 km│ │ │ │ │Up to 100 nautical miles │Up to 185 km 0.17 │ │Above 100 up to 200 │Above 185 up to 370 0.19 │ │ 200 300 │ 370 556 0.21 │ │ 300 400 │ 556 741 0.22 │ │ 400 500 │ 741 926 0.23 │ │ 500 600 │ 926 1111 0.24 │ │ 600 700 │ 1111 1296 0.24 │ │ 700 800 │ 1296 1482 0.25 │ │ 800 900 │ 1482 1667 0.25 │ │ 900 1000 │ 1667 1852 0.26 │ │ 1000 1100 │ 1852 2037 0.26 │ │ 1100 1200 │ 2037 2222 0.27 │ │ 1200 1300 │ 2222 2408 0.27 │ │ 1300 1500 │ 2408 2778 0.28 │ │ 1500 2000 │ 2778 3704 0.29 │ │ 2000 2500 │ 3704 4630 0.31 │ │ 2500 2750 │ 4630 5093 0.32 │ │ 2750 3000 │ 5093 5556 0.32 │ │ 3000 4000 │ 5556 7408 0.34 │ │ 4000 5000 │ 7408 9260 0.36 │ │ 5000 6000 │ 9260 11112 0.38 │ │ 6000 7000 │ 11112 12964 0.40 │ │ 7000 8000 │ 12964 14816 0.41 │ │ 8000 9000 │ 14816 16668 0.42 │ │ 9000 10000 │ 16668 18520 0.43 │ │ 10000 11000 │ 18520 20372 0.45 │ │ 11000 12000 │ 20372 22224 0.46 │ │ 12000 13000 │ 22224 24076 0.47 │ │ 13000 14000 │ 24076 25928 0.48 │ │ 14000 │ 25928 0.49 │ └───────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────┘
2 The Postal Operations Council shall be authorized to revise and amend the scales mentioned under 1 between Congresses. Any revision made, in accordance with a methodology that ensures equitable remuneration for administrations which conduct transit operations, must be based on reliable and representative economic and financial data. Any change decided upon shall enter into force at a date set by the Postal Operations Council.
Article 49
Terminal dues
1 Subject to article 50, each administration which receives letter-post items from another administration shall have the right to collect from the dispatching administration a payment for the costs incurred for the international mail received.
2 Payment
2.1 Payment for the letter-post items, excluding M bags, shall be 3.427 SDR per kilogram.
2.2 For M bags, the rate to be applied shall be 0.653 SDR per kilogram.
2.2.1 M bags weighing less than 5 kilograms shall be considered as weighing 5 kilograms for terminal dues payment purposes.
3 Revision mechanism
3.1 When, in a given relation, an administration dispatching or receiving a mail flow of more than 150 tonnes a year (M bags excluded) establishes that the average number of items contained in 1 kilogram of mail dispatched or received deviates from the world average of 17.26 items, it may have the rate revised if, compared with this world average:
3.1.1 the number of items is more than 21 or
3.1.2 the number of items is less than 14.
3.1.3 In the case provided for under 3.1.2 the revision shall not be applicable if the flow in question is destined for a developing country included in the list approved for this purpose by Congress.
3.1.4 When an administration requests application of the revision provided for under 3.1, the corresponding administration may do likewise, even if the flow in the other direction is less than 150 tonnes a year.
3.1.4.1 The provisions under 3.1.4 shall not apply to the developing countries included in the list approved for this purpose by Congress.
3.2 The revision shall be carried out on the terms specified in the Detailed Regulations.
4 Bulk mail
4.1 For bulk mail, the administration of destination may request specific payment according to one of the following formulas:
4.1.1 application of the world average rates of 0.14 SDR per item and 1 SDR per kilogram;
4.1.2 application of rates per item and per kilogram reflecting the handling costs in the country of destination. These costs must be in relation with the domestic rates in accordance with the conditions specified in the Detailed Regulations.
4.2 Subject to the provisions under 3.1.3, when an administration of destination requests specific payment for bulk mail, the dispatching administration shall be entitled to request that the remainder of the flow be subject to the revision provided for under 3.1.
5 The Postal Operations Council shall be authorized to amend the payments mentioned under 2 and 4.1.1 between Congresses. Any revision carried out shall be based on available economic and financial data. Any amendment decided upon shall come into force at a date set by the Postal Operations Council. The latter shall also be authorized to define the ways and means of implementing the payment system mentioned under 4.1.2.
6 Any administration may waive wholly or in part the payment provided for under 1.
7 The administrations concerned may, by bilateral or multilateral agreement, apply other payment systems for the settlement of terminal dues accounts.
Article 50
Exemption from transit charges and terminal dues
1 The letter-post items relating to the postal service referred to in article 7.2.2, undelivered postal items returned to origin in closed dispatches and dispatches of empty mailbags shall be exempted from land and sea transit charges and from terminal dues.
Article 51
Accounting for transit charges and terminal dues
1 Transit charges
1.1 Accounting for surface-mail transit charges shall be done annually by the administration of transit, for each administration of origin. It shall be based on the weight of the mails sent during the year concerned and received in transit. The scales laid down in article 48 shall be applied.
1.2 The transit charges shall be borne by the administration of origin of the mails. They shall be payable, subject to the exception provided for under 1.4, to the administrations of the countries which are crossed or whose services take part in the land or sea conveyance of the mails.
1.3 When the administration of the country which is crossed does not take part in the land or sea conveyance of the mails, the applicable transit charges shall be payable to the administration of destination if it bears the costs related to such transit.
1.4 The charges for the sea conveyance of mails in transit may be settled directly between the postal administrations of origin of the mails and the shipping companies or their agents. The postal administration of the port of embarkation concerned shall give its prior agreement.
1.5 The debtor administration shall be exempted from payment of transit charges when the annual balance does not exceed 163.35 SDR.
2 Terminal dues
2.1 For letter-post items, with the exception of M bags, accounting for terminal dues shall be done annually by the creditor administration, according to the actual weight of the mails received during the year concerned. The rates laid down in article 49 shall be applied.
2.2 For M bags, accounting for terminal dues shall be done annually by the creditor administration, on the basis of the weight subject to terminal dues in accordance with the conditions laid down in article 49.
2.3 To enable the annual weight to be determined, the administrations of origin of the mails shall permanently indicate, for each mail:
- the weight of the mail (excluding M bags):
- the weight of the M bags weighing more than 5 kilograms;
- the number of M bags weighing less than 5 kilograms.
2.4 When it is necessary to determine the number and weight of bulk items, the modalities indicated in the Detailed Regulations for this category of mail shall be applied.
2.5 The administrations concerned may agree to account for terminal dues in their reciprocal relations by different statistical methods. They may also agree on a different periodicity from those laid down in the Detailed Regulations for the statistical period.
2.6 The debtor administration shall be exempted from payment of terminal dues when the annual balance does not exceed 326.70 SDR.
3 Every administration shall be authorized to submit for the consideration of a committee of arbitrators any annual results which in its opinion differ too much from reality. The arbitration shall be arranged as laid down in article 128 of the General Regulations. The arbitrators shall be empowered to fix in a fair and reasonable manner the transit charges or terminal dues to be paid.
CHAPTER 4
AIR CONVEYANCE DUES
Article 52
General principles
1 The air conveyance dues for the whole distance flown shall be borne:
1.1 in the case of closed mails, by the administration of the country of origin of the mails;
1.2 in the case of priority items and airmail items in transit à découvert, including missent items, by the administration which forwards the items to another administration.
2 These same regulations shall be applicable to airmail, priority items and airmail items in transit à découvert exempt from transit charges.
3 Each administration of destination which provides air conveyance of international mail within its country shall be entitled to reimbursement of the additional costs incurred for such conveyance provided that the weighted average distance of the sectors flown exceeds 300 kilometres. Unless agreement has been reached that no charge should be made, the dues shall be uniform for all priority mails and airmails originating abroad whether or not this mail is reforwarded by air.
4 However, where the terminal dues levied by the administration of destination are based specifically on costs or on domestic rates, no additional reimbursement for internal air conveyance shall be made.
5 The administration of destination shall exclude, for the purpose of calculating the weighted average distance, the weight of all mails for which the terminal dues calculation has been based specifically on costs or on the domestic rates of the administration of destination.
6 In the absence of special agreement between the administrations concerned, article 48 shall apply to airmail correspondence for any transit by land or by sea. Nevertheless, no transit charges shall be payable for:
6.1 the transhipment of airmails between two airports serving the same town;
6.2 the conveyance of such mails from an airport serving a town to a depot situated in the same town and the return of the same mails for reforwarding.
Article 53
Basic rates and calculation of air conveyance dues
1 The basic rate applicable to the settlement of accounts between administrations in respect of air conveyance shall be approved by the Postal Operations Council. It shall be calculated by the International Bureau according to the formula specified in the Detailed Regulations.
2 The calculation of air conveyance dues on closed mails, priority items and airmail items in transit à découvert, as well as the relevant methods of accounting, are set out in the Detailed Regulations.
CHAPTER 5
TELEMATIC LINKS
Article 54
General provisions
1 Administrations may agree to establish telematic links amongst themselves and with other partners.
2 The postal administrations concerned shall be free to choose the suppliers and the technical facilities (hardware and software) to support the exchange of data.
3 In consultation with the supplier of network services, postal administrations shall agree bilaterally on the method of payment for these services.
4 Postal administrations shall not be financially or legally liable if another administration fails to make the payments owed in respect of services relating to the provision of telematic link.
CHAPTER 6
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 55
Settlement of accounts
1 Settlements between postal administrations of international accounts arising from postal traffic may be regarded as current transactions and effected in accordance with the current international obligations of the member countries concerned, when there are agreements to this effect. In the absence of such agreements, accounts shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of the Detailed Regulations.
Article 56
Provision of information, International Bureau publications, retention of documents, forms
1 The provisions relating to the provision of information concerning the execution of the postal service, International Bureau publications, retention of documents and the forms to be used are set out in the Detailed Regulations.
PART IV. EMS[edit]
Article 57
EMS
1 EMS shall be the quickest postal service by physical means. It shall consist of the collection, dispatch and delivery in a very short space of time of correspondence, documents or goods.
2 EMS shall be regulated on the basis of bilateral agreements. Aspects that are not expressly governed by the latter shall be subject to the appropriate provisions of the Acts of the Union.
3 This service shall wherever possible be identified by a logo as shown in the specimen below and comprising the following elements:
- an orange wing;
- the letters EMS in blue:
- three horizontal orange stripes.
The logo may be supplemented by adding the name of the national service.
4 Charges for the service shall be set by the administration of origin in consideration of costs and market requirements.
PART V. FINAL PROVISIONS[edit]
Article 58
Undertakings regarding penal measures
1 The Governments of member countries shall undertake to adopt, or to propose to the legislatures of their countries, the necessary measures:
1.1 for punishing the counterfeiting of postage stamps, even if withdrawn from circulation, and of international reply coupons;
1.2 for punishing the use or uttering:
1.2.1 of counterfeit postage stamps (even if withdrawn from circulation) or used postage stamps, as well as of counterfeit or used impressions of franking machines or printing presses;
1.2.2 of counterfeit international reply coupons;
1.3 for prohibiting and suppressing all fraudulent operations of manufacturing and uttering adhesive stamps and stamped impressions in use in the postal service, counterfeited or imitated in such a manner that they could be mistaken for the adhesive stamps and stamped impressions issued by the postal administration of a member country:
1.4 for preventing and, if necessary, for punishing the insertion in postal items of narcotics and psychotropic substances, as well as explosive, flammable or other dangerous substances, where their insertion has not been expressly authorized by the Convention and the Agreements.
Article 59
Conditions for approval of proposals concerning the Convention and
its Detailed Regulations
1 To become effective, proposals submitted to Congress relating to this Convention and its Detailed Regulations must be approved by a majority of the member countries present and voting. At least half of the member countries represented at Congress shall be present at the time of voting.
2 To become effective, proposals relating to the Detailed Regulations which have been referred by Congress to the Postal Operations Council for a decision or which have been introduced between Congresses must be approved by a majority of the members of the Postal Operations Council.
3 To become effective, proposals introduced between Congresses relating to this Convention must obtain:
3.1 two thirds of the votes, at least one half of the member countries of the Union having replied to the consultation, if they involve amendments to articles 1 to 7 (part I), 8 to 11, 13, 16 to 18, 20, 24 to 26, 34 to 38 (part II), 43.2, 44 to 51, 55 (part III) and 58 to 60 (part V) of the Convention or to any of the articles of its Final Protocol;
3.2 a majority of the votes, at least one half of the member countries of the Union having replied to the consultation, if they involve amendments of substance to provisions other than those mentioned under 3.1;
3.3 a majority of the votes if they involve:
3.3.1 drafting amendments to the provisions of the Convention other than those mentioned under 3.1;
3.3.2 interpretation of the provisions of the Convention and its Final Protocol.
4 Notwithstanding the provisions under 3.1, any member country whose national legislation is as yet incompatible with the proposed amendment may, within ninety days from the date of notification of the latter, make a written declaration to the Director-General of the International Bureau stating that it is unable to accept the amendment.
Article 60
Entry into force and duration of the Convention
1 This Convention shall come into force on 1 January 1996 and shall remain in operation until the entry into force of the Acts of the next Congress.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the plenipotentiaries of the Governments of the member countries have signed this Convention in a single original which shall be deposited with the Director-General of the International Bureau. A copy thereof shall be delivered to each party by the Government of the country in which Congress is held.
DONE at Seoul, 14 September 1994.
[Signatures not reproduced here.]
FINAL PROTOCOL TO THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL CONVENTION
At the moment of proceeding to signature of the Universal Postal Convention concluded this day, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have agreed the following:
Article I
Ownership of postal items
1 Article 2 shall not apply to Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Dominica, Egypt, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Overseas Dependent Territories of the United Kingdom, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tanzania (United Rep), Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
2 Nor shall article 2 apply to Denmark, whose internal legislation does not allow withdrawal from the post or alteration of the address of correspondence, at the request of the sender, from the time when the addressee has been informed of the arrival of an item addressed to him.
Article II
Charges
1 Notwithstanding article 6.4, the administration of Canada shall be authorized to collect postal charges other than those provided for in the Convention and Agreements, when such charges are consistent with the legislation of its country.
Article III
Exception to the exemption of literature for the blind from postal charges
1 Notwithstanding article 7.4, the postal administrations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turkey, which do not concede exemption from postal charges to literature for the blind in their internal service, may collect the postage and charges for special services which may not, however, exceed those in their internal service.
2 Notwithstanding article 7.4, the administrations of Canada, Germany, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Japan and United States of America may collect the charges for special services which are applied to literature for the blind in their internal service.
Article IV
Small packets
1 The obligation to participate in the exchange of small packets exceeding 500 grams in weight shall not apply to the administrations of Myanmar and Papua New Guinea which find it impossible to operate such an exchange.
Article V
Printed papers. Maximum weight
1 Notwithstanding article 8.3.2, the administrations of Canada and Ireland shall be authorized to limit to 2 kilograms the maximum weight of inward and outward printed papers.
Article VI
Registered M bags
1 The postal administrations of Canada and United States of America shall be authorized not to accept registered M bags and not to provide registered handling for such bags received from other countries.
Article VII
Posting abroad of letter-post items
1 The postal administrations of Greece, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America reserve the right to impose a charge, equivalent to the cost of the work it incurs, on any administration which, under the provisions of article 25.4, sends to it items for disposal which were not originally dispatched as postal items by their services.
2 Notwithstanding article 25.4, the postal administration of Canada reserves the right to collect from the administration of origin such amount as will ensure recovery of not less than the costs incurred by it in the handling of such items.
3 Article 25.4 allows the administration of destination to claim, from the administration of posting, appropriate remuneration for delivering letter-post items posted abroad in large quantities. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland reserves the right to limit any such payment to the appropriate domestic tariff for equivalent items in the country of destination.
4 Article 25.4 allows the administration of destination to claim, from the administration of posting, appropriate remuneration for delivering letter-post items posted abroad in large quantities. The following countries reserve the right to limit any such payment to the limits authorized in the Convention and Detailed Regulations for bulk mail: Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Overseas Dependent Territories of the United Kingdom, Grenada, Guyana, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, New Zealand, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand and United States of America.
5 Notwithstanding the reservations under 4, the following countries reserve the right to apply in full the provisions of article 25 of the Convention to mail received from Union member countries: Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire (Rep), Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Mauritania, Monaco, Portugal, Senegal, Syrian Arab Rep, Togo.
Article VIII
Prohibitions
1 Exceptionally, the postal administration of Lebanon shall not accept registered items containing coins, bank notes, securities of any kind payable to bearer, travellers' cheques, platinum, gold or silver whether manufactured or not, precious stones, jewels or other valuable articles. It shall not be strictly bound by the provisions of article 35.1 with regard to its liability in cases of theft or damage, or where items containing articles made of glass or fragile articles are concerned.
2 Exceptionally, the postal administrations of Bolivia, China (People's Rep), Iraq, Nepal and Viet Nam shall not accept registered items containing coins, bank notes, currency notes or securities of any kind payable to bearer, travellers' cheques, platinum, gold or silver whether manufactured or not, precious stones, jewels or other valuable articles.
3 The postal administration of Myanmar reserves the right not to accept insured items containing the valuable articles listed in article 26.2, as this is contrary to its internal regulations.
4 The postal administration of Nepal does not accept registered or insured items containing currency notes or coins, except by special agreement to that effect.
Article IX
Articles subject to customs duty
1 With reference to article 26, the postal administrations of Bangladesh and El Salvador do not accept insured items containing articles subject to customs duty.
2 With reference to article 26, the postal administrations of Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, Central African Rep, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dem People's Rep of Korea, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Italy, Nepal, Panama (Rep), Peru, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Venezuela do not accept ordinary and registered letters containing articles subject to customs duty.
3 With reference to article 26, the postal administrations of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire (Rep), Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Oman, Senegal, Viet Nam and Yemen do not accept ordinary letters containing articles subject to customs duty.
4 Notwithstanding the provisions set out under 1 to 3, the sending of serums, vaccines and urgently required medicaments which are difficult to procure shall be permitted in all cases.
Article X
Withdrawal from the post. Alteration or correction of address
1 Article 29 shall not apply to Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Dem People's Rep of Korea, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Overseas Dependent Territories of the United Kingdom, Grenada, Guyana, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tanzania (United Rep), Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa and Zambia, whose legislation does not permit withdrawal from the post or alteration of address of letter-post items at the sender's request.
2 Article 29 shall apply to Australia only in so far as that article is consistent with its domestic legislation.
Article XI
Inquiries
1 Notwithstanding article 30.4, the postal administrations of Cape Verde, Chad, Gabon, Overseas Dependent Territories of the United Kingdom, Greece, Iran (Islamic Rep), Mongolia, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Rep and Zambia reserve the right to collect from customers charges on inquiries lodged.
2 Notwithstanding article 30.4, the postal administrations of Argentina, Czech Rep and Slovakia reserve the right to collect a special charge when, on completion of the investigation conducted in response to the inquiry, it emerges that the latter was unjustified.
Article XII
Presentation-to-Customs charge
1 The postal administration of Gabon reserves the right to collect a presentation-to-Customs charge from customers.
Article XIII
Liability of postal administrations
1 The postal administrations of Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo (Rep), Côte d'Ivoire (Rep), Djibouti, India, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Turkey shall be authorized not to apply article 34.1.1.1 with respect to liability in cases of theft from or damage to registered items.
2 Notwithstanding articles 34.1.1.1 and 35.1, the postal administrations of Chile, China (People's Rep) and Colombia shall be liable only for the loss of, total theft of or total damage to the contents of registered items.
3 Notwithstanding article 34, the postal administration of Saudi Arabia shall accept no liability in case of loss of or damage to items containing articles mentioned in article 26.2.
Article XIV
Non-liability of postal administrations
1 The postal administration of Bolivia shall not be required to observe article 35.1 as regards maintenance of its liability in case of total theft or total damage of registered items.
Article XV
Payment of indemnity
1 The postal administrations of Bangladesh, Bolivia, Guinea, Mexico, Nepal and Nigeria shall not be obliged to comply with article 37.3 in so far as concerns finally settling the matter within a period of two months or informing the administration of origin or destination, as the case may be, when a postal item has been detained, confiscated or destroyed by the competent authorities because of the contents, or has been seized by virtue of its domestic legislation.
2 The postal administrations of Congo (Rep), Djibouti, Guinea, Lebanon and Madagascar shall not be obliged to comply with article 37.3 in so far as concerns finally settling a claim within a period of two months. Nor do they agree to the rightful claimant's being indemnified, on their behalf, by another administration upon expiry of the above-mentioned period.
Article XVI
Special transit charges
1 The postal administration of Greece reserves the right to raise by 30 percent the land transit charges and by 50 percent the sea transit charges given in article 48.1.
2 The postal administration of the Russian Federation shall be authorized to collect a supplement of 0.65 SDR in addition to the transit charges indicated in article 48.1.1 for each kilogram of letter-post items conveyed in transit over the Trans-Siberian route.
3 The postal administrations of Egypt and Sudan shall be authorized to collect a supplement of 0.16 SDR in addition to the transit charges indicated in article 48.1 for each bag of letter post in transit via Lake Nasser between Shallal, Egypt, and Wadi Halfa, Sudan.
4 The postal administration of Panama (Rep) shall be authorized to collect a supplement of 0.98 SDR to the transit charges mentioned in article 48.1 for each bag of letter post in transit through the Isthmus of Panama between the ports of Balboa on the Pacific Ocean and Cristobal on the Atlantic Ocean.
5 Exceptionally, the postal administration of Panama (Rep) shall be authorized to collect a charge of 0.65 SDR per bag for all mails stored or transhipped in the port of Balboa or Cristobal provided that that administration does not receive any payment in respect of land or sea transit for those mails.
6 Notwithstanding article 48.1, the postal administration of Afghanistan shall be authorized provisionally, because of its special difficulties as regards means of conveyance and communication, to effect the transit of closed mails and à découvert correspondence across its territory on terms specially agreed with the postal administrations concerned.
7 Notwithstanding article 48.1, the Syria-Iraq motor services shall be considered as extraordinary services giving rise to the collection of special transit charges.
Article XVII
Internal air conveyance dues
1 Notwithstanding article 52.3, the postal administrations of Bahamas, Cape Verde, Congo (Rep), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras (Rep), Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu reserve the right to collect the dues for the air conveyance of international mails within their countries.
2 Notwithstanding article 52.3, the postal administration of Myanmar reserves the right to collect the dues for the conveyance of international mails within its country whether or not these mails are reforwarded by air.
3 Notwithstanding articles 52.4 and 52.5, the postal administrations of Canada, Iran (Islamic Rep), Turkey and United States of America shall have the right to recover from the postal administrations concerned, in the form of uniform dues, the internal air conveyance costs they incur for mail received from any administration for which they apply terminal dues compensation based specifically on costs or on internal tariffs.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the plenipotentiaries below have drawn up this Protocol which shall have the same force and the same validity as if its provisions were inserted in the text of the Convention itself, and they have signed it in a single original which shall be deposited with the Director-General of the International Bureau. A copy thereof shall be delivered to each party by the Government of the country in which Congress is held.
DONE at Seoul, 14 September 1994.
[Signatures not reproduced here.]