Report on Postal Services
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Final Report Postal and Express Delivery Services Under the project Trade in Services under the Possible India-EU Trade and Investment Agreement Biswajit Nag Associate Professor Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and External Consultant, ICRIER Project Coordinator Arpita Mukherjee Professor, ICRIER November 2008 INDIAN COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH ON INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS i Acknowledgments The author is grateful to ICRIER for sponsoring this study. Discussion with Dr. Arpita Mukherjee (from ICRIER) and Mr. Amit Yadav (Ministry of Commerce) were extremely useful and the author conveys a special thanks to them. The support from Dr. Dripto Mukhopadhyay and Dr. Samantak Das, from ICMR in conducting surveys are acknowledged. Insights available from several officials in different government departments and courier companies have also proved useful for the study. However, the opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and not of the institute he belongs to or of the people who were consulted. For any query related to this paper, please contact Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER at Tel.: +91-11-24645218-20 Extn. 230, Mob.: 9810189326, Email: [email protected] i Table of Contents Acknowledgments...........................................................................................................i List of Abbreviations .....................................................................................................ii Abstract.........................................................................................................................iv 1. Introduction...............................................................................................................1 1.1 Postal Sector: Its role and contribution .............................................................1 1.2 Snapshot of Global Features ..............................................................................2 1.3 Globalization and Changing Features of the Postal Sector...............................4 1.4 Trade in Services in the Postal and Courier Sector ...........................................5 1.5 Objective of the study..........................................................................................6 1.6 Methodology .......................................................................................................6 2. Coverage of Postal and Courier Sector under Various Trade Negotiations .............7 2.1 Evolving Definition.............................................................................................7 2.2 Uruguay Round and thereafter...........................................................................9 2.3 EU Proposal and its Implications.....................................................................10 2.4 EU Schedules on Postal and Courier services .................................................12 3. Postal and Courier Services in the EU: Market structure, Regulation and Liberalization ..........................................................................................................13 3.1 Features of the EU Postal Market ....................................................................13 3.2 Express Delivery Industry in the EU ................................................................16 3.3 Organizational Structure in EU Member Countries.........................................16 3.4 Market Structure and Nature of Competition...................................................17 3.5 Trends in Mail Traffic.......................................................................................18 3.6 Regulatory Framework.....................................................................................19 4. Postal and Courier Services in India: Market Structure, Regulation and Liberalization ..........................................................................................................21 4. Postal and Courier Services in India: Market Structure, Regulation and Liberalization ..........................................................................................................22 4.1 Key Features of India Post ...............................................................................22 4.2 Indian Courier Sector: Some insights...............................................................23 4.3 Liberalization in the Postal Sector ...................................................................24 5. Barriers in Trade in Postal and Courier Services....................................................26 5.1 Trade in Courier Sector between India and the EU .........................................26 5.2 Issues in Bulk Mail in EU .................................................................................26 5.3 Asymmetric Liberalization in the EU Postal Market........................................26 5.4 Regulatory Barriers in the EU..........................................................................28 5.5 Controls on Downstream Access in the EU......................................................28 5.6 Price Controls in the EU ..................................................................................29 5.7 Issues Related to Terminal Dues in the EU ......................................................29 5.8 Barriers in the EU: Views of Indian Companies ..............................................30 5.9 Barriers in India ...............................................................................................30 5.10 Detailed Analysis of Selected EU Markets from India’s Negotiating Interests .................................................................................................................................31 5.11 Barriers Affecting India’s Market Access Interest: A Summary.....................36 6. Concluding Remarks...............................................................................................37 6.1 Learning from the EU Experience....................................................................37 6.2 India-EU FTA: Views of Courier Companies in India.....................................38 6.3 Negotiating Strategies for India .......................................................................39 6.4 Looking Beyond the Postal Bill ........................................................................42 References....................................................................................................................44 Appendix A..................................................................................................................45 Appendix B ..................................................................................................................47 Appendix C ..................................................................................................................48 Appendix D..................................................................................................................49 Appendix E ..................................................................................................................50 Appendix F...................................................................................................................51 Appendix G..................................................................................................................52 Appendix H..................................................................................................................53 Appendix I ...................................................................................................................54 Appendix J ...................................................................................................................55 Appendix K..................................................................................................................56 Appendix L ..................................................................................................................57 Appendix M .................................................................................................................58 Appendix N..................................................................................................................59 ii List of Tables Table 1: EU USPs in Domestic and other EU Member Countries .............................14 Table 2: Market share in the European parcel and express market ............................18 Table 3: Services reserved for the USP in EU Member States...................................27 Table 4: State of Perceived Competition in Postal and Parcel Products in Selected EU markets.........................................................................................................32 Table 5: Ownership Structure and Control of USPs in Selected EU Countries .........33 Table 6: Role of National Regulatory Authority (NRA) in selected EU Markets......34 Table 7: Pricing Policies in selected EU countries .....................................................35 Table A 1: Matrix item/mode of delivery proposed by the EU ..................................47 Table A 2: EU Schedule in EU-Chile Agreement ......................................................48 Table A 3: EU-Chile Agreement: Chile’s Schedule...................................................49 Table A 4: EU Schedule in WTO on Courier Services (CPC 7512) submitted in October, 2007...............................................................................................50 Table A 5: Revenue and Expenditure of India Post....................................................51