UNIVERSAL POSTAL UPU UNION Letter Post Manual Berne 2013 International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union Note concerning the printing The text of the Convention is printed in bold characters. The texts of the Regulations and of the Final Protocols are printed in ordi nary characters. The texts of the commentary by the International Bureau are printed in small char­ acters preceded by a square (). The number of the provision commented on is printed in bold characters. Any amendments to the texts made in subsequent updates of the Manual are marked by a vertical line ( ) in the margin opposite the amended text. II Remarks Remarks This fourth edition of the Letter Post Manual includes the provisions of the Univer­ sal Postal Convention as revised by the 2012 Doha Congress applicable to letter post, those of the Letter Post Regulations as revised by the POC in 2013, and the commentary made by the International Bureau. The Manual is designed so as to give the reader immediate access to all the infor­ mation about one and the same matter, viz: – the provisions of the Universal Postal Convention, indicated by Article ... – the provisions of the Regulations, indicated by Article RL ... – the provisions of the Final Protocol, given after the article concerned and indicated by Prot Article ... or Prot Article RL ... – the commentary by the International Bureau following the provisions to which it refers. III IV Contents Contents Page Abbreviations . VII General List of UPU Member Countries and of territories included in the Union . XI Table of UPU letter-post charges . XV List of Compendia . XIX UPU Postal Operators Statement of Values . XXI Table of contents . XXIII List of forms . XXXV Provisions of the Universal Postal Convention applicable to letter post and the Letter Post Regulations supplemented by the relevant articles of the Final Protocols, the commentary by the International Bureau, and the forms Other decisions concerning the provisions of the Convention applicable to letter post and the Letter Post Regulations V Poste aux lettres – Conv. Art 1 VI Abbreviations Abbreviations (The abbreviations listed below are mainly used in the commentary) A. Common abbreviations Add Prot Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the UPU Agr Agreement AI advice of entry (Giro) AO other items or items other than LC in the classifica­ tion system based on content AR advice of delivery arbit arbitration art article c centime CA Council of Administration CCC Customs Co­operation Council CCPS Consultative Council for Postal Studies (up to 1994) cf confer (= compare) circ circular cm centimetre col column comm commentary Comm Committee Compendium Compendium of Information (Letter Post, Parcel Post, etc.) published by the International Bureau Conf Conference Const or Constitution Constitution of the Universal Postal Union Conv or Convention Universal Postal Convention dm decimetre DO designated operator Doc Document (of Congresses, Conferences, Executive Council, etc.) doc document EC Executive Council (up to 1994) ECOSOC UN Economic and Social Council EDI Electronic Data Interchange e.g. for example EPFSC European Postal Financial Services Commission FAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization g gramme Gen Regs General Regulations h hour VII Abbreviations IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IATA International Air Transport Association IB International Bureau IBRS International Business Reply Service ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization id idem INCB International Narcotics Control Board ISO International Organization for Standardization Journal or Periodical “Union Postale” (quarterly publication of the Inter­ national Bureau) kg kilogramme km kilometre lb (16 oz) pound avoirdupois (453.59 grammes) LC letters and postcards LDCs Least developed countries LP Letter Post LTAT Latest Transport Arrival Time m metre max maximum min minimum mm millimetre mn minute (of time) nm nautical mile (1852 metres) No number oz ounce (28.3465 grammes) (one­sixteenth of the pound avoirdupois) p, pp page(s) para paragraph Periodical See under Journal POC Postal Operations Council PPSA Postal Payment Services Agreement prop proposal Prot or Protocol Final Protocol (to the respective Act) QSF Quality of Service Fund RC Parcel Post Regulations rec recast Regs Regulations RF Regulations of the Postal Payment Services Agreement RL Letter Post Regulations s second (time) S.A.L. Surface airlifted mail SPS Seoul Postal Strategy t tonne (1000 kilogrammes) t­km tonne­kilometre or kilometric tonne (unit used in connection with conveyance) T.m. sea transit T.t. land transit VIII Abbreviations UN United Nations UPU or Union Universal Postal Union vol volume WCO World Customs Organization WHO World Health Organization B. Abbreviations relating to forms (These abbreviations are always followed by the serial number of the form) AV Airmail (until Washington 1989) C Convention (until Washington 1989) CN Convention (from Seoul 1994) CP Parcels MP Money Orders (until Seoul 1994) R COD (until Seoul 1994) VD Insured letters (until Washington 1989) VP Giro (until Seoul 1994) IX Poste aux lettres – Conv. Art 1 X General List of UPU Member Countries General List of UPU Member Countries and of territories included in the Union Afghanistan Dominica Albania Dominican Republic Algeria Ecuador Angola Egypt Antigua and Barbuda El Salvador Argentina Equatorial Guinea Armenia Eritrea Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten Estonia Australia Ethiopia – Norfolk Island Fiji Austria Finland (including the Åland Islands) Azerbaijan France Bahamas – French Overseas Departments: Bahrain (Kingdom) – – French Guiana Bangladesh – – Guadeloupe (including St Barthélémy Barbados and St Martin) Belarus – – Martinique Belgium – – Réunion Belize – Territorial Community of Mayotte Benin – Territorial Community of St Pierre and Bhutan Miquelon Bolivia – French Overseas Territories coming within Bosnia and Herzegovina the Union’s jurisdiction by virtue of article 23 Botswana of the Constitution: Brazil – – French Polynesia (including Clipperton Brunei Darussalam Island) Bulgaria (Rep.) – – French Southern and Antarctic Territories Burkina Faso (St Paul and Amsterdam Islands, Crozet Burundi Islands, Kerguelen Islands, Terre Adélie) Cambodia – – New Caledonia Cameroon – – Wallis and Futuna Islands Canada – – Scattered islands (Bassas da India, Europa, Cape Verde Juan de Nova, Glorieuses, Tromelin) Central African Rep. Gabon Chad Gambia Chile Georgia China (People’s Rep.) Germany – Hong­Kong, China Ghana – Macao, China Great Britain: Colombia – United Kingdom of Great Britain Comoros and Northern Ireland Congo (Rep.) – Guernsey Costa Rica – Jersey Côte d’Ivoire (Rep.) – Isle of Man Croatia Overseas Territories (United Kingdom Cuba of Great Britain and Northern Ireland): Cyprus – Anguilla Czech Rep. – Bermuda Dem. People’s Rep. of Korea – British Indian Ocean Territory Dem. Rep. of the Congo – British Virgin Islands Denmark – Cayman Islands – Faröe Islands – Falkland Islands (Malvinas) – Greenland – Gibraltar Djibouti – Montserrat XI General List of UPU Member Countries – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands Netherlands – South Georgia and the South Sandwich – Caribbean part of the Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba Islands and Sint Eustatius) – St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha New Zealand (including the Ross Dependency) – St Helena (Dependencies) (islands) – Cook Islands – Turks and Caicos Islands – Niue Greece – Tokelau Grenada Nicaragua Guatemala Niger Guinea Nigeria Guinea­Bissau Norway Guyana Oman Haiti Pakistan Honduras (Rep.) Panama (Rep.) Hungary Papua New Guinea Iceland Paraguay India Peru Indonesia Philippines Iran (Islamic Rep.) Poland Iraq Portugal Ireland Qatar Israel Romania Italy Russian Federation Jamaica Rwanda Japan Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis Jordan Saint Lucia Kazakhstan Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Kenya Samoa Kiribati San Marino Korea (Rep.) Sao Tome and Principe Kuwait Saudi Arabia Kyrgyzstan Senegal Lao People’s Dem. Rep. Serbia Latvia Seychelles Lebanon Sierra Leone Lesotho Singapore Liberia Slovakia Libya Slovenia Liechtenstein Solomon Islands Lithuania Somalia Luxembourg South Africa Madagascar South Sudan Malawi Spain Malaysia Sri Lanka Maldives Sudan Mali Suriname Malta Swaziland Mauritania Sweden Mauritius Switzerland Mexico Syrian Arab Rep. Moldova Tajikistan Monaco Tanzania (United Rep.) Mongolia Thailand Montenegro the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Morocco Timor­Leste (Dem. Rep.) Mozambique Togo Myanmar Tonga (including Niuafo’ou) Namibia Trinidad and Tobago Nauru Tunisia Nepal Turkey XII General List of UPU Member Countries Turkmenistan Vanuatu Tuvalu Vatican Uganda Venezuela (Bolivarian Rep.) Ukraine Viet Nam United Arab Emirates Yemen United States of America Zambia – Territories of the United States of America Zimbabwe coming within the Union’s jurisdiction by virtue of article 23 of the Constitution: – – Guam, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Virgin Islands of the United States of America UN member countries whose situation with regard – Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands: to the UPU has not yet been settled: – – Mariana Islands including Saipan and Tinian, but not the United States Andorra Possession of Guam Marshall Islands Uruguay Micronesia (Federated States of) Uzbekistan Palau XIII Poste aux lettres – Conv. Art 1 XIV Table of UPU letter­post charges Table of UPU letter-post charges Description of charge Amount Observations Conv Regs Article Article 1 2 3 4 5 Guideline postage See art RL 105 RL 105 charges Charge for delivery to the