I.4.2.6.1. Background and legislation
Article 226, paragraph 3, letter f) and Article 227, paragraph 2, letter f) of the UCC
The principle of freedom of movement is established in Article 1 of the 1964 Constitution of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and in Article 4 of the 2008 Universal Postal Convention.
This principle implies the obligation for each postal operator to route correspondence delivered to it by another postal operator by the fastest and most secure means.
This protects national postal monopolies, but the national postal operator is obliged to route all correspondence delivered to it by the postal service of another UPU country.
The transit arrangements within the postal system may be made available to holders of UPU rights [designated operator, hereinafter referred to as designated postal operator](6)(7)]. It will be up to national postal legislation to determine who such operator is.
When the postal item in transit is not delivered to the designated postal operator of the country of passage, but is transported through that country by a private operator, ordinary customs procedures will apply.
The customs territory of the Union shall be considered a single territory for the purposes of postal transit. Thus, the designated postal operator of a Member State may transport goods throughout the entire customs territory of the Union using the postal transit procedure.
This means that, even if there is no obligation, this operator may hand over the item to the designated postal operator of the transit Member State.
A designated postal operator may arrange the means of transport to move goods across national borders within the EU.
Subcontractors must be able to provide transport services to a designated postal operator, provided that the postal operator is properly identified, for example, in the transport document.
(6) March 24, 2021.(Back)
(7) "Designated postal operator" means an operator established in a Member State and authorized by that State to provide international services regulated by the Universal Postal Union Convention currently in force.(Back)