EU cross-border parcel delivery services

KEY POINTS

Scope

The regulation sets out rules for cross-border parcel delivery concerning 3 main aspects:

• regulatory oversight of parcel delivery services;
• transparency of certain single-piece tariffs through publication on a website; and
• assessments where tariffs are subject to a universal service obligation¹ to identify those tariffs that are unreasonably high.

Information to be provided

Parcel delivery services are required to provide certain information to the national regulatory authority (NRA)² of the EU country in which they are based including:

• name, legal status and form, company and VAT (value-added tax) registration, address and contact details;
• characteristics and description of services offered;
• general terms and conditions for their services, including complaints procedure;
• by 30 June of each calendar year:
  • annual turnover;
  • number of persons employed;
  • number of parcels handled;
  • name of sub-contractors;
  • tariff list for the current year.

Companies employing fewer than 50 people and providing services only in the country in which they are established do not have to provide this information, although exceptions do apply.

Transparency

The tariffs subject to transparency measures will be published by the European Commission on a dedicated website by the end of March each year.

Assessment of cross-border tariffs

NRAs assess the affordability of the tariffs subject to the universal service obligation that they consider necessary to assess. They consider a number of elements including:

• whether tariffs are affordable and cost-oriented, as well as transparent and non-discriminatory;
• domestic and any other relevant tariffs for comparable parcel delivery services in both the dispatching EU country and the EU country of destination;
• any application of a uniform tariff to 2 or more EU countries;
• volumes, specific transportation or handling costs, other relevant costs and service quality standards;
• the likely impact of the applicable cross-border tariffs on individual and small- and medium-sized enterprise users.

NRAs must submit an assessment to the Commission by the end of June of the relevant calendar year. A non-confidential version of the assessment must be published by the Commission within 1 month of its receipt.

Penalties

Rules for the penalties for infringing the regulation are set by EU countries and must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.