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29.12.2020
According to the new standards of the international postal organisation, the Universal Postal Union, from the 1st of January 2021 the contents of postal items for sending to third countries – outside the European Union – will have to be described in more detail. This requirement is linked to the exchange of the most comprehensive postal item data and customs information between countries. It is faster and more convenient for customers to process items and fill in the information related to contents electronically on the self-service website of Latvijas Pasts https://new.manspasts.lv/, which is being functionally improved and will offer customers even more comfortable and simpler item processing solutions in January 2021.
When processing postal items for sending abroad, senders currently indicate in the accompanying documents information about the contents of the item – the goods it contains and the weight of the item. However, according to the new standards of the Universal Postal Union, which are included in the Universal Postal Convention, from the 1st of January next year the contents of an item addressed to third countries – outside the European Union – must be as much detailed as possible. The new procedure concerns the flow of postal item data and the information necessary for the customs between countries, which will allow the country of destination to process items faster and enable a more efficient customs clearance process. At the same time incomplete or even misleading information about the contents of an item may delay the delivery of the item.
Postal items addressed to third countries will require detailing of the goods they contain to the extent possible, specifying the goods being sent, the number of units of a particular product, the weight of each group of the goods, the value and the total weight of the item. When indicating the contents of an item, the customer should avoid generalisations, such as clothes or gifts, instead indicating the exact product: for example, a cotton T-shirt, wool socks, sports footwear, wooden toys, chocolates, etc.
It is most convenient and economic to process postal items in the digital environment: in the self-service website of Latvijas Pasts https://new.manspasts.lv/, which has been functionally supplemented and specially adapted for indicating the contents of an item. The self-service electronic system will automatically offer a form appropriate to process a particular item and request the necessary information.
After the electronic processing of items, a unique number is generated for each item. If the customer has access to a printer and he or she can print out the completed documents accompanying the item, the time to be spent at the post office when bringing and handing over the item will be very short.
If, however, it is not possible to print out the papers, the customer should show the number at the post office and the postal employee will print out the documents accompanying the item already filled in by the customer. In this case too, the time of providing the service on the spot at the post office will be significantly shortened, and the employee of Latvijas Pasts will not have to enter the data manually.
After acceptance of the item at the post office the item information will be automatically transmitted digitally to the postal and customs organisations of the respective country, facilitating the prompt exchange of data and faster delivery of the item.
In the current Manspasts.lv version data about the sender and the recipient, if the items are regularly addressed to the same recipients, can be saved in the user profile – there is no need to enter them again every time. It is also more cost-efficient to process items on Manspasts.lv, as the registration and insurance fee for such items will be almost 30% lower, and it is especially advantageous in cases when the customer sends more registered items.
Already at the beginning of 2021 a new version of the self-service website Manspasts.lv will be made available to customers: it will be even more user-friendly, more universal and more convenient, as well as adapted to operations from mobile smart devices, allowing the customer to process an item from any suitable location.
If incorrect details of the item are detected, the customs formalities in the country of destination may be delayed, and the item may be detained and inspected or even confiscated by the customs authorities. It should be noted that incorrect information may also prevent you from receiving relevant compensation in the event of damage to, or loss of, a registered item: for example, if a chocolate bar is listed instead of a mobile phone, the amount to be compensated will be lower.
We remind you that from the 1st of January 2021, with the end of the transition period for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, the UK will also be included in the list of third countries and items addressed to that country will be subject to the requirement of the maximum detailed content information.
Examples of item descriptions can be seen here.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with about 3,200 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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