Please wait!
28.12.2021
Pursuant to the decision of the Council of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), changes in the price list of letter-post items and postal parcels will take effect from the 1st of January 2022. The new universal postal service (UPS) tariffs have been developed based on the current situation in the postal services sector in accordance with the existing item delivery costs and cross-border postal item tariffs.
The changes in tariffs have been affected by a number of factors related to rising transport and logistics costs, an increase in energy prices, lower volumes of traditional domestic items, higher item delivery costs due to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) and the new procedure in force in the EU from the 1st of July 2021 regarding customs clearance of items from third countries from the first cent, growing cross-border payment costs, etc. The new tariff changes will affect both domestic and cross-border items.
Although some tariffs are going to increase from the 1st of January, almost a fifth (19%) of item tariffs will decrease in the new year. In general, items with a higher weight will become cheaper from next year, while lighter items, whose delivery eventually costs more, will be more expensive. For example, sending an ordinary Class A domestic small packet weighing between 501 and 1,000 grams will cost € 2.22 instead of the current € 2.48, while sending a registered item of the same weight will cost € 2.97 instead of the usual € 3.10. Part of the tariffs in the category of cross-border items will decrease too: sending an ordinary Class A small packet weighing from 501 to 1,000 grams will cost only € 7.91 instead of the current € 9.53.
In turn, sending an ordinary Class A domestic letter weighing up to 20 grams will cost € 1.20 instead of the current € 1.00, while registered 20 gram letters will cost € 1.95 instead of the current € 1.62.
Tariffs for cross-border letter-post items will be divided into 14 groups of countries and territories instead of the current four groups, and cross-border postal parcels will be divided into eight groups of countries and territories instead of the current five groups. Also in the case of cross-border items, heavier postal parcels will generally become cheaper from next year, whereas lighter postal parcels will become more expensive. Sending an ordinary item to the UK will cost € 6.09 instead of the usual € 4.72, while a registered item weighing between 100 and 500 grams will cost € 8.62 instead of the current € 7.06.
“Over the past two years, the postal sector, just like other areas of the economy, has undergone significant changes. Latvijas Pasts started to feel the situation most acutely already at the beginning of 2020, when the possibilities of transporting international items were drastically limited, with a simultaneous rapid growth of the costs of this type of transportation. We could not promptly include this increase in our tariffs, and Latvijas Pasts had to cover the accordingly increased costs at its own expense. At the same time, rising resource and labour costs, geopolitical changes, such as the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, changing habits of the population and the transition to digital services have made the delivery of items even more expensive both here in Latvia and abroad. The new universal postal service tariffs have been developed in accordance with the actual situation, taking into account all the above-mentioned aspects, so that Latvijas Pasts can continue to work and provide services to every inhabitant of Latvia,” Mārcis Vilcāns, Chairman of the Board of Latvijas Pasts, points out.
At the same time, a fixed fee has been introduced for item insurance for all tariffs for letter-post items and postal parcels from the 1st of January next year. A uniform and advantageous tariff discount in the amount of € 0.49 will also come into force for the processing of registered and insured letter-post items and postal parcels on the self-service website Mans Pasts. More information about tariff changes: https://pasts.lv/lv/tarifu-projekts/.
It has already been reported that in the autumn of 2021, Latvijas Pasts participated in the tender launched by PUC for the provision of the universal postal service and, in accordance with the decision of PUC’s Council, Latvijas Pasts was confirmed as the winner at the end of November. PUC also approved the new UPS tariffs, recognising them as economically justified and appropriately calculated to cover the costs of Latvijas Pasts related to the provision of the service and to ensure its profitability.
The universal postal service is the minimum aggregate of postal services of a specific quality available for a unified tariff to all users throughout Latvia regardless of their geographical location. The UPS provider is obliged to ensure the delivery of domestic and cross-border letter-post items and postal parcels, as well as of the subscription press. Tariffs for services in the postal sector are approved by PUC.
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
twitter.com/latvijas_pasts | facebook.com/latvijas.pasts | instagram.com/latvijas_pasts