This Regulation lays down specific provisions to foster better cross-border parcel delivery services, in addition to those laid down in Directive 97/67/EC, concerning:
(a)
regulatory oversight related to parcel delivery services;
(b)
transparency of tariffs, and assessment of tariffs for certain cross-border parcel delivery services for the purpose of identifying those that are unreasonably high;
(c)
information for consumers made available by traders concerning cross-border parcel delivery services.
Article 2 -
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions in Article 2 of Directive 97/67/EC and in points 1, 2 and 5 of Article 2 of Directive 2011/83/EU apply. In addition, the following definitions apply:
(1)
‘parcel’ means a postal item containing goods with or without commercial value, other than an item of correspondence, with a weight not exceeding 31,5 kg;
(2)
‘parcel delivery services’ means services involving the clearance, sorting, transport and distribution of parcels;
(3)
‘parcel delivery service provider’ means an undertaking that provides one or more parcel delivery services with the exception of undertakings established in one Member State alone, that only provide domestic parcel delivery services as part of a sales contract and as part of the contract personally deliver goods that are subject of that contract to the user;
(4)
‘subcontractor’ means an undertaking that provides the clearance, sorting, transport or distribution of parcels for the parcel delivery service provider.
Article 3 -
Level of harmonisation
The requirements laid down in this Regulation are minimum requirements and shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining or introducing additional necessary and proportionate measures in order to achieve better cross-border parcel delivery services, provided that those measures are compatible with Union law.
CHAPTER II - REGULATORY OVERSIGHT
Article 4 -
Provision of information
1. All parcel delivery service providers shall submit to the national regulatory authority of the Member State in which they are established the following information, unless that national regulatory authority has already requested and received it:
(a)
their name, legal status and form, registration number in a trade or similar register, VAT identification number, the address of their establishment and the contact details of a contact person;
(b)
the characteristics, and, where possible, a detailed description, of the parcel delivery services they offer;
(c)
their general terms and conditions for parcel delivery services, including details of complaints procedures for users and any potential limitations of liability.
2. Parcel delivery service providers shall inform the national regulatory authority of any change to the information referred to in paragraph 1 within 30 days.
3. By 30 June of each calendar year, all parcel delivery service providers shall submit to the national regulatory authority of the Member State in which they are established the following information, unless that national regulatory authority has already requested and received it:
(a)
the annual turnover in parcel delivery services for the previous calendar year in the Member State in which they are established, broken down into domestic, incoming and outgoing cross-border parcel delivery services;
(b)
the number of persons working for them over the previous calendar year involved in the provision of parcel delivery services in the Member State in which they are established, including breakdowns showing the number of persons by employment status, and in particular, those working full-time and part-time, those who are temporary employees and those who are self-employed;
(c)
the number of parcels handled over the previous calendar year in the Member State in which they are established, broken down into domestic, incoming and outgoing cross-border parcels;
(d)
the names of their subcontractors, together with any information that they hold concerning the characteristics of parcel delivery services provided by those subcontractors;
(e)
where available, any publicly accessible price list applicable on 1 January of each calendar year for parcel delivery services.
4. By 23 September 2018, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act, establishing a form for the submission of the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 12.
5. The national regulatory authorities may impose information requirements additional to those referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3, provided that they are necessary and proportionate.
6. Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not apply to any parcel delivery service provider which had over the previous calendar year on average fewer than 50 persons working for it and involved in the provision of parcel delivery services in the Member State in which that provider is established, unless that provider is established in more than one Member State. A national regulatory authority may include in the threshold of 50 persons the persons working for the parcel delivery service provider's subcontractors.
7. Notwithstanding paragraph 6, a national regulatory authority may request the information to be submitted under paragraphs 1 to 5 by any parcel delivery service provider which employed over the previous calendar year on average between 25 and 49 persons where the specificities of the Member State concerned so require and provided that it is necessary and proportionate to ensure conformity with this Regulation.
Article 5 -
Transparency of cross-border tariffs
1. All cross-border parcel delivery service providers other than those excluded by Article 4(6) and (7) shall provide the national regulatory authority of the Member State in which they are established with the public list of tariffs applicable on 1 January of each calendar year for the delivery of single-piece postal items, other than items of correspondence, falling within the categories listed in the Annex. That information shall be provided by 31 January of each calendar year.
2. The national regulatory authorities shall without delay and by 28 February of each calendar year submit the public lists of tariffs obtained in accordance with paragraph 1 to the Commission. The Commission shall publish them on a dedicated website by 31 March of each calendar year, and shall ensure that the dedicated website is neutral and non-commercial in character.
Article 6 -
Assessment of cross-border single-piece parcel tariffs
1. On the basis of the public lists of tariffs obtained in accordance with Article 5, the national regulatory authority shall identify, for each of the single-piece postal items listed in the Annex, the cross-border tariffs of the parcel delivery service provider that originates in its Member State and that are subject to a universal service obligation that the national regulatory authority objectively considers necessary to assess.
2. The national regulatory authority shall objectively assess, in accordance with the principles in Article 12 of Directive 97/67/EC, the cross-border tariffs identified under paragraph 1 in order to identify those cross-border tariffs that it considers to be unreasonably high. In that assessment, the national regulatory authority shall in particular take into account the following elements:
(a)
the domestic and any other relevant tariffs of the comparable parcel delivery services in the originating Member State and in the destination Member State;
(b)
any application of a uniform tariff to two or more Member States;
(c)
bilateral volumes, specific transportation or handling costs, other relevant costs and service quality standards;
(d)
the likely impact of the applicable cross-border tariffs on individual and small and medium-sized enterprise users including those situated in remote or sparsely populated areas, and on individual users with disabilities or with reduced mobility, where possible without imposing a disproportionate burden.
3. In addition to the elements in paragraph 2, the national regulatory authority may, when it considers it to be necessary, in particular also take into account the following elements:
(a)
whether tariffs are subject to a specific price regulation under national legislation;
(b)
abuses of dominant market position established in accordance with relevant applicable law.
4. The Commission shall set out guidelines on the methodology to be used in respect of the elements listed in paragraphs 2 and 3.
5. For the purposes of the assessment referred to in paragraph 2, the national regulatory authority shall, when it considers that it is necessary, request any further relevant evidence in relation to those tariffs that is needed for the assessment to be made.
6. The evidence referred to in paragraph 5 shall be provided to the national regulatory authority within one month of receipt of the request, together with any justification of the tariffs under assessment.
7. The national regulatory authority shall submit its assessment to the Commission by 30 June of the relevant calendar year. In addition, the national regulatory authority shall provide a non-confidential version of that assessment to the Commission.
8. The Commission shall publish the non-confidential version of the assessment provided by the national regulatory authorities without delay and in any event within one month of receipt.
Article 7 -
Information to consumers
For contracts falling within the scope of Directive 2011/83/EU, all traders concluding sales contracts with consumers that include the sending of cross-border parcels shall, where possible and applicable, make available, at the pre-contractual stage, information about the cross-border delivery options in relation to the specific sales contract and charges payable by consumers for the cross-border parcel delivery, as well as, where applicable, their own complaints handling policies.
CHAPTER III - FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 8 -
Penalties
1. Member States shall lay down the rules on the penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
2. Member States shall, by 23 November 2019, notify the Commission of the provisions of their laws which they adopt pursuant to paragraph 1 and shall notify it, without delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Article 9 -
Confidentiality
Any confidential business information provided in accordance with this Regulation to national regulatory authorities or to the Commission shall be subject to strict confidentiality requirements under the applicable provisions of Union and national law.
Article 10 -
Application
Except where this Regulation specifically provides otherwise, this Regulation shall be without prejudice to Union and national law, to appropriate authorisation procedures applicable to parcel delivery service providers, to social and employment rules and to requirements to submit information to national regulatory authorities.
Article 11 -
Review
By 23 May 2020, and thereafter every three years, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee an evaluation report on the application and implementation of this Regulation, accompanied, where necessary, by a legislative proposal for its review. All relevant stakeholders should be involved and informed before the production of that report.
The Commission shall evaluate at least the following:
(a)
the contribution of this Regulation to the improvement of cross-border parcel delivery services, including the affordability for SMEs and individuals, especially those located in remote or sparsely populated areas and whether the transparency of cross-border tariffs has improved;
(b)
the impact of this Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery levels and e-commerce, including data on delivery charges;
(c)
the extent to which national regulatory authorities have had difficulties applying this Regulation, including a quantitative analysis of the administrative consequences;
(d)
progress made concerning other initiatives for completing the single market for parcel delivery services, and in particular progress in the fields of consumer protection and development of standards.
Article 12 -
Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Postal Directive Committee established by Article 21 of Directive 97/67/EC. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 13 -
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall apply from 22 May 2018, with the exception of Article 8, which shall apply from 23 November 2019.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
