Users of postal services using delivery services from abroad must be aware of additional charges

PRESS RELEASE

In addition to the terms and conditions of purchase, users must also take into account the legislation concerning the customs clearance procedures and other procedures incurring additional costs that users are not aware of.
 
ZAGREB, 22 January 2016 –  Due to frequent questions by users of postal services concerning incoming postal items in international traffic (e-trade parcels), that is, concerning the issues related to the handling of such items and to additional costs at the moment of their delivery, the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) wishes take this opportunity to inform all interested parties and contribute to better understanding of the above-mentioned issues.
 
The provision of postal services is regulated by the Postal Services Act (OG No. 144/12, 153/13 and 78/15; hereinafter: PSA), the Universal Postal Convention and ordinances of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) as well as by the signed international agreements of UPU member states. All regulations concerning the provision of postal services in domestic and international traffic are available at HAKOM's website (link: default.aspx?id=178). Furthermore, the import of goods in postal traffic into the Republic of Croatia is also regulated by the provisions of legislation concerning the import of goods and products, the value added tax, customs costs and other. Therefore, users of postal services using postal services for the delivery of goods from abroad have to take into account, not only the terms and conditions of purchase, but also the legislation on customs and other procedures contributing to additional delivery costs in addition to postage, which e-trade customers were not aware of.
 
Please note that customs clearance procedures in postal traffic, that is procedures for parcels of goods subject to obligatory payment of customs and VAT are not regulated by the PSA. The implementation of the Act on the Implementation of EU Customs Regulations (OG NO. 54/13) and subordinate legislation adopted pursuant to the above-mentioned Act are under the competence of the Customs Administration with the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Croatia. All relevant information about customs procedures in postal traffic is available at the official website of the Customs Administration (links; https://carina.gov.hr/UserDocsImages//dokumenti/Procedure/Propisi//NDoc_1485.pdf
i http://www.carina.hr/Carina/CarinskiPostupakPosta.aspx ).
 
In addition to customs costs, postal items subject to payment of customs fees at import are also subject to the payment of postal costs related to customs examination of postal items, and additional delivery costs are also possible for individual categories of postal items. The most frequent additional costs for the recipient include the costs of delivery of small parcels. A small parcel is exclusively an international incoming postal service requested by the sender, and the recipient post office must mark the postal item with the words «Petit paquet“ or «Small Packet“ at the moment of delivery to the recipient. In that case the charge for delivery of the small package is paid in the country of destination. HP- Hrvatska pošta d.d. or any other provider of postal services may not arbitrarily decide which postal item will be subject to this payment and which one will not, but the delivery charge for a small package is paid only for postal items that were marked as such by the sender, which is laid down in their tariffs for postal services in international traffic.  
Therefore, HAKOM would like to warn users of postal services that they must be prepared for additional costs related to postal items arriving from abroad, in the first place those purchased by e-trade even though it is stated on the website where orders are placed that delivery is free.
 
Furthermore, users of postal services who believe that they have not been provided postal services pursuant to the provisions of the PSA, or if they are not satisfied with the manner of provision of postal services, may protect their rights, in accordance with the provisions on customer protection laid down in the PSA, by submitting a complaint to the postal services provider. Detailed instructions on customer protection procedures are available on HAKOM's website (link: default.aspx?id=1293).


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For additional information please contact:

Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM)
Roberta Frangeša Mihanovića 9
10110 Zagreb, Croatia
Tel. + 385 (0) 1 700 70 07
Fax + 385 (0)1 700 70 70

Media inquiries can be submitted online using HAKOM’s official website: 
Registration required.