Acceptance
Periods and Policies
Business Mail Entry Units
Mailings presented to any business mail entry unit
(BMEU), detached mail unit (DMU), or other acceptance location will be
verified and accepted using the existing procedures established by the
Office of Business Mail Acceptance, Postal ServiceTM Headquarters.
Pieces Metered at Old Rates
A licensee of a postage metering system may have
pieces on hand that bear postage at old rates. The Postal Service will
accept these pieces for mailing until January 28, 2006, if the mailer
pays the difference between the rate(s) affixed and the applicable new
rate(s) (as described below) before entering the mailing into the mailstream.
When a date is required as part of the meter indicia, the correct date
must appear as required in Mailing Standards of the United States
Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 604.
Postage Difference - Individual Pieces
The difference in postage may be paid on individual
postage-affixed pieces (single-piece rate or discounted rates) by printing
or applying meter indicia in the correct amount to each mailpiece. The
date in the meter indicia must appear as required in DMM 604.
Postage Difference - Discounted Pieces
The difference in postage for all pieces in a single
mailing claimed at a discounted rate may be paid by affixing postage stamps
or by applying a meter indicia to the accompanying postage statement in
the amount of the total postage difference for all pieces in the mailing,
rounded up to the full cent.
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Postal Service acceptance personnel must verify
the amount affixed and the computations on the postage statement to ensure
that the correct additional postage is paid. If a mailer affixes postage
stamps to the postage statement, the acceptance employee must cancel the
stamps. Until January 28, 2006, the total difference in postage may be
paid through an advance deposit account and reported on an additional
postage statement as described in Handbook F-1, Post Office Accounting
Procedures.
Actions by Postmasters Not at Origin Office
Until February 11, 2006, postmasters at offices
other than the office of origin who find metered pieces in the mailstream
that bear an old discount rate or precanceled postage should assume that
the difference in postage was paid at the time of mailing.
Plant-Verified Drop Shipment
Plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) mailings will
be verified and accepted as follows:
Current Rates
PVDS mailings verified and paid for before January
8, 2006, using the current rates, will be accepted at destination entry
postal facilities through January 23, 2006, when presented with appropriate
verification and payment documentation (PS Form 8125, Plant-Verified
Drop Shipment (PVDS) Verification and Clearance).
New Rates
PVDS mailings may be verified and paid for beginning
December 8, 2005, using the new rates, provided the shipments are not
deposited at destination entry postal facilities until January 8, 2006,
or later, when presented with appropriate verification and payment documentation
(PS Form 8125).
- Business Mail Acceptance,
Marketing Technology and Channel
Management, 12-1-05
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