Effective June 1, 2009, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) section 123.5 to clarify the proper places mailers may deposit international mail items. We are also deleting section 123.8.
These revisions will clarify for our employees and customers that an item prepared and mailed online must contain an electronic round stamp on the customs declaration before the customer deposits the item in a Postal Service collection box or has it picked up via Pickup on Demand® service or Carrier Pickup™ service.
Also, we have added to 123.5 the online customs forms requirement that was previously listed in 123.8, which is deleted.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
1 International Mail Services
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120 Preparation for Mailing
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123 Customs Forms and Online Shipping Labels
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123.5 Place of Mailing
[Revise the text to read as follows (expanding and clarifying the places of mailing for items requiring a customs form):]
Except as specified in items a and b, a mailer may not deposit a postal item that requires a completed customs declaration form into a collection box, lobby drop, Automated Postal Center® (APC®) drop, postal lobby, postal dock, or other unattended location. In addition, items that require a customs declaration are precluded from pickup service as defined in 213.3, 222.23, and 234.6. Mailers must present such items to a Postal Service employee at a Post Office™ facility or other location as designated by the postmaster. The Postal Service will return improperly presented items to the sender for proper entry and acceptance. Exceptions are as follows:
a. Express Mail International® shipments paid through an Express Mail corporate account (EMCA).
b. Express Mail International and Priority Mail International™ items that have the mailing label, customs declaration (including an electronic round stamp), and postage prepared and paid online through Click-N-Ship® service on usps.com, through the eBay/PayPal integrated shipping solution, or through an authorized PC Postage® vendor website.
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[Delete 123.8 in its entirety.]
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the IMM and into the monthly update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 5-21-09
