Effective June 24, 2012, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to reflect changes in various Individual Country Listings (ICLs).
The following ICL changes are a result of formal requests made by the destination country to the Universal Postal Union (UPU) via International Bureau Circulars:
n Belgium: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 19, dated January 30, 2012, Belgium no longer accepts empty ink cartridges or empty laser toner cartridges.
n Germany: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 48, dated March 12, 2012, Germany no longer accepts arms, including firearms, parts of arms, ammunition, and imitation arms.
n Jamaica: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 24, dated January 30, 2012, Jamaica no longer accepts electronic items, including cellular telephones, unless they are sent in the original manufacturer’s packaging. In addition, mailers must pack items in accordance with UPU requirements.
n Netherlands: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 242, dated December 19, 2011, Netherlands has modified its list of allowable tobacco-related items.
n Nicaragua: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 221, dated November 21, 2011, Nicaragua requires a phytosanitary export certificate for plant- and animal-based substances before mailers can ship these items.
n Pakistan: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 190, dated October 3, 2011, Pakistan accepts items containing immigration documents only if they are sent by Express Mail International® service or with Registered Mail™ service.
n Syria: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 9, dated January 23, 2011, Syria no longer accepts psychotropic substances and dietary supplements. In addition, the Ministry of Health must approve all medical preparations before admission, and quantities are limited to 10 packs per shipment.
In addition, Brazil recently indicated that items containing dutiable contents are acceptable to Brazil in letter-post items. Consequently, we are eliminating the current observation that indicates that First-Class Mail International® items cannot contain dutiable contents.
Finally, we are revising the ICLs to the following destination countries to indicate they do not accept playing cards:
n Brazil.
n Czech Republic.
n Denmark.
n Slovak Republic.
n Sudan.
n Thailand.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
* * * * *
Individual Country Listings
* * * * *
Belgium
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Empty ink cartridges or empty laser toner cartridges.
* * * * *
Brazil
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Playing cards.
* * * * *
Observations
[Delete Observation #1, and renumber existing items 2 through 5 as 1 through 4.]
* * * * *
Czech Republic
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Playing cards.
* * * * *
Denmark
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Playing cards.
* * * * *
Germany
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
* * * * *
[Revise the second entry (“Arms and weapons”) to read as follows:]
Arms and weapons, including firearms, parts of arms, ammunition, and imitation arms.
* * * * *
Jamaica
Country Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
Restrictions
[Revise the first entry (which starts with “Cellular telephones…”) to read as follows:]
Electronic items, including cellular telephones, are not accepted unless they are sent in the original manufacturer’s packaging. In addition, the items must be packed in accordance with UPU requirements.
* * * * *
Netherlands
Country Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
Restrictions
* * * * *
[Revise the third entry (which starts with “Cigarettes or tobacco products…”) to read as follows:]
Cigarettes are prohibited. In addition, gift shipments of the following tobacco product from one individual to another are limited to the following maximum quantities and a value of no more than 45 Euros: 1) 10 cigars; 2) 25 cigarillos (maximum weight, 3 grams each); or 3) 50 grams of pipe tobacco.
* * * * *
Nicaragua
Country Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
Restrictions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Plant- and animal-based substances are subject to seizure unless they are accompanied by a phytosanitary export certificate from the country of origin.
* * * * *
Pakistan
Country Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
Restrictions
[Revise the first entry (which starts with “Bank checks…) to read as follows (adding the phrase “immigration documents” as the second item in the list):]
Bank checks, immigration documents, original educational documents, Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and International English Language Testing System (IELTS) tests may be sent only by Express Mail International service or with Registered Mail service.
* * * * *
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Playing cards.
* * * * *
Sudan
Country Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Playing cards.
* * * * *
Syrian Arab Republic (Syria)
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entries in alphabetical order:]
Dietary supplements.
Psychotropic substances.
* * * * *
Restrictions
[Remove the word “None” and insert an entry to read as follows:]
All medical preparations must be approved by the Ministry of Health prior to admission, and quantities are limited to 10 packs per shipment.
* * * * *
Thailand
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Playing cards.
* * * * *
We will incorporate these revisions into the monthly update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 5-3-12
