Effective January 27, 2013, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 703.2.3.7 to stipulate that mailers may use either PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22, or PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note—CP 72, for items sent to or from any Army Post Office™ (APO), Fleet Post Office™ (FPO), or Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) location.
Previously, mailers could only use PS Form 2976 for items weighing under 16 ounces, or if the item being mailed was not large enough to contain PS Form 2976-A. This change will add greater flexibility for mailers and software vendors when items are sent to these locations.
This revision in no way changes existing requirements regarding when a customs declaration form is required for items sent to APO, FPO, or DPO locations, nor does the revision apply to affected items sent to international destinations. In addition, a parallel change will be made to Restriction Code “B” in the article titled “Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail” published in each issue of the Postal Bulletin.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual, (DMM)
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700 Special Standards
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703 Nonprofit Standard Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
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2.0 Overseas Military Mail
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2.3 General Restrictions
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[Revise 2.3.7 to read as follows:]
2.3.7 Customs Declarations — Required Usage
Except as provided in 2.3.8, mailpieces addressed to or from an APO, FPO, or DPO location must bear a properly completed PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22; or if the customer prefers, a PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note–CP 72, if:
a. The mailpiece weighs 16 ounces or more (regardless of its contents, value, shape, or mail class).
b. The mailpiece contains goods (regardless of weight, shape, or mail class).
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We will incorporate these revisions into the March 2013 update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 12-27-12
