Effective March 4, 2013, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to reflect changes in the Individual Country Listings (ICLs) for various countries.
The following ICL changes are a result of formal requests made by the destination countries through the Universal Postal Union (UPU) via International Bureau Circulars:
n Belarus: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 134, dated August 27, 2012, Belarus has modified its list of prohibited articles.
n Finland: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 193, dated December 10, 2012, Finland has modified its list of prohibited articles.
n India: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 109, dated July 23, 2012, India no longer accepts pistol-shaped articles such as toy guns due to air transportation security concerns.
n Kenya: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 127, dated August 20, 2012, Kenya no longer accepts indecent or obscene material.
n Korea, Republic of (South Korea): As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 83, dated May 14, 2012, South Korea no longer accepts live animals or insects of any kind.
n Norway: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 97, dated June 18, 2012, Norway no longer accepts pharmaceutical products of any kind.
n Ukraine: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 121, dated July 30, 2012, Ukraine has modified its list of restricted articles for items sent by Express Mail International service. In addition, Ukraine advises mailers that items sent by Express Mail International service that exceed 300 EUR are subject to a 10% import duty and a 20% value-added tax.
n Uruguay: As indicated in UPU International Bureau Circular 198, dated December 17, 2012, Uruguay requires mailers to include the original receipt of purchase together with documentation indicating the amount of the postage and insurance paid for items sent by Express Mail International service. In addition, Uruguay advises mailers that items sent by Express Mail International service that weigh not over 20 kilograms and that have a value not over $200 will not be subject to an import duty or a value-added tax.
In addition, we will revise the ICL for Canada to reflect updated information for duties, excise taxes, and handling fees that Canada Post may assess for inbound items.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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Individual Country Listings
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Belarus
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Revise the Prohibitions list in its entirety to read as follows:]
Alcohol products, including ethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages.
All weapons, arms and ammunition, and parts and accessories thereof, or articles similar in construction to civilian or service weapons.
Articles of cultural value.
Currencies of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
Explosive or combustible substances or other dangerous matter.
Hazardous waste.
Metalized yarn made with or made of gold thread; ornamental trimming or woven fabric made with or made of gold thread.
Narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors, as well as plants and mushrooms containing narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors of any kind and in any form, including their fruits, seeds, and spores.
Opium and other substances containing narcotics.
Pathogenic or potentially pathogenic organisms.
Perishable items.
Photographic and cinematographic films, undeveloped photographic plates, photographic paper.
Plants and plant seeds.
Precious stones in any form and condition; natural diamonds, except for jewelry.
Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts, and plans containing information that may be harmful to the political and economic interests of the country and to the health and morality of its citizens.
Radioactive materials.
Substances harmful to the ozone layer.
The government of Belarus has instituted a temporary ban against the importation of all animal products that are for human and animal consumption. This includes meats, poultry, milk and dairy products, feeds, and other animal byproducts.
Tobacco, manufactured tobacco products, and smoking mixtures of all kinds.
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Canada
Country Conditions for Mailing
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Observations
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[Revise Observation 8 to read as follows:]
8. For all casual and commercial goods valued at or under 1,600 Canadian dollars, Canada Post will collect assessed duties, excise taxes, and a handling fee from the addressee. This handling fee is set by Canada Post (see www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/manual/PGcustoms-e.asp). All commercial mail items over 1,600 Canadian dollars will be held by Canada Customs and Excise until proper invoice and accounting documentation is provided by the addressee.
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Finland
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Revise the first entry to read as follows:]
Arms and weapons, including ammunition, firearm parts, barrels, bolts, breeches, clip magazines and silencers; active and deactivated firearms; live and deactivated ammunition; air, starter, and gas guns; replicas of firearms; explosive devices; and airsoft guns that imitate active firearms.
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Observations
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[Insert a new Observation to read as follows:]
3. With regard to Finland’s list of prohibited arms and weaponry, for clarification, the following articles are not prohibited: paintball guns, toy guns, nail guns, bows, optical sights, empty holsters, and gun cleaning appliances.
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India
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Pistol-shaped articles such as toy guns.
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Kenya
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Indecent or obscene material.
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Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Live animals or insects.
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Norway
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Insert the following entry in alphabetical order:]
Pharmaceutical products of any kind, whether of synthetic extraction or classified as naturopathic preparations.
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Ukraine
Country Conditions for Mailing
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Restrictions
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[Insert new Restrictions to read as follows:]
5. Used goods (e.g., clothes, footwear) that are unclean or that are not accompanied by supporting documents certifying that they have been fumigated cannot be sent via Express Mail International service.
6. Goods that fall into categories 1 through 24 (i.e., “animal and animal products,” “vegetable products,” and “foodstuffs”) of the Harmonized Systems Codes (HS Codes) cannot be sent via Express Mail International service, except for foodstuffs weighing less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in total and packed in their original packaging.
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Observations
[Insert a new Observation to read as follows:]
Goods sent via Express Mail International service whose total invoiced (customs) value exceeds 300 EUR will be subject to a 10% import duty and a 20% value-added tax.
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Uruguay
Country Conditions for Mailing
Observations
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[Insert new Observations to read as follows:]
3. Goods sent via Express Mail International service must include the original receipt of purchase together with documentation indicating the amount of the postage and insurance paid.
4. Generally, goods sent via Express Mail International service with a weight not over 20 kilograms (44 pounds) and a value not over $200 are exempt from customs duty and value-added taxes to the same person (for no-commercial use) up to five times a year. This limit does not apply to medicines for personal use for which authorization has been obtained from a competent authority.
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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, 1-10-13
