Effective January 26, 2014, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to reflect a change in the Individual Country Listings (ICLs) for Canada and Qatar.
Based on customer inquiries, Canada Post informed the Postal Service of its revised policy that no shipment of electronic smoking products (including advertisements) may be imported to Canada unless market authorization has been granted by Department of Health Canada.
Additionally, we are updating Qatar’s list of prohibited and restricted items to be consistent with their listing in the UPU List of Prohibited Items.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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Individual Country Listings
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Canada
Country Conditions for Mailing
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Observations
[Insert a new item to read as follows (renumbering current items 1–12 to 2–13):]
1. Electronic smoking products (i.e., electronic products for the vaporization and administration of inhaled doses of nicotine including electronic cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, and pipes, as well as cartridges of nicotine solutions and related products) require market authorization by Department of Health Canada prior to being imported. The requirement also includes advertisements for electronic smoking products. Failure to obtain this authorization will result in the items being refused entry by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). For additional information, refer to the Department of Health Canada website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/prodpharma/applic-demande/pol/notice_avis_e-cig-eng.php
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Qatar
Country Conditions for Mailing
Prohibitions
[Revise the list of Prohibitions in its entirety to read as follows (we have used bold text in this article to indicate revised items, but the text in the actual revised IMM will not appear in bold):]
Advertising articles for promoting cigarettes.
Alcoholic beverages of all kinds.
Ammunition.
Cigarettes and tobacco products.
Clothing bearing the name of Allah or verses from the Koran.
Counterfeit currency.
Fish and crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates.
Inflammable, explosive, or dangerous substances.
Liquids of any type.
Live animals.
Meats and edible offal.
Military or similar clothing.
Musical greetings cards.
Obscene or immoral articles.
Ordinary items containing coins; banknotes; currency notes or any security payable to the bearer; traveler’s checks; platinum, silver, precious stones, jewels, or any precious articles.
Perishable infectious biological substances.
Political printed matter and publications of a subversive nature and prejudicial to national security.
Pork fat products.
Radioactive materials.
Remote-controlled aircraft for children and games of chance.
Spoiled products which are harmful to health; products unfit for human consumption.
Weapons or parts of weapons.
Restrictions
[Revise the list of Restrictions in its entirety to read as follows:]
Bees, leeches, silkworms, and parasites are prohibited unless they are enclosed in boxes so constructed as to avoid any danger during transport.
Importation of motor vehicle headlights is prohibited without prior authorization of the appropriate authorities.
Instruments of weights and measures used for weighing are prohibited without authorization from the Weights and Measures Department of the Ministry of Finance, Economy, and Trade.
Telecommunication transmitters and receivers, long-distance telephone apparatus, printed matter, and audiovisual material are prohibited without prior authorization of the appropriate authorities.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 11-14-13
