Effective November 12, 2015, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) part 381 to update the authorized version of international reply coupons.
The article “International Reply Coupons” in Postal Bulletin 22274 (12-17-09, pages 48–49) announced new Item Number 330800, which bore the expiration date of December 31, 2013. The article “IMM Revision: Changes to Pricing and Mailing Standards for International Mailing Services” in Postal Bulletin 22352 (12-13-12, pages 52–84) announced that effective January 27, 2013, the Postal Service would no longer sell international reply coupons (IRCs), but would continue to redeem international reply coupons purchased in foreign countries and presented at U.S. Post Office™ facilities. According to the Universal Postal Union, a new IRC went on sale on July 1, 2013, and it will remain valid until December 31, 2017. Bearing the “Water of Life” design (water being poured over a cupped hand) and with an expiration date of December 31, 2017, it is the only authorized version of the IRC.
Consistent with the information in that article, we are revising IMM 381.3c to reflect the current IRC expiration date. We are also revising 381.1, 381.2, and 381.3 to clarify that international reply coupons previously sold by the U.S. Postal Service® may no longer be used or exchanged because their expiration date has passed.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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3 Extra Services
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380 Supplemental Services
381 International Reply Coupons
381.1 Description
[Revise the second sentence to read as follows (indicating that international reply coupons sold by the U.S. Postal Service may no longer be used or exchanged):]
***Coupons previously sold by the U.S. Postal Service may no longer be used or exchanged (see 381.2).***
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381.2 Previously Sold Coupons and Exchange Value
The following standards apply to the exchange of international reply coupons:
[Revise item a to read as follows (indicating that all international reply coupons sold by the U.S. Postal Service have expired and may no longer be exchanged):]
a. International reply coupons sold by the United States Postal Service expired on December 31, 2013, or earlier, and may not be used or exchanged. Unused U.S. coupons (that is, those with the U.S. selling price stamped on them) may no longer be exchanged.
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381.3 Processing Requests
The following standards apply when processing international reply coupons:
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[Revise items b, c, and e in their entirety to read as follows:]
b. A Post Office facility exchanging a foreign reply coupon must postmark it. Post Office facilities must not accept foreign coupons that already bear a United States Postal Service postmark.
c. The only valid version of the international reply coupon is printed by the Universal Postal Union, bears the “Water of Life” design (water being poured over a cupped hand), measures approximately 3.75 inches by 6 inches, has a barcode on the reverse side, and has an expiration date of December 31, 2017.
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e. Postmasters must process exchanged foreign international reply coupons as prescribed in Handbook F-101, Field Accounting Procedures, in section 11-6.6, “International Reply Coupons.”
Note: Only foreign international reply coupons are eligible for redemption — all USPS-issued international reply coupons expired December 31, 2013, or earlier.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the January 17, 2016, update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 11-12-15
