Effective May 7, 2018, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), sections 604 and 607, as stated in the notice of proposed rulemaking published December 13, 2017, in the Federal Register (82 FR 58580-58582). This notice amended the DMM in the following ways:
n Updated the definition of a revenue deficiency;
n Updated Postal Service contacts for submitting appeals; and
n Added sections to provide the definition of a mailer, description of assessments and mailer responsibilities, and policy on assessed revenue deficiencies.
Although the Postal Service will not publish these revisions in the DMM until May 7, 2018, the standards are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
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604 Postage Payment Methods and Refunds
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[Delete 10.0, Revenue Deficiency, in its entirety and renumber current 11.0 and 12.0 as new 10.0 and 11.0.]
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607 Mailer Compliance and Appeals of Classification Decisions
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[Add new section 3.0 to read as follows:]
3.0 Revenue Deficiency
3.1 General Information
3.1.1 Revenue Deficiency Process
The revenue deficiency process outlined in 3.0 is an administrative process that supplements and does not diminish any rights the Postal Service has to recover revenue deficiencies through other legally available methods, such as when the deficiency arises as a result of fraud, misrepresentation, or the misuse of PC Postage products or other Postage Evidencing Systems.
3.1.2 Definitions
Revenue deficiency definitions are as follows:
a. Revenue deficiency: A shortage or underpayment of postage or fees that has been calculated and assessed to a mailer. Unless assessed under other applicable postal regulations, revenue deficiencies are generally assessed as provided herein by the postmaster; manager, Business Mail Entry; the program manager, Revenue and Compliance, or other postal official, who issues a written notification to the mailer citing the amount of the deficiency and the circumstances.
b. Mailer: A mailer is defined as the mail owner or an individual or entity that prepares or presents a mailing to the Postal Service and includes those who allow others to use a postage meter or PC postage product (collectively “postage evidence system” — see 604.4.1.1 and 604.4.1.2) that has been authorized for use by the individual or entity.
3.1.3 Assessments
Postal officials review mailings, postage statements, and other relevant documentation to assess revenue deficiency. Mailers are required to cooperate and provide any documentation or information requested by postal officials during the review and assessment process. A mailer’s failure to provide requested documentation or information during a review may result in a negative inference concerning the documentation or information requested.
3.1.4 Assessed Revenue Deficiencies
Assessed revenue deficiencies may be subject to the following:
a. If a mailer fails to tender payment to the Postal Service within 30 days of receipt of a final agency decision, fails to comply with the terms or conditions of a payment plan agreed to by the Postal Service concerning the final agency decision, or is suspected by the Postal Service of continuing to repeatedly short pay postage, the Postal Service may:
1. Deduct any deficiencies from the mailer’s trust account (or any other funds in USPS possession) incurred within 12 months of the date of the final mailing on which the deficiency was assessed.
2. Initiate debt collection procedures.
3. Restrict or suspend discounted mailing privileges with the concurrence of the manager, Revenue Assurance and Vice President Controller, or as otherwise allowed by regulation, or in accordance with any agreement with the mailer.
b. Discounted mailing privileges may be suspended or restricted regardless of payment status of an assessed revenue deficiency if underpayment of postage continues after a mailer has been assessed a revenue deficiency.
c. Interest on assessed revenue deficiencies will accrue at a rate of 6 percent per annum beginning 30 days after the receipt of the final agency decision and will continue until the debt is paid.
d. Other fees and costs related to an assessed revenue deficiency may be collected as allowed by law or regulation.
3.2 Appeal of Ruling
3.2.1 General Decision
Except as provided in 604.4.4.4 through 604.4.4.5, 607.3.2.2, and 703.1.0, a mailer may appeal a revenue deficiency assessment by sending a written appeal to the postmaster or manager in 3.2.1a through 3.2.1c within 30 days of receipt of the notification. In all cases, the mailer may be asked to provide more information or documentation to support the appeal. Failure to do so within 30 days of the request is grounds for denying an appeal. Any decision that is not appealed as prescribed becomes the final agency decision. Mailers may send appeals as follows:
a. To the district manager, Finance, for revenue deficiencies for fees. The district manager, Finance, issues the final USPS decision.
b. To the postmaster, manager, Business Mail Entry, program manager, Revenue and Compliance, or other postal official, for revenue deficiencies for postage. The appeal is then forwarded to the manager, Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC), who issues the final agency decision.
c. To the manager, Product Classification (see 608.8.0 for address), if the PCSC manager first assessed the deficiency. The manager, Product Classification issues the final agency decision.
3.2.2 Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Decision
Nonprofit mailers have two levels of appeal. They may appeal revenue deficiency assessments as follows:
All appeals must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the previous USPS decision. Any decision that is not appealed as prescribed becomes the final agency decision; no appeals are available within the USPS beyond the second appeal.
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The Postal Service will incorporate this revision into the next update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Marketing, 3-29-18
