Effective September 10, 2018, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 604.9.2.6, to clarify the refund charges for Business Reply Mail® (BRM) pieces returned with postage affixed.
The Postal Service is revising section 604.9.2.6, Postage Affixed to Business Reply Mail, to clarify that when the total face value of the postage affixed is $500 or less, charges will be assessed at 10 percent off the face value. If the total face value of the postage affixed exceeds $500, a charge of $50 per hour (or fraction thereof) will be assessed for the actual hours to process the postage affixed on BRM pieces. This clarification will make the DMM consistent with PS Form 3533, Application for Refund of Fees, Products, and Withdrawal of Customer Accounts.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this clarification in the DMM until September 10, 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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9.0 Exchanges and Refunds
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9.2 Postage and Fee Refunds
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9.2.6 Postage Affixed to Business Reply Mail
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[Revise the text of 9.2.6 to read as follows:]
A Business Reply Mail (BRM) permit holder may request a credit to an advance deposit account for postage affixed to returned BRM pieces. A refund may be requested for postage affixed to BRM only if an advance deposit is not used or is unavailable. Only the value of the postage affixed may be credited or refunded. Refunds are not given for foreign postage affixed to BRM. The permit holder must submit a completed PS Form 3533 to the postmaster documenting the excess postage payment for which a credit or refund is desired. The permit holder must also present properly faced and banded bundles of 100 (when quantities allow) identical BRM pieces with identical amounts of postage affixed. A charge of 10 percent off the face value is assessed if the total face value of the postage affixed is $500 or less. If the total face value of the postage affixed exceeds $500, a charge of $50.00 per hour (or fraction thereof) is assessed for the work hours used to process the credit or refund. Credits or refunds are not given for any BRM or Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) per piece charges, annual accounting fees, quarterly fees, or monthly maintenance fees.
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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, 8-2-18
