Postal Law favours Polish Post on registered mail, claims Integer.pl

Private sector mail company Integer.pl has criticised legislative proposals it says would see Polish Post retaining an unfair advantage on the delivery of registered mail in Poland next year. Poland is one of 11 European countries that has to open its postal market fully to competition from January, under the terms of the EU Postal Directive. Lawmakers are in the process of passing a law to do so.

But Integer.pl says an amendment to the proposed law, handing state-owned Polish Post an important advantage in the provision of registered mail services for legal documents, is “another barrier” to healthy postal competition and “incompatible” with EU postal rules.

It said the proposal would mean that only proof of postage recorded in a post office will be acceptable as stating that an item has been received by a court, public office or tax office on the day of posting.

Sending the same item by a private postal operator would mean only the arrival date, rather than the postmark date, would be recognised.

Integer.pl said that in practice, this would mean individuals and “all types of institutions” will prefer using Polish Post services. It estimates that the proposal would affect as many as 100 to 150m shipments a year, including items Poles send to government offices like the Inland Revenue, the courts and debt collection companies.

It said Article 17 of the country’s Postal Law was “at odds with the key objectives of the EU’s market liberalisation”.

In particular, it said the proposal went against Europe’s intention to create a customer-focused postal market. Integer.pl also said the proposal was against the basic rights of consumers to choose their registered mail provider.

The company argued that if Polish Post is given unfair advantages, it could also hinder the development of the Polish postal market, threatening the 125,000 jobs involved, and add big costs to the state budget.

Barrier to growth

Integer.pl cited postal expert Raphael Zgorzelski, who has been working in support of the Parliamentary subcommittee examining the draft Postal Law, and said that the amendment effectively sets up a monopoly on registered mail, and that an organisation like the Ministry of Justice could end up being PLN 40m (EUR 9.7m) more in shipping costs than necessary.

Rafał Brzoska, the Integer.pl chief executive, said the amendment to the darft Postal Law was “vague, poorly-worded and poorly interpreted”.

He said it would not only make life difficult for those in the legal sector, but also act as a barrier to economic growth generally in Poland.

“The costs incurred by the state budget, generated in relation to maintaining the privileged position of the Polish Post Office, will weaken the financial condition of the country and undermine the image of the Polish internationally,” said Brzoska.

“In addition, the liberalisation of the market has to be primarily a benefit for the customers, who should have long been given full right to a free choice of service provider.”

The Integer.pl CEO said his company would do “everything possible” to give customers access to alternative postal services on the same terms that apply to Polish Post.

Relevant Directory Listings

Listing image

FOXPOST

Leading logtech company, transforming last-mile delivery and reducing the industry’s carbon footprint through parcel locker technology. Offering the best turn-key solution on the market to companies aiming to increase last-mile efficiency. Cut the learning curve and save millions of Euros using our market-ready know-how. Cutting-edge […]

Find out more

Other Directory Listings

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What’s the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



MER Magazine


The Mail & Express Review (MER) Magazine is our quarterly print publication. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, MER is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

 

News Archive

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This