Qatar: Zone revision likely to hit postal work
Qatar’s inclusion in Zone 1 of the classification of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), on the basis of the per capita income of its nationals is likely to hit the country’s postal operations in coming years, said a top Q-Post official.
The official said under the present terminal dues system of the UPU, two sub-systems are involved – the target system and transitional system. On account of the classification, Qatar, being a Zone 1 member, needs to pay a hefty amount as service charges for the services rendered by destination country’s domestic services. Qatar’s operations come under the target system.
The official said that as per the system, rates are decided on the basis of a percentage of the charge for a priority letter in the destination country’s domestic service.
– As a result, a considerable amount needs to be paid by countries in Zone 1 to its member countries for the services that they render at the destinations for the mails, he said.
– For instance, while the international postal tariffs from some Zone 1 countries to another member country of the zone may be cheaper, for the local mails, in some countries like the UK, there should be higher postal rates, considering the huge tariffs involved locally in their dispatch said the official.
Asked if this would result in a rise in the local postal tariffs, the official said no hasty decision would be taken on this score.
