TNT CEO calls for equal treatment of postal services in Germany

TNT NV said Deutsche Post should lose its VAT exemption to enable all postal services in Germany to compete on an equal footing, said TNT’s chief executive Peter Bakker.

In an interview with news agency dpa, Bakker also called for full liberalization of postal services in Germany by early 2008, when TNT plans to increase its offering to letters below 50 grams.

The company plans to increase its market penetration to 40 pct of German households during 2008 from the current 20 pct, he added.

The EU last week asked Germany, among other countries, to change its legislation of VAT exemption for mail delivery charges, which is not compatible with an EU VAT directive.

Earlier press reports had suggested the German government was contemplating extending the preferential VAT treatment to Deutsche Post’s competitors.