China leaps ahead of India on postal laws
While India has gone slow on the proposed amendment to monopolise handling of documents weighing less than 300 gm, China is all set to revise its postal law to bequeath China Post’s express arm EMS (Express Mail Service), the sole authority to handle documents weighing under 150gm.
Exactly like in India, all four international giants – DHL, TNT, FedEx and UPS – and over a dozen domestic operators are a disgruntled lot, since the amendment has the potential to paralyse the industry. Steven Lim, spokesperson of DHL, told ET that it is difficult at present to ascertain the direct impact on their business, based on the unpublished 8th revision of the draft Bill.
“The good news is that the (Chinese) government has considered lowering the weight monopoly to 150 gm, which is lower than the previous draft of 300 gm or more. We believe that it is best to include other standards than just weight, like a price multiple,” says Mr Lim.
Most industry officials agree. “Price multiple could be a better standard. The express companies can be restricted to price their services on par with that of the postal department by stipulating a price differential. The price-conscious customer can go to the postal department, while others can patronise private courier/express companies,” says an industry official.
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