Cooperating with Customs
The growing e-commerce market means that an unprecedented number of parcels and small packages are being exchanged across borders, making seamless collaboration between Posts and Customs more necessary than ever.
The UPU works actively with partners in the supply chain to keep mail moving across borders and ensure that these mail items reach their destination safely and on time.
WCO–UPU cooperation
One example of such cooperation is with the World Customs Organization (WCO): the WCO–UPU Contact Committee was established in 1964 at the Universal Postal Congress in Vienna as a means to collaborate on issues related to the clearance of postal items through customs.
This joint committee develops procedures and publications to guide Post–Customs work at the national and international level. The two organizations also engage in joint capacity-building projects, organizing workshops on postal customs issues for developing countries.
UPU solutions
The Customs Declaration System (CDS), created by the UPU’s Postal Technology Centre, helps streamline customs clearance by allowing participating Posts and Customs to exchange advance data and calculate required duties and taxes.
For packages sent, UPU regulations require Posts to share information about the sender, contents and value with customs authorities. This information used to be sent with packages by means of a paper form, but CDS now enables Posts to share this information via electronic data interchange (EDI) messaging before the package is sent. This advance information can help Customs decrease its own processing times.
CDS also enables customs authorities to send EDI messages to Posts. For example, Customs can use the platform to notify Posts if an item has been rejected during the screening process. This, in turn, allows Posts to better track packages as they make their way through the supply chain.
Meeting documents
Customs Group
- Meeting of January 2019
- Meeting of June 2019
- Meeting of December 2019
- Meeting of June 2020
- Meeting of October 2020
- Meeting of February 2021
WCO-UPU Contact Committee
Key documents
-
Principles on the use of electronic advance data (EAD) for aviation security and fiscal clearance purposes.
-
21.02.2020Recommendations for the implementation of the Global Postal Model.
Information relating to Electronic Advance Data (EAD) for ITMATT exchange between Designated Operators. Accessible only to authorized users (with UPU documents access credentials).
Prohibitions. Items not admitted
Prohibitions (country specific)
According to the UPU's rules and regulations (Article 19 of the UPU Convention), certain items are either prohibited or restricted within the international mail flow. With the cooperation of its member countries, the UPU regularly updates its CDS country-specific list of prohibitions and restrictions, which serves as compendium for Article 19.1.3 of the UPU Convention.
Items not admitted (UPU)
The UPU also provides information about items that are not admitted in all categories of postal items, as well as dangerous goods (Articles 19.2 and 19.3 of the UPU Convention), under "Items not admitted".
-
The Universal Postal Convention establishes rules applicable to letter post and postal parcels exchanged in all the UPU member countries. Article 19 of the Convention contains a detailed list of items that are not admitted in the international mail flow.
-
Articles VIII and IX of the Final Protocol of the UPU Convention contain a list of provisions and reservations from UPU member countries related to article 19.
-
Contains the list of narcotic drugs under international control and additional information to assist governments in filling in the International Narcotics Control Board questionnaires related to narcotic drugs.
-
This list has been prepared by the International Narcotics Control Board to assist Governments in completing the annual statistical report on psychotropic substances (form P).
-
Definition of 9 classes of dangerous goods according to IATA dangerous goods regulations.
-
IV. Country-specific list06.11.2020This list is regularly extracted from the CDS Prohibitions Compendium
CDS Prohibitions Compendium (country-specific)
Prohibitions repository supported by the Customs Declaration System (CDS) platform
The CDS Prohibitions Compendium is an online repository available to UPU member countries, supported by the Customs Declaration System (CDS) platform. Using this tool, national customs information on prohibited and restricted articles in the mail can be searched and updated, serving as compendium for Article 19.1.3 of the UPU Convention.
The system can be accessed, updated and queried at prohibitions.ptc.post.
UPU member countries requiring further information on and access to the system should contact: customs(at)upu.int.
The Prohibitions Search Tool, available under the following link, queries this CDS Prohibitions Compendium.
WCO-UPU publications and activities
-
27.07.2020
-
Update: November 2016.
Guidelines for the operations involving customs clearance of international postal items. -
WCO–UPU Postal Customs Guide21.02.2020The guide is an information source for Posts and for Customs administration staff dealing with postal customs clearance.
-
An article on the main discussions and outcomes of the virtual meeting held on 3 and 4 December 2020.
WCO-UPU Electronic Advance Data (EAD) Guidelines
WCO-UPU Guidelines for developing an MOU between national Customs and the Post
UPU Customs Compendium
UPU Customs Compendium
With more items containing goods being sent through the Post, it is more vital than ever that designated operators have relevant, up-to-date information regarding country-specific customs procedures so they can inform their customers and facilitate the postal customs clearance process.
For this reason, the UPU has launched the UPU Customs Compendium — a living, online publication that contains public, country-specific information about:
- Import processing of customs duties and postal charges
- Delivery of taxable/dutiable items
- Other agencies responsible for customs clearance of postal items
- Questions relating to customs declarations
- Miscellaneous information
UPU member countries are invited to fill in the UPU Customs Compendium questionnaire and to keep their information updated.
Editors from UPU member countries may request rights to access the questionnaire sending an email to customs(at)upu.int indicating the proposed editor's:
- Given name and family name
- Title or function
- E-mail address
- Phone number
- Entity
- Country
To access the UPU Customs Compendium: customs.upu.post