In an exceptional move before the 2012 Doha Congress, UPU member countries are voting to change the rules that would allow Posts to carry international packages containing equipment with lithium batteries as early as October next year.
The UPU Convention currently classifies lithium cells and batteries as dangerous goods prohibited from travelling in the mail.
But new packaging instructions by the International Civil Air Organization (ICAO) allow personal equipment carrying fewer than four cells or two batteries to be shipped by air.
Member countries have until December 18 to vote on a proposal to amend two Convention articles dealing with letter post and parcel post regulations that would align them with the ICAO rules.
At least 50 per cent of the UPU’s 191 member countries must vote, and two-thirds of voting members must approve the amendments.
Meeting customer needs
Proposals to change the Convention are normally adopted at the Universal Postal Congress, held every four years. Subsequent changes to the letter post and parcel regulations then come into effect the year after Congress, giving countries time to prepare for the new rules.
The Postal Operations Council's Postal Security Group is behind the proposal.
“Many member countries have already endorsed this proposal and waiting until Doha 2012 to change the Convention would delay the new regulations from going into effect until January 1, 2014,” explains the acting chair of the UPU’s Postal Security Group, Oscar Villanueva, who works with the United States Postal Inspection Service. “By acting now, we will facilitate the shipment of products with lithium batteries through the mail and help Posts worldwide to fulfil a growing customer need."
If the vote is positive, the changes would come into force on October 1, 2011 – almost one year before the 2012 Doha Congress.