Postal operators work within a framework of complex laws and regulations which determine many aspects of their services. Regulatory services can be crucial to the success of the postal business.

How does it work?

IPC’s Regulatory Services supports postal operators by understanding and benchmarking their data with a number of other country’s regulatory requirements. IPC’s Regulatory Services also provides its members with an overview of the
developments of the transnational regulatory obligations and requirements and an insight into the relevant regulations that apply at an international level.

IPC’s Regulatory Services provide members with a full overview of regulatory, legal, and political developments affecting postal operators’ existing or potential business within Europe, Americas, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. IPC produces an annual IPC Postal Regulatory Database and maintains the Regulatory Portal. The Portal allows participants to compare different regulatory frameworks with a simple online comparison tool. In addition, IPC provides its members with a number of publications and in-depth articles focusing on regulatory issues as well as weekly and monthly Regulatory News Flashes. IPC’s Regulatory Services provides experts in the area with a platform to exchange best practices and keep up-to-date with the latest developments.

Benefits

  • IPC’s Regulatory Services can provide help for posts when interacting with national regulatory authorities by providing a comparison of regulatory frameworks and obligations applied in different markets.
  • Online access to up-to-date information and benchmarks on regulatory topics such as the Universal Service Obligation, VAT policy, licensing, and price regulation.
  • Regular news updates on the latest regulatory and legal developments worldwide via the IPC weekly and monthly Regulatory Flashes.
  • IPC’s Regulatory Services allow the participants to participate in meetings with experts in the area of regulations and have access to first-hand information.

An overview of IPC's Regulatory Services

IPC’s Regulatory Services are an in-depth insight into the regulatory activities within the postal sector. Through these services, participants are able to gain access to a number of relevant publications, analysis and news. The IPC Regulatory Service includes the following features:

IPC Postal Regulatory Database

The IPC Postal Regulatory Database provides up-to-date, detailed information and descriptions of the postal regulatory framework in 60 countries. It is available as a hard copy or can be consulted in full online, via the IPC website and the Regulatory Portal.

IPC Regulatory Portal

The IPC Regulatory Portal is a web application that allows for an easy comparison of postal regulations in IPC member countries international regulations affecting postal services, and analyses via a number of reports. The tool is especially beneficial for postal operators with a presence in foreign markets.

The Portal is divided into five modules that provide members with detailed information on the most relevant issues, such as the Universal Service Obligation (USO), price regulation, VAT policy, licensing, postal network and downstream access, among others.

  • The first of its modules is “Regulatory Topics”, which offers a general overview of each of these issues in an easy-to-read format.
  • “Country Pages” provides members with a detailed overview of domestic regulations around important topics.
  • The “Regulatory Issue Tracker” module includes a selection of legislative documents along with communications, opinion papers, statistics, studies and reports on the cross-border e-commerce market.
  • The “Regulatory Search” allows users to quickly find a specific item contained within the Portal, such as documents, papers, postal laws, etc.
  • The “Regulatory Database” module includes the electronic version of all the IPC Postal Regulatory Database publications from 2004 onwards.
  • The “Comparison Tool” is a new tool allowing users to customise their search by quickly selecting different countries and the fields on which they want to obtain information about. This tool enables users to easily compare the regulatory situation on a given topic among several countries.

IPC Regulatory Flashes

An important part of IPC’s Regulatory services are the weekly and monthly IPC Regulatory Flashes. The Regulatory Flashes provide readers with a selection of news, reports and other publications coming from postal operators, regulators, governmental authorities, etc. at a worldwide level.

More information

To find out more about IPC Regulatory Services, contact us at [email protected].