NOTE: COMMENTS REGARDING ANY FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE MUST BE SENT TO THE ADDRESS INDICATED IN THE DOCUMENT. ANY COMMENTS ON THE RAPID INFORMATION BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM (RIBBS) ABOUT ANY FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES WILL NOT BE USED OR CONSIDERED IN THE COURSE OF ANY RULE MAKING. [Federal Register: February 1, 1995] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Shipper Paid Forwarding for Fourth-Class Mail AGENCY: Postal Service. ACTION: Proposed rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Postal Service proposes to provide fourth-class mailers with an option to pay for the nonlocal forwarding of machinable fourth- class mail when participating in automatic electronic address correction service. Those mailers requested this option to the current forwarding standards so that, if they choose, they can pay for the nonlocal forwarding of their customers' catalogs, books, merchandise and other fourth-class matter. The intended effects of this option are to increase mailer satisfaction with fourth-class mail; increase customer satisfaction by reducing the need to charge them postage-due for forwarded fourth-class mail, and for them to travel to the post office to get such pieces; and improve service by facilitating fewer handlings for such mail both in processing and in delivery. DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before March 3, 1995. ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written comments to the Manager, Parcels, Product Management, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW., Room 5142, Washington, DC 20260-2408. Copies of all written comments will be available for inspection and photocopying between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, in room 5142, at the above address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Tolson, (202) 268-3149. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently parcels, catalogs, books, merchandise, etc., sent to customers who have moved outside their local area are forwarded to the new address, postage due. The applicable amount, based on the mailpiece's classification, weight, and the delivery zone of the new address, is collected from the recipient. Depending upon the customer's availability at time of delivery, the package may be: (1) Accepted and the postage collected, (2) refused and returned to the shipper requesting payment for the forwarding and return postage due and other applicable fees, (3) returned to the post office for re-delivery or customer pickup, or (4) disposed of by the Postal Service. Fourth-class mailers have requested that the USPS provide an option to this forwarding standard so that mailers can, if they choose, pay for nonlocal forwarding of their customers' parcels, catalogs, books, merchandise, etc. In view of these requests, the Postal Service and the fourth-class mailing industry jointly developed a proposal to meet the needs of large fourth-class shippers to provide nonlocal forwarding for mail sent to their customers. This optional service has been designated Shipper Paid Forwarding (SPF) and, as proposed, will operate through the existing electronic Address Change Service (ACS). As a result, SPF will be available only to mailers participating in ACS. Further, because of the limitations of the current ACS system, SPF will be offered at this time only for machinable parcels (i.e., parcels that are not subject to a nonmachinable surcharge if mailed at inter-BMC parcel post rates). The Postal Service will consider modifying the ACS system in the future to accommodate SPF for nonmachinable parcels if there is sufficient customer demand. As designed, SPF will allow the Postal Service to use the electronic systems developed for ACS and will piggyback on the existing fee billing and collection feature of ACS. Automatic electronic ACS notification will be provided for each forwarded package, subject to the ACS change notification fee (currently $0.20 per notice). Shippers will be able to use corrected address information immediately upon receipt to update mailing files and avoid additional forwarding charges. Participating ACS/SPF mailers will be required to provide the weight of the package in pound or half-pound increments (as appropriate for the rate claimed) and indicate the rate category of the mailpiece. This information will be imbedded as the first 4 characters of the customer information keyline. Based on the current ACS keyline, the ACS/SPF keyline is located in the address block and consists of 4 to 16 characters (excluding spaces and delimiters), set off by pound sign (#) delimiters. In addition to the 4 characters of required postal information, up to 12 characters may be used for customer information, the last position serving as a check digit. (The required single- character rate category codes will be provided to authorized SPF participants.) For example, the keyline on a 2.5-pound piece of basic bulk bound printed matter (code B) would begin as #025B, followed (if used by the mailer) by the individual customer information, a check digit, and a closing # delimiter. This proposed rule provides for an application and authorization process for ACS and for SPF. Upon approval of a new ACS/SPF application for this service, the mailer will be assigned a new 7-character ACS participation code specifically for use with SPF. Current ACS users must also request a new participation code to use the SPF service option. The ACS participation code must be preceded by a # delimiter. An authorized ACS mailer must place the endorsement "Forwarding and Return Postage Guaranteed, Address Correction Requested" and the correct keyline on each mailpiece for which SPF is requested. (A separate identifier code may be maintained and used by the mailer for pieces on which only ACS service is desired. The Postal Service will provide ACS or SPF, and charge the corresponding fees, based on the mailer's choice of codes.) As proposed, SPF will provide forwarding for 1 year from the date that the recipient filed a change of address, and return (postage due) to the sender for 6 months more (i.e., for months 13 through 18 after the addressee's move). Customers receiving SPF packages will see a message on the USPS-applied forwarding label reading "FORWARDING POSTAGE PAID BY MAILER." The mailer will receive an electronic bill from the Postal Service's St. Louis Information Services Support Center that includes both forwarding postage and address correction notice fees. Other standards applicable to the forwarding, return, and address correction of fourth-class mail remain in force. In conjunction with this proposal, the USPS also announces a change in the ACS frequency in F030.2.2 from "weekly or monthly" to "as requested by the mailer," reflecting the USPS ability to provide ACS participants with address change information more frequently than as stated in the current standards.Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)) regarding proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites comments on the following proposed revisions of the DMM, incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR part 111. List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111 Postal Service. PART 111--[AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 3001- 3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001. 2. Revise the following units of the Domestic Mail Manual as noted below: F010 Basic Information * * * * * 5.0 TREATMENT OF CLASSES OF MAIL * * * * * 5.4 Fourth-Class Mail * * * * * ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mailer endorsement USPS action ------------------------------------------------------------------------ No Endorsement......... Forwarded locally at no charge; out of town, as postage-due. If undeliverable or addressee refused to pay postage, mailpiece returned with new address or reason for nondelivery, subject to forwarding (where attempted) and return postage. Do Not Forward, Do Not No forwarding or return service provided; Return. mailpiece disposed of by USPS. Forwarding and Return Forwarded locally at no charge; out of town, as Postage Guaranteed. postage-due. If undeliverable or addressee refused to pay postage, mailpiece returned with new address or reason for nondelivery, subject to forwarding (where attempted) and return postage. Forwarding and Return Pieces from ACS Shipper Paid Forwarding Postage Guaranteed, participants: Forwarded locally and out of Address Correction town at no charge to addressee. If forwarded, Requested (1). separate address-correction notice provided, subject to address-correction fee and (if forwarded out of town) forwarding postage (billed to mailer). If mailpiece undeliverable, mailpiece returned with new address or reason for nondelivery, subject to return postage. Other pieces: Forwarded locally at no charge; out of town, as postage- due. If forwarded, separate address-correction notice provided, subject to address-correction fee. If mailpiece undeliverable or addressee refused to pay postage, mailpiece returned with new address or reason for nondelivery, subject to forwarding (where attempted) and return postage. Do Not Forward, Do Not No forwarding or return service provided; Return, Address separate address-correction notice provided, Correction Requested subject to address-correction fee; mailpiece (2). disposed of by USPS. Do Not Forward, Address No forwarding service provided; mailpiece Correction Requested, returned with new address or reason for Return Postage nondelivery, subject to return postage. Guaranteed (3). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) The authorized abbreviation for this endorsement is "Forward & Address Correction." This abbreviation is authorized where the full endorsement cannot be accommodated. (2) The authorized abbreviation for this endorsement is "Do Not Forward or Return--Address Cor." This abbreviation is authorized where the full endorsement cannot be accommodated. (3) The authorized abbreviation for this endorsement is "Do Not Forward--Address Cor-- Return Guar." This abbreviation is authorized where the full endorsement cannot be accommodated. * * * * * 6.0 ENCLOSURES OR ATTACHMENTS * * * * * 6.3 Fourth-Class Undeliverable, unendorsed fourth-class mail with nonincidental First-Class Mail attachments or enclosures is forwarded, if requested by mailer endorsement, or returned at the applicable single-piece fourth-class rate. The weight of the First-Class attachment or enclosure is not included when computing the charges for return of the mailpiece. Undeliverable, unendorsed fourth-class mail with incidental First-Class attachments or enclosures is returned at the applicable single-piece fourth-class rate. * * * * * F020 Forwarding * * * * * 3.0 POSTAGE FOR FORWARDING * * * * * 3.6 Fourth-Class Fourth-class mail is subject to the collection of additional postage at the applicable rate for nonlocal forwarding if guaranteed by the sender or recipient. Unless endorsed "Do Not Forward, Do Not Return," all fourth-class mail is delivered as directed without additional postage charged when the old and new addresses are served by the same post office. The addressee may refuse any piece of forwarded fourth-class mail without losing the right to have other fourth-class mail forwarded. If the addressee does not want to pay forwarding postage for all fourth-class mail, the addressee must ask the postmaster of the new address to use Form 3546 to notify the postmaster of the old address to discontinue the forwarding of fourth-class mail. (Such a request will not affect the forwarding of fourth-class mail sent by SPF participants, who pay forwarding postage under F030.) * * * * * F030 Address Correction, Address Change, and Return Services * * * * * 2.0 ADDRESS CHANGE SERVICE (ACS) 2.1 Description ACS centralizes, automates, and improves the processing of participating mailers' requests for address-correction information by unique publication or mailer identifier. Address-correction records are sequentially organized by USPS-assigned codes and distributed to each participating mailer. 2.2 Shipper Paid Forwarding (SPF) An option available to ACS participants, SPF allows for the collection of forwarding and return postage from the sender by including those charges concurrently with ACS fees. Mail forwarded or returned under SPF remains subject to F010, F020, and 3.2. SPF may be requested only for parcels that, if mailed at inter-BMC parcel post rates, would not be subject to the nonmachinable surcharge. ACS/ SPF requires USPS authorization under 2.3 and mailer use of a unique ACS/SPF identifier as part of an address block keyline. The keyline mail must be left-justified (below the optional endorsement line, if used), and must begin with a pound sign (#) delimiter, followed by the 4-character code indicating the weight and rate category of the piece, up to 12 characters of optional customer information (the last of which is a check digit), and a closing # delimiter. (ACS participants must use the specific ACS/SPF identifier and keyline format to participate in ACS/SPF.) For information, write to USPS ACS/SPF, National Customer Support Center.2.3 Availability of ACS and ACS/SPF Where mail is marked with ACS symbols under M013, ACS and ACS/SPF are available to authorized mailers who maintain their address records on computers and whose mail bears the correct endorsement to obtain address correction and nonlocal fourth-class forwarding. ACS and ACS/ SPF are available on the frequency requested by the mailer. Because ACS and ACS/SPF are associated with USPS-computerized forwarding operations, these services are not available at all post offices. Information about ACS or SPF (including application) is available from: USPS Address Change Service, National Customer Support Center. [Renumber existing 2.3 and 2.4 as 2.4 and 2.5, respectively; no change in text] * * * * * 3.0 SENDER INSTRUCTION * * * * * 3.2 Special Services * * * * * e. Insured fourth-class mail without any other endorsement is forwarded at no charge locally and postage-due nonlocally if the recipient guarantees to pay forwarding postage. Insured fourth-class mail endorsed for ACS/SPF under 2.2 is forwarded at no charge to the addressee. (For forwarding, local means within the same post office.) If the article is undeliverable, the USPS returns it to the sender with the new address or the reason for nondelivery. The sender is charged for the return of the mailpiece and the attempted forwarding, when appropriate. * * * * * M013 Optional Endorsement Lines * * * * * 2.0 FORMAT 2.1 Presort Identification Except when an address block barcode is placed above the optional endorsement line, the appropriate presort identification must be the first line at the top of the address block or label. Mailers participating in Address Change Service (ACS), including ACS with or Shipper Paid Forwarding (SPF), under F030 may use the first eight positions on the left side of the optional endorsement line for the ACS or ACS/SPF participant code (see Exhibit 2.1). Third-class mailers participating in the EX3C or BBM/SPMS measurement system may use the first 14 positions on the left side of the optional endorsement line for the measurement system code specified by the USPS for that program. * * * * * 2.4 Non-ACS, Non-EX3C, and Non-BBM/SPMS Labels On labels not used with ACS (including ACS/SPF), EX3C, or BBM/SPMS, the optional endorsement line must be filled with asterisks from the left margin of the label or address block (as defined by the position of the first character printed in the address block or on the address label) up to the first character in the optional endorsement line. 2.5 ACS and ACS/SPF Labels On labels used with ACS or ACS/SPF, the delimiter # must be in the first position at the left margin of the optional endorsement line, followed by the seven-character ACS or ACS/SPF participation code assigned by the USPS; the remaining space between the code and the first character of the makeup information must be filled with asterisks. The keyline required on ACS/SPF mail under F030 must be left-justified below the optional endorsement line. * * * * * An appropriate amendment to 39 CFR 111.3 to reflect these changes will be published if the proposal is adopted. Stanley F. Mires, Chief Counsel, Legislative. [FR Doc. 95-2255 Filed 1-31-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710-12-P