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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 20 Implementation of Global Priority Mail AGENCY: Postal Service. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Global Priority Mail is a new international mail service designed for correspondence and documents. Global Priority Mail items receive priority handling in the United States and in destination countries. Interim implementing regulations were published in the Federal Register on March 17, 1995, 60 FR 14370, under the name Worldpost Priority Letter. The Postal Service is adopting the interim regulations as final, with a change in the name of the service to Global Priority Mail and the addition of new acceptance points. EFFECTIVE DATE: March 25, 1996. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay Thabet (202) 268-6095. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 17, 1995, the Postal Service published in the Federal Register (60 FR 14370) interim regulations implementing WORLDPOST Priority Letter and requested comments. Comments were due on or before April 17, 1995. On April 10, 1995, (60 FR 18009), the Postal Service published a notice correcting certain ZIP Code areas in which WORLDPOST Priority Letter was available. WORLDPOST Priority Letter service is an expedited airmail service providing fast, reliable, and economical delivery of items mailable as letters. Although a WORLDPOST Priority Letter item will travel in the normal airmail stream between the United States and the destination country, the item will receive priority handling in the United States and in the destination country. In the United States, after the item is deposited, the Postal Service will transport it in a dedicated stream to the appropriate gateway for dispatch. Upon arrival in the destination country, the item will also receive priority handling. Service is available only in certain ZIP Code areas in the United States and only to certain countries. The Postal Service received one comment on the interim regulations. That comment suggested that the service be made available to additional ZIP Code areas in the Northern New Jersey area. This suggestion has been found to [[Page 13776]] be feasible and ZIP Code areas in the Northern New Jersey area will be added. Based on its experience in the pilot, the Postal Service is making two other changes. First, the name of the service is being changed to Global Priority Mail. Second, the sizes of the envelopes are being increased slightly. The small envelope will increase from 5 inches by 8\7/8\ inches to 6 inches by 10 inches. The large envelope will increase from 9 inches by 11\1/2\ inches to 9\1/2\ inches by 12\1/2\ inches. The Postal Service adopts the following amendments to the International Mail Manual, which is incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 20.1. List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 20 International postal service, Foreign relations. PART 20--[AMENDED] 1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 20 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 401, 404, 407, 408. 2. Chapter 2 of the International Mail Manual is amended by revising part 226 to read as follows: 2 CONDITIONS FOR MAILING * * * * * 226 Global Priority Mail 226.1 General 226.11 Definition Global Priority Mail is an expedited airmail letter service providing fast, reliable, and economical delivery of all items mailable as letters. Global Priority Mail items receive priority handling in the United States and in destination countries. Service is available only to destination countries identified in 226.2, from post offices identified in 226.3. Global Priority Mail items must be mailed in special envelopes provided for this purpose by the Postal Service. 226.12 Permissible Items All items admitted in letters (see 221.1) are accepted in Global Priority Mail as long as the contents fit securely into the Global Priority Mail envelopes provided by the Postal Service. Global Priority Mail items may contain dutiable merchandise unless the country of destination prohibits dutiable merchandise in letters (see 224.51). However, Global Priority Mail items that contain dutiable merchandise might experience delay in delivery caused by customs handling. 226.13 Addressing See 122. All items must bear the complete delivery address of the addressee and the full name (no abbreviations) of the destination country. 226.2 Availability Global Priority Mail service is available only to the following countries: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Western Europe Pacific Rim Canada ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Belgium......................... Australia......... Canada. France.......................... Hong Kong......... .................. Germany......................... Japan............. .................. Great Britain*.................. New Zealand....... .................. Netherlands, The................ Singapore......... .................. Norway.......................... Taiwan............ .................. Sweden.......................... .................. .................. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Includes all points in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man. 226.3 Mailing Locations 226.31 Acceptance Offices and Pickup Service Locations Global Priority Mail service is available only through the designated post offices listed in 226.32. Global Priority Mail items must not be accepted or deposited in areas not listed in 226.32. 226.32 Service Areas Service is available only from the metropolitan areas as defined by the ZIP Code ranges shown below. Within these service areas, prepaid items may be given to carriers, deposited in Express Mail collection boxes, or mailed at post offices, stations, and branches. Pickup service is available. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Metropolitan area ZIP Code service area ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Atlanta, GA......................... 300-303, 305, 306, 311. Boston, MA.......................... 018-024. Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX................ 750-754, 760-762, 764. Los Angeles, CA..................... 900-918, 926-928. Miami, FL........................... 330-334, 349. New Jersey.......................... 070-089. New York, NY........................ 068, 069, 100-108, 110-118. Washington, DC...................... 200, 201, 203, 205, 20813-20815, 20817, 20850-20852, 20854, 20855, 20898, 20901, 20902, 20904, 20906, 20907, 20910-20912, 220- 223. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 226.4 Postage 226.41 Rates Rates are based on size (either small or large) and destination as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Envelope size Destination ----------------- Small Large ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Western Europe........................................ $3.75 $6.95 Pacific Rim........................................... 4.95 8.95 Canada................................................ 3.75 6.95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 226.42 Pickup Service On-call and scheduled pickup service are available for Global Priority Mail for a charge of $4.95 for each pickup stop, regardless of the number of pieces picked up. Only one pickup fee is charged if domestic or international Express Mail, domestic Priority Mail, or domestic or international parcel post is picked up at the same time. (See DMM D010 for standards for pickup service.) 226.43 Postage Payment Methods Postage for Global Priority Mail may be paid by adhesive stamps, postage meter and meter stamps, or, if presented at a post office, postage validation imprinter (PVI) labels. 226.5 Packaging Items must be placed in special Global Priority Mail envelopes provided by the Postal Service. All items that cannot be adequately protected by these envelopes should not be mailed using this service. Envelopes must be sealed. 226.6 Size and Weight Limits 226.61 General Two sizes of envelopes are available from the Postal Service for mailing Global Priority Mail items. Postage rates are based on the size of the envelope used, not the weight of the item. (See 226.41 for rates.) 226.62 Size Limits Sizes of the required Postal Service-provided envelopes are: a. Small size: 6 x 10 inches. b. Large size: 9\1/2\ x 12\1/2\ inches. 226.63 Weight Limits The Postal Service-provided envelopes are not intended to accommodate items weighing more than several ounces. However, the maximum weight for letter-class (LC) items is 4 pounds. 226.7 Customs Forms Required If Global Priority Mail contains dutiable merchandise, the sender must prepare a customs declaration and affix it to the letter. See 123 for instructions. Certain nonpostal export forms may be required as described in Chapter 5. 226.8 Special Services Mailers may obtain certificates of mailing (see 310). No other special services such as registry, insurance, restricted delivery, return receipt, or recorded delivery are available. * * * * * * * A transmittal letter making the changes in the pages of the International Mail Manual will be published and transmitted automatically to subscribers. Notice of issuance of the transmittal letter will be published in the Federal Register as provided by 39 CFR 20.3. Stanley F. Mires, Chief Counsel, Legislative. [FR Doc. 96-7491 Filed 3-25-96; 4:51 pm] BILLING CODE 7710-12-M