[Federal Register: September 17, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 180)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 50449-50453] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr17se99-12] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTAL SERVICE 39 CFR Part 111 Bulk Parcel Return Service AGENCY: Postal Service. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This final rule sets forth the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) standards adopted by the Postal Service to implement the Decision of the Governors of the United States Postal Service on the Recommended Decision of the Postal Rate Commission on the Minor Classification Change for Bulk Parcel Return Service, Docket No. MC99-4. The change allows properly endorsed Standard Mail (A) machinable parcels that have been opened and resealed by the recipient to be returned to the original mailer and allows mailers the option of providing the parcel recipients with the label for returns. EFFECTIVE DATE: October 3, 1999. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Lettmann, (202) 268-6261, or Scott L. Reiter, (202) 268-2999. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The changes in Domestic Mail Manual standards allow properly endorsed Standard Mail (A) machinable parcels that have been opened and resealed by the recipient to be returned to the original mailer without payment of return postage as part of the bulk parcel return service in certain circumstances. They also allow mailers to elect to furnish a label that can be used by recipients when returning a parcel. These changes will provide better service to mailers and their customers and will also improve postal efficiency. Parcels that have been opened, resealed, and replaced in the mail normally require payment of additional postage. However, there are two situations in which the Postal Service believes the requirement should be superseded by the more efficient and cost-effective practice of treating the parcel as part of the BPRS mailstream. The first situation occurs when the parcel has already been returned to the mailstream and it is impractical or inefficient to return it to the recipient for payment of postage. This could occur either because discovery that the parcel had been opened is made only after the parcel has reached a point in the mailstream that is at or near the office serving the original mailer or because such discovery is simply not made. This situation might also occur because of the inefficiencies and costs that would be encountered by having a carrier return the parcel to the recipient. The second situation in which a recipient does not have to pay for return postage occurs when a mailer distributes a return label prepared to Postal Service specifications that the parcel recipient later uses to indicate that the parcel is being returned as BPRS at the expense of the original mailer. The use of a label is optional [[Page 50450]] and is a new feature of BPRS that mailers requested. Background The Postal Service currently offers bulk parcel return service (BPRS) to mailers who have a large volume of returned Standard Mail (A) machinable parcels. One of the new features will allow BPRS mailers to have properly endorsed parcels that are opened, resealed, and redeposited in the mail by addressees to be returned to designated postal facilities. BPRS currently offers a mailer the option of picking up all returned parcels from a designated postal facility at a predetermined frequency specified by the Postal Service or having them delivered by the Postal Service in a manner and frequency specified by the Postal Service. For this service a mailer pays an annual permit fee and a per piece fee for each returned parcel. Some BPRS mailers requested that the Postal Service allow addressees who opened their parcels to have some method of returning these parcels and to allow the original mailer to pay the return postage. The Postal Service previously offered BPRS for machinable parcels only when they were undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA). If a recipient received a BPRS-endorsed parcel, opened it, and then decided to return it, the recipient was to bring it to a post office and pay single-piece postage for the return. Domestic Mail Manual standards previously required that Standard (A) parcels that had been delivered and subsequently opened, resealed, and reentered into the mail by the recipient be returned to the recipient for payment of postage. This practice resulted in inconvenience for some postal customers as well as mailers, and inefficiency for the Postal Service. Label Option BPRS mailers now have the option to provide customers with a return label prepared at the mailer's expense and in accordance with Postal Service specifications. These specifications include a barcode for the address of the postal facility to which the parcel is to be returned. The label authorizes recipients to return opened, machinable parcels at the expense of the mailer. It will be required that instructions be provided to recipients with the label. Once returned to the mailstream, opened and resealed parcels bearing a label will be handled in the same manner as other BPRS parcels. There will be no additional fee since there are no additional costs to the Postal Service associated with the use of a label. Mailers may choose to distribute their return labels by enclosing them with parcels or by other means, including First-Class Mail or making them available for customer downloading from an Internet site. It is anticipated that the revisions will help resolve several problems that have been experienced by customers, mailers, and the Postal Service. They will help to eliminate situations where original mailers experience delays or other difficulties in having their merchandise returned by their customers. Mailers may be denied customer payments and information of value to their business when returned parcels are not received in a timely manner. By using a return label, mailers will be able to inform any customer who is not satisfied with the merchandise they receive that it can be sent back at no cost to them. The label feature thus gives mailers somewhat more influence over how their mailings are treated by recipients and helps to reduce or eliminate a source of customer dissatisfaction. Another benefit is that mailers will have an effective way to retrieve merchandise that their customers reseal and redeposit after opening. A key factor in the Postal Service decision to make the use of return labels optional was the feeling on the part of some mailers that the use of a label tends to encourage customers to return merchandise. Instead of using a label, these mailers can choose to identify BPRS parcels and make the Postal Service aware that they will pay the postage for returns by properly using one of the prescribed BPRS endorsements. The new service features also benefit the Postal Service by minimizing both decision and transaction costs associated with former procedures for dealing with opened and resealed Standard Mail (A) machinable parcels found in the mailstream. Postal employees who discover such parcels without postage will no longer be required to make a decision about how to handle them. As long as the parcels bear a proper BPRS endorsement, they can be handled like BPRS-endorsed parcels that are undeliverable-as-addressed. This will help reduce costs that are incurred by the Postal Service if such parcels are sent to a mail recovery center. Mail processing costs can also be minimized because barcodes are required on all return labels. The barcodes will allow the Postal Service to process the parcels on bulk mail center parcel sorting machines. There is yet another advantage when a label is used. Parcels that display a return label will be easier to identify and process as part of the BPRS mailstream. Printing on the labels will make them easier to read than if the parcels have a hand-written or stamped endorsement of ``Return to Sender.'' An easy-to-read label makes it less likely that a parcel will become ``loop'' mail in processing and delivery channels because of an unclear or incomplete return address. In these ways the label option may help to reduce postal costs for handling returned parcels. There is no additional fee for use of the label since the Postal Service fully recovers the costs of processing opened, resealed parcels that are redeposited into the mailstream, including postage due accounting through the BPRS fee. Current BPRS permit holders who want to use the label option need only to submit their proposed labels to the post office for approval. There is no need for them to apply for a new permit. Because of the purpose and limited scope of these changes to BPRS, the Postal Service finds no need to solicit comment on them or to delay their implementation. List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111 Postal Service. For the reasons discussed above, the Postal Service hereby adopts the following amendments to the Domestic Mail Manual, which is incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations (see 39 CFR part 111). 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. Secs. 101, 401, 403, 404, 3001-3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001. 2. Amend the Domestic Mail Manual as follows: S SPECIAL SERVICES * * * * * S900 Special Postal Services * * * * * S920 Convenience * * * * * S924 Bulk Parcel Return Service 1.0 BASIC INFORMATION [Amend 1.1 to allow the remailing of opened parcels to read as follows:] 1.1 Description Bulk parcel return service (BPRS) allows mailers of large quantities of Standard Mail (A) machinable parcels that are either undeliverable-as-addressed or opened and remailed by [[Page 50451]] addressees to be returned to designated postal facilities. The mailer has the option of picking up all returned parcels from a designated postal facility at a predetermined frequency specified by the Postal Service or having them delivered by the Postal Service in a manner and frequency specified by the Postal Service. For this service a mailer pays an annual permit fee and a per piece fee for each parcel returned. [Revise 1.2 to read as follows:] 1.2 Availability A mailer may be authorized to use BPRS when the following conditions apply: a. All returned parcels are initially prepared as Regular or Nonprofit Standard Mail (A) and are machinable parcels as defined in C050. b. At least 10,000 Standard Mail (A) machinable parcels will be returned to a designated postal facility during a 12-month period. c. Parcels are returned to the mailer either because they are undeliverable-as-addressed or because they have been opened, resealed, and redeposited in the mail by the recipient and it is impractical or inefficient for the Postal Service to return them. d. Parcels bear one of the following BPRS endorsements (F010): ``Return Service Requested--BPRS'' ``Address Service Requested--BPRS'' e. Parcels have a return address that is in the delivery area of the post office that issued the BPRS permit. f. The postal facility designated for returned parcels is located in the United States, its territories or possessions, or is a U.S. military post office overseas (APO or FPO). g. The mailer has a valid postage due advance deposit account and pays the annual BPRS permit fee. h. BPRS parcels may be combined with the shipper paid forwarding service (F030). i. Standard Mail (A) parcels that qualify for a single-piece Standard Mail (B) rate under the applicable standards and that contain the name of the Standard Mail (B) rate in the mailer's ancillary service endorsement are not eligible for BPRS. [Revise 1.3 to read as follows:] 1.3 Optional Label An authorized BPRS permit holder has the option to use a label to identify BPRS parcels for return to a designated postal facility. The label is prepared at the mailer's expense and must meet all format requirements described in 4.0 and 5.0 and specifications in C820 for a postal routing barcode symbology used to produce a correct, readable barcode for the return address. Each label must be accompanied by complete instructions for its use. [Remove current 1.4] 2.0 PERMITS [Revise section 2.1 to read as follows:] 2.1 Application Procedures To obtain a BPRS permit, a mailer must send a written request to the postmaster at each post office where parcels are to be returned. The request must include the following: a. Payment for the annual BPRS permit fee. b. Information pertinent to each requested delivery point that documents either the receipt of at least 10,000 machinable parcels originally mailed at Standard Mail (A) rates during the past 12 months, or that there are reasonable grounds to expect at least 10,000 machinable parcels originally mailed at Standard Mail (A) rates will be returned during the next 12-month period. c. A description of the returned parcels (e.g., piece size and packaging). d. A statement of the desired frequency and location of the parcel pickup or delivery point. e. Sample documentation that will be used to substantiate the number of parcels returned daily to each location. f. If labels will be furnished for returning opened parcels, sample labels prepared in accordance with 4.0 and 5.0 along with instructions for their use. g. A written statement agreeing to pay the per piece fee for each returned parcel from a centralized advance deposit account. [Redesignate 2.2 as 2.4 and add new 2.2 as follows:] 2.2 Authorization Upon approval of a mailer's request, the post office issues an authorization letter and provides a postage due service agreement with a BPRS permit number. The permit number is used for account administration only and is not for use on mail. [Revise 2.3 to read as follows:] 2.3 Postage Due Service Agreement A BPRS mailer will be required to sign a postage due service agreement with each post office that issues a permit for the return of BPRS parcels. [Amend redesignated 2.4 to clarify permit renewal as follows:] 2.4 Permit Renewal A post office provides BPRS permit holders with annual renewal notices advising that their permits are due to expire. A notice must be returned to the issuing post office with the fee payment or authorization for the postmaster to deduct the fee from the advance deposit account by the permit expiration date. Written authorization is not necessary for renewal of a permit if there is no change to the authorization on file at the post office where the parcels are returned. If a permit holder does not renew a BPRS permit after having been given notice, the USPS will endorse the mail ``Bulk Parcel Return Service Canceled'' and will charge postage due at the single-piece First-Class Mail or Priority Mail rate as appropriate for the weight of the piece. If the single-piece First-Class Mail or Priority Mail rate is not paid, the mail is forwarded to the nearest mail recovery center for final disposition. [Redesignate current 2.4 as 2.5 and revise to read as follows:] 2.5 Permit Cancellation A BPRS permit may be canceled by the USPS for any of the following reasons: a. Failure to meet the minimum volume requirement of 10,000 parcels returned during a 12-month period to each postal facility; b. Failure of the mailer to pay the required postage and fees for returned parcels; c. Insufficient funds in an advance deposit account to cover postage and fees that are due for returned parcels; d. Failure to fulfill the terms and conditions of the BPRS permit authorization; or e. Failure to conform return labels to the specifications in sections 4.0 and 5.0. [Redesignate current 2.5 as 2.6 and revise to read as follows:] 2.6 Reapplying After Cancellation A mailer must do the following to receive a new BPRS permit at the same post office where a permit was canceled earlier: a. Submit a letter to that office requesting a permit and new agreement. b. Pay a new permit fee. c. Provide evidence showing that the reasons for cancellation of the previous permit no longer exist. d. Maintain adequate funds in an advance deposit account to cover the number of returns expected over at least a 2-week period. 3.0 POSTAGE AND FEES 3.1 Permit Fee [Amend 3.1 for clarification to read as follows:] [[Page 50452]] The permit fee is charged once for each 12-month period and the fee for a permit renewal is due on the anniversary date of the original permit issuance. The fee may be paid in advance only for the next year and only during the last 30 days of the current service period under the existing permit. The fee charged is that which is in effect on the date of payment. 3.2 Payment [Revise 3.2 to read as follows:] The requirements for payment of the BPRS annual permit fee and per piece fees are as follows: a. The permit holder must pay BPRS per piece fees through an advance deposit account. b. Parcels will be turned over to the mailer only when sufficient funds are in the account to pay all applicable fees. c. The permit holder may establish a unique advance deposit account or use an existing one to pay postage and fees under BPRS. [Add new 4.0 to specify label requirements to read as follows:] 4.0 LABEL REQUIREMENTS 4.1 Production Methods Any photographic, mechanical, or electronic process, or any combination of such processes other than typewriting or handwriting may be used to prepare the BPRS label. The background may be any light color that allows the address, postmark, and other endorsements to be easily read. Brilliant colors may not be used for the background. If a label is prepared with adhesive on its reverse side, the adhesive must be capable of securely bonding the label to the parcel. 4.2 Label Instructions Written instructions must be provided with the label that, at a minimum, advise the user to do the following: a. Obliterate all other delivery addresses and barcodes on the outside of the parcel. b. Print a complete return address in the location provided in the upper left corner of the label. c. Place the label with the delivery address and barcode on the side of the mailpiece with the largest surface area. If tape or similar material is used, it must not cover any part of the label where the mailer's return address and postal routing barcode are located. The barcode should be at least 1 inch from the edge of the parcel. If the shape of the parcel requires specific orientation for stability, the label must be placed on the top surface. d. Take the parcel to a post office, drop it in a collection box, or give it to a postal carrier. 4.3 Distribution BPRS return labels may be distributed to customers as an enclosure with merchandise, as a separate item, as a facsimile transmission (fax), or as an electronic transmission for customer downloading and printing. Regardless of distribution method, all standards in 4.2 and 5.0 must be met. An electronic file must include instructions that explain how to affix the label securely to the parcel as required in 4.2. [Add new 5.0 to read as follows:] 5.0 FORMAT 5.1 General The BPRS label contents and format must meet all applicable standards before the label may be distributed for use. Format requirements are shown in Exhibit 5.0. 5.2 Postage Guarantee The endorsement ``NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES'' must be printed in the upper right corner of the face of the piece. The endorsement must not extend more than 1\3/4\ inches (1.75 inches) from the right edge of the label. 5.3 Horizontal Bars To facilitate recognition of BPRS parcels, a series of horizontal bars parallel to the label length must be printed directly below the endorsement ``NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES.'' a. The bars must be uniform in length, at least 1 inch long and \1/ 16\ inch (0.0625 inch) to \3/16\ inch (0.1875 inch) thick, and evenly spaced. b. There must be at least a \1/2\ inch (0.500 inch) clearance between the right edge of the ZIP Code in the delivery address and the left edge of the horizontal bars. c. The bottom bar in the series must be above (not on or below) the top of the delivery address line (the next-to-last line in the address, just above the line with the city, state, and ZIP Code). d. Do not use a facing identification mark (FIM) on this label. 5.4 Class Endorsement The ``STANDARD MAIL A'' class endorsement must be at least \1/4\- inch (.25 inch) high and shown in capital letters to the left of the postage guarantee endorsement. 5.5 BULK PARCEL RETURN SERVICE Legend The ``BULK PARCEL RETURN SERVICE'' legend must be placed above the return delivery address on all BPRS parcels. The legend means that the BPRS permit holder guarantees payment of postage and fees on all returned Standard Mail (A) parcels. The following information must be enclosed in a rectangle: a. Line 1: Show the words ``BULK PARCEL RETURN SERVICE'' in capital letters at least \3/16\ inch (0.1875 inch) high, enclosed in a rectangle. b. Line 2: The name of the BPRS permit holder must also be printed in capital letters in the rectangle directly below the words ``BULK PARCEL RETURN SERVICE.'' c. The permit holder's city, state, and ZIP Code must appear in capital letters and must be located on the same line as the company name. d. The post office box number and/or street address must appear in capital letters on the line beneath this information. 5.6 Delivery Address A complete delivery address (city, state, ZIP Code) specified by the post office that issued the BPRS permit and to which parcels are returned must be printed in capital letters at least \3/16\ inch (0.1875) high below the ``BULK PARCEL RETURN SERVICE'' rectangle and at least 1 inch from the left edge of the label. There must be at least a \1/2\-inch (0.50 inch) clearance between the ZIP Code and the horizontal bars. 5.7 Customer's Return Address The complete return address (street, city, state, ZIP Code) of the customer mailing the article back to the permit holder must be shown in the upper left corner of the label. Space must be provided for the customer's return address if it is not preprinted by the permit holder. 5.8 Optional Information At the option of the permit holder, a single line above the top line of the customer return address may be used for customer account or other information. 5.9 Postal Routing Barcode Every BPRS label must include a properly prepared barcode that represents the correct ZIP Code information for the delivery address of the returned parcel plus the appropriate verifier character suffix or application identifier prefix characters appropriate for the barcode symbology as described in C850 for machinable parcels. In addition to the barcode requirements in C850, the following requirements must be met in preparing BPRS labels: a. Barcode Location: The barcode must be placed on the label immediately adjacent to the address and the label must be located on the parcel so the [[Page 50453]] barcode is at least 1 inch from the parcel edge. b. Barcode Clear Zone: No printing may appear in the area \1/8\ inch (0.125 inch) above and below the barcode regardless of location on the label. A minimum clear zone equal to 10 times the average measured narrow element (bars or space) width must be maintained to the left and right of the barcode. c. Human-Readable Barcode Information. The human-readable equivalent of the ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code encoded in the barcode as referenced in C850 may be omitted. Exhibit 5.0 Bulk Parcel Return Service Label (not to scale) BILLING CODE 7710-12-P [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR17SE99.005 Stanley F. Mires, Chief Counsel, Legislative. [FR Doc. 99-24263 Filed 9-16-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7710-12-P