Archive - December 2021

Electronic Pre Delivery Advice Data

Thank you for the excellent feedback on my last Blog entry regarding the Universal Postal Union UPU’s postal regulations called Electronic Pre Delivery Advice Data that was introduced in 2017. I have had some emails asking for a further explanation and understanding of the new postal regulations. 

The reason for the new regulation was to prevent terrorism by ensuring that every parcel sent internationally was linked “electronically” directly to a person both the sender and the recipient. Also so that every parcel can clear customs more quickly through the new S10 Bar Code system.
It is no longer enough to send a Bureau parcel by address only as done in the past.
The sender must now provide the following, full name, email address, telephone number of sender & recipient and UPU commodity code.

January 1st 2021 these regulations were enforced worldwide.
I informed IARU of the new customs laws back in 2017, however they felt that making the data public was against GDPR so did nothing. 

  • It is important to remember that QSL cards as documents are exempt from these regulations. BUT…. Without following the regulations it is down to the customs officers in your country to enforce the regulations.

    The customs officers will do one of 4 things:
    1. Allow the parcel to its destination.
    2. Add a customs TAX + handling fee to the parcel and forward on.
    3. Return the parcel.
    4. Destroy the parcel.

    So doing nothing is not an option as it will lead to all of the above! We are currently relying on |Number 1, the customs officer allowing the Bureau parcel to be forwarded  on to the Society.

I have a problem putting a UPU commodity code 9705000090 on the parcel the nearest code is for Post Cards, but this could / will result in a TAX being put on the parcel. As this code does not distinguish between commercial product or hobby document.
Ideally we need IARU to pay for a UPU commodity code to show the parcel contains QSL Cards with no value and show as documents. So as you can see this is what the new worldwide customs regulations are about for shipping bureau parcels.

I have no control over your customs officers decision. Bureau card delivery is now at serious risk. The very survival of the Bureaus is in the hands of the IARU, who at this time and for the last four years have ignored this situation developing. 

Undeliverable Bureau cards

As we have reported previously there are some Bureau parcels that remain undelivered which is why we cannot guarantee ANY bureau QSLs requested. We strongly advise that you always use OQRS Direct.
Let me go through some of the problems that continue:

Argentina QSL Bureau – Parcels get returned almost every time endorsed “not collected”. Despite sending these again and again we cannot get these to Argentina Bureau.
Brazil QSL Bureau – Despite some parcels getting through. The address alone is not sufficient for getting through customs. IARU will not provide correct information on its website. Brazil customs return most parcels without Pre-Electronic Delivery Advice. Package returned 6 times, One package got through.
Cuba QSL Bureau – For the past 5 years at least, Cuba Bureau packages have been returned uncollected from the PO Box. We can only assume that the Cuba Bureau is no longer functional.
Portugal QSL Bureau – July package was returned endorsed “Non-reclaimed” We are now in communication by email to REP. Package to be reposted!
Sweden QSL Bureau – July parcel was returned. Insufficient documentation. Swedish Customs now will NOT accept any parcels that do not have Pre-Electronic Delivery Advice. IARU does not provide the complete information. Sweden Bureau cannot be supported until full data is provided to us.
Turkey QSL Bureau – July parcel was returned. Insufficient documentation. Turkish Customs now will NOT accept any parcels that do not have Pre-Electronic Delivery Advice. IARU does not provide the complete information. Turkish Bureau cannot be supported until full data is provided to us. Package returned twice. 

We have reported the issues with the lack of data for the Pre-electronic delivery advice to IARU many times since 2017 and repeatedly told that they consider that putting this data on the IARU website contravenes GDPR regulations. However, without it the Bureaus will cease to function. There are many other Bureau packages that have been returned due to Covid restrictions or non-collection or other reasons that we have been able to resend and eventually arrived at the destination Bureau. To continue re-sending the Bureau packages costs more money. 

If you are in one of the above countries and requested Bureau cards, we suggest that you request Via Direct using OQRS only as we are unable to get the cards to your Bureau. If any of you have connections with those Bureaus listed above, we would like to engage in discussions to allow re delivery. But if Bureaus and the IARU continue to bury their head in the sand to ignore the new worldwide Pre-Electronic Delivery Advice customs regulations it will be catastrophic for the Bureau system.