23.12.2024

Following the completion of the procedure for designating the universal service provider carried out during September - December 2024, ANCOM has communicated to the National Company Posta Romanian S.A. (CNPR) the decision regarding its designation as a universal service provider in the field of postal services for the period 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2029. The decision was published on ANCOM's website, here.

The right of access to the universal service represents a person’s right to benefit from the permanent provision of postal services within the scope of universal service, at a certain level of quality, at any point on the territory of Romania, at rates accessible to all users.

Services within the scope of universal service

The postal services within the scope of the universal service are:

• clearance, sorting, transport, and delivery of domestic and cross-border postal items concerning correspondence, printed matter and small packages, weighing up to (including) 2 kg;
• clearance, sorting, transport, and delivery of domestic and cross-border postal parcels weighing up to (including) 10 kg;
• distribution of postal parcels weighing between 10 kg and (including) 20 kg sent from abroad to an address in Romania;
• registered items service for domestic and cross-border postal items weighing up to (including) 2 kg;
• insured items service;
• clearance, sorting, transport, and delivery of domestic and cross-border cecograms;
• delivery of pay slips for social welfare rights and information documents issued by the National House of Public Pensions to the beneficiaries' homes - where they have opted for payment in a current account or in a card account, regardless of the number of postal items that are subject to this service.

Bulk parcels, as defined by postal legislation, are not covered by universal service.

Rights and obligations of the universal service provider

CNPR will benefit, among other rights, from the right to act in international relations as a universal service provider and to conclude operational agreements in this capacity, to use the specific international forms, provided for in the Universal Postal Union Acts, as well as the right to apply special tariffs for all users and integrators under transparent and non-discriminatory conditions,  both with regard to the tariffs themselves and with regard to the conditions associated with them.

In order to ensure users' access to services within the scope of the universal service, CNPR will have, among other obligations, the obligation to ensure, in each locality on the territory of Romania, at least one clearance from each access point and at least one delivery to each indicated address, every working day, at least 5 days a week, except in localities situated in exceptional geographical situations where the delivery frequency established by ANCOM is lower.

Moreover, the tariffs charged by the CNPR for the provision of postal services in the sphere of the universal service must be accessible, regardless of geographical location, transparent, non-discriminatory and cost-based, to stimulate the provision of an efficient universal service, taking into account the ensuring of the right of access to the universal service, as well as the development of the public postal network.

The CNPR may request compensation for the net cost related to the provision of services within the scope of the universal service, but only after the end of the financial year for the year for which the compensation is requested. The Decision sets out in detail the compensation mechanism and the parameters applied for the calculation and control of compensation, the costs that are taken into account comprising only the costs incurred for the provision of the universal service, which are calculated on the basis of generally accepted cost accounting principles.