Assessment of cross-border single-piece parcel tariffs

Each year, national regulatory authorities submit an assessment of cross-border single-piece tariffs. The objective is to identify cross-border tariffs under the universal service obligation that may be unreasonably high.

If national regulatory authorities (NRAs) identify cross-border tariffs that objectively need to be assessed, they have to carry out a wider assessment of those tariffs.

The NRAs have to take into account

• the domestic tariffs and the tariffs in the destination EU country for a comparable parcel delivery service
• the level of bilateral volumes between the countries
• the costs for transportation, handling or quality of service
• the impact of uniform prices

They can also take into account how the applicable cross-border tariffs affect small businesses and businesses in remote areas, or users with disabilities or reduced mobility.

The universal service providers can offer justification of their tariffs, as well as further relevant evidence to the NRA within 1 month of receipt of the request.

The concerned NRAs submit their assessments to the European Commission by 30 June each year. They provide a non-confidential version of the assessment, which we publish here within 1 month of receipt.

The Commission has clarified the methodology for the assessment in its 'guidelines to national regulatory authorities on the transparency and assessment of cross-border parcel tariffs'.

Non-confidential assessment reports