The companies that intend to provide postal services may obtain this right on grounds of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications President’s Decision no.118/2003 on the procedure for the authorization of the postal services providers. This decision creates the regulatory framework under which the interested companies may become providers on the postal services market, either on grounds of the general authorization regime, or after obtaining an individual licence. In both cases, the persons interested have to fill in and submit to the Headquarters or to any territorial office of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications (ANRC) a standard form for the notification process, a request for individual licence respectively. The notification form and the request are available at the Headquarters, at any ANRC territorial office and on the website www.anrc.ro(under the „Issued Documents” section, annexes 2 and 4 of the Decision no.118/2003).
The general authorization regime allows the provision of the postal services that are outside the scope of the universal service. Therefore, any legal person that intends to provide postal services on grounds of the general authorization regime has to send to ANRC, to the Headquarters or to the territorial office in the county where his address is, a notification regarding its intention. Following this notification the requester is registered in the Postal services Providers Official Record and, in maximum 45 days from the registration date, receives the right to provide postal services and to begin its activity.
The individual licence is granted by ANRC, for a period of 10 years, to the companies that intend to provide postal services within the scope of the universal service, giving them specific rights and obligations, additional to the ones under the general authorization. The deadline for granting the individual licence or for informing on the decision to refuse the request is 90 days from the date when the request was registered.
A number of 72 companies have submitted notification files in order to obtain the general authorization, from which 56 have already received standard certificates, since the 1st of April 2003, the date when the Decision on the procedure for the authorization of postal services providers was published in the Romanian Official Journal.
On grounds of the general authorization regime, the companies may provide services with or without added value. The group of services without added value comprises national post services and courier services for domestic and cross-border postal items with the weight between 10 and 50 kg., financial-postal services and publicity through postal services. As long as these services providers respond to additional requests from the users, like clearing postal items from an address designated by the sender, sending the postal item, upon signature, delivering it at pre-established date and time a.s.o., they enter the group of value added postal services providers. So far, all the 56 authorized companies will provide value added postal services, and 40 of them received the right to provide postal services without added value.
Among the companies authorized to provide postal services, there are: Romanian Post National Company, TNT Romania SRL, DHL International,Trans Courier Service International SRL (UPS) Romexpress Service LTD SRL (FedEx), Fun Courier Express SRL, Direct Mail Solutions, Direct Mail and Press Distribution, and Alo Courier Services.