ANRC launches for public consultation the ANRC President’s draft decision in order to enhance the quality and credibility of the internal cost accounting system, which the Romanian Post has the obligation to implement, as a universal service provider in the postal services sector. This accounting system shall provide thorough information on the company’s method of compliance with the obligations of transparency, non-discrimination and cost-oriented tariffs, providing for the accurate identification of the individual costs for the postal services within the scope of universal service.
As a universal service provider in the postal services sector, the Romanian Post has the obligation to charge affordable, transparent, non-discriminatory and cost-oriented tariffs, for the services within the scope of universal service. ANRC should be able to monitor the compliance with this obligation for the purpose of fostering the development of an effective competitive environment and for guaranteeing the protection of the end-users’ interests. Therefore, the document under public consultation establishes the obligation of the Romanian Post to submit to ANRC a set of justifying documents based on which the individual costs for the provision of postal services within the scope of universal service are to be identified and analysed. Further to the analysis of these documents, the Authority will establish whether the tariffs charged by the Romanian Post are justified in proportion to the costs for the provision of the respective services.
Moreover, in order to clearly distinguish between the individual costs of the services within the scope of universal service and the costs of other postal services, which are outside the scope of universal service, the Romanian Post shall have the obligation to develop a separate accounting system, within which these two categories of services, as well as the reserved and the non-reserved services must be distinctly accounted for. With a view to increasing the degree of certainty of the data provided by means of the separate accounting statements, these statements will be audited, on a yearly basis, by an independent auditor, who establishes their accuracy in accordance with the parameters set out by ANRC.
For the purpose of ensuring transparency as to the users, the Romanian Post will publish on its website a public version of the separate accounting statements, thus offering the interested persons the possibility to understand the costs of the provision of postal services within the scope of universal service and to make knowledgeable decisions.
The draft decision of the National Regulatory Authority for Communications on the conditions for elaborating and auditing separate accounting statements by the National Company „Posta Româna” – S.A. is available for consultation on the ANRC website. All interested persons are invited to send their recommendations and comments until October 10, 2005. Comments and recommendations may also be submitted by mail to the ANRC headquarters: 14 Libertatii Blvd., Sector 5, Bucharest, as well as directly to the ANRC registration office or to the ANRC territorial offices in the closest county capital. Comments may also be sent by fax, to +40 21 307 54 02 or by e-mail, to consultare@anrc.ro.
Additional Information
Postal services within the scope of the universal service:
a) clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of the postal items, domestic or cross-border, up to 2 kilograms;
b) clearance, sorting, transport and delivery of postal packages, domestic or cross-border, up to 10 kilograms;
c) distribution of postal packages up to 20 kilograms, sent from outside Romania to an address located in the Romanian territory;
d) service for registered items, either domestic or cross-border;
e) service for insured items, either domestic or cross-border.
Reserved postal services
Until the end of 2005, reserved postal services are those services within the scope of universal service, for items of correspondence weighing less than 100g.
Between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008, reserved postal services shall be those services within the scope of universal service, for items of correspondence weighing less than 50g.
Non-reserved postal services
These are services within the scope of universal service that are non-reserved, i.e. do not include items of correspondence weighing less than 100g (until December 31, 2005), respectively 50g (between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2008) and whose minimum tariff shall be 1.2 RON.