Compensation of the net cost of universal service obligations
The net cost of the universal service obligations is the difference between the net costs borne by CNPR as a result of fulfilling the universal service obligations (basic scenario) and the net cost of the same provider if it operated exclusively on commercial bases, without the universal service obligations (reference scenario).
According to Article 14(3) of ANCOM President’s Decision no. 934/2019, the net cost for the provision of postal services within the scope of universal service is an unfair burden if the level of return on average capital employed recorded from the provision of universal service as a result of fulfilling the operator’s legal obligations is below the weighted average cost of capital determined by ANCOM.
According to Article 22 (1) of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 13/2013 on postal services, “if the regulatory authority decides that the provision of services within the scope of universal service results in a net cost which represents an unfair burden for the universal service providers, a mechanism for the compensation of this net cost shall be established by Government decision, with one of the following financing sources:
a) from state budget funds through the budget of the ministry of resort, with due regard to the national and European legal framework in the field of state aid;
b) through net cost sharing by postal service providers and/or users, with due regard to the national and European legal framework in the field of state aid.
For the period 2025-2029, the net cost related to the provision of postal services, which the National Company “Romanian Post” – S.A. was designated to provide as a universal service provider according to ANCOM Decision no. 810/2024, will be determined by ANCOM, following any requests submitted by CNPR in this regard, in compliance with the methodology established by the provisions of this normative act.
Information on net cost compensation for previous designation periods (2013-2024):
For the 2020–2024 period, taking into account the financial proposal assumed by CNPR in its designation application for this cycle, the net cost of providing universal postal services for the period 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2024 amounted to RON 0 (zero) per year.
For the 2017–2019 period, ANCOM’s analysis indicated that the provision of universal postal services, as a result of CNPR’s compliance with its statutory obligations, constituted an unfair burden on the provider. The amounts to be compensated were determined by ANCOM and were covered from state budget funds, in accordance with Government Decision No. 1261/2021 on the compensation of the net cost related to the provision of universal postal services in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
For the 2013–2016 period, the provision of universal postal services resulting from CNPR’s statutory obligations generated a net cost which, according to ANCOM’s analysis, did not constitute an unfair burden on the provider, as the criteria for such a finding were not met. Consequently, no net cost compensation was granted for this period.