Whereas 2012 saw the transposition into the Portuguese legal system of Directive 2008/6/EC of the European Parliament (EP) and of the Council of 20 February 2008, amending Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the full accomplishment of the internal market of Community postal services, the regulatory framework for postal services was not changed in 2011.
As such, under the Contrato de Concessão (Concession Agreement) governing the Universal Postal Service (Concession) of 1 September 20001, as amended on 9 September 20032 and 26 July 20063, CTT remained bound to provide the universal postal service, which encompasses a postal service for items of correspondence (including addressed direct mail), books, catalogues, newspapers and other periodicals weighing up to two kilograms and parcels weighing up to 20 kilograms, as well as a service for registered items and a service for sending items of declared value, provided on a national and international basis.
Under the terms of this law, in 2011, provision of a subset of these services which are included in the universal postal service (in accordance with point b) of paragraph 1 of Clause 2 of the Concession) remain reserved exclusively to CTT: specifically, sending items of correspondence weighing less than 50 grams, provided that the price is less than two and a half times the reference price (a letter rate of 20 grams of national priority mail (''correio azul'')), and items of outgoing international correspondence, direct mail, registered correspondence and correspondence of declared value, within the same limitations of weight and price.
As postal regulator, it is incumbent upon ICP-ANACOM to review the quality and price of postal services covered by the US - in accordance with point c) of paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Lei de Bases dos Serviços Postais (Basic Law for Postal Services)4.
1 Concluded in accordance with and pursuant to the Bases da Concessão do Serviço Postal Universal (Universal Postal Service Concession Bases), approved by Decree-Law no. 448/99 of 4 November.
2 Following amendments to the Bases da Concessão (Concession Bases) introduced by Decree-Law no. 116/2003 of 12 June.
3 Following amendments to the Bases da Concessão (Concession Bases) introduced by Decree-Law no. 112/2006 of 9 June.
4 Law no. 102/99 of 26 July, as amended by Decree-Law no. 112/2003 of 12 June.
- 4.2.1. Pricing of universal postal service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=347683
- 4.2.2. Quality of the universal postal service https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=347687
- 4.2.3. Network of postal establishments https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=347688
