This study compares the prices charged to residential customers of mail services and postal parcels services included within the Universal Postal Service (US) provided by the Universal Service Providers1 (USP) of the Member States of the European Union (EU), in 2015, and also analyses their trends relative to the previous year (2014) and to 20082.
The services included in this price comparison are:
- Priority national mail, weighing up to 20 g;
- Non-priority national mail, weighing up to 20 g;
- Priority cross-border mail, sent to EU Member States, weighing up to 20 g;
- National parcels, weighing up to 2 kg.
Bearing in mind the intention is to compare prices from the residential customer’s point of view, the information on the prices in each country does not consider any discounts. For the same reason, the comparison uses the final price with value added tax (VAT) included, where applicable3, and any other taxes. Note that this aspect is only relevant for Sweden, the only country where VAT is currently applied to the products analysed herein, at a rate of 25 per cent, and Cyprus, where 0.02 euro is charged for every postal item4.
Prices were compared based on current exchange rates and purchasing power parities (PPP). This latter approach is intended to pinpoint the differences in income levels between the various countries, which could lead to misinterpretations of the comparisons made using current exchange rates.
The analysis shows that prices in Portugal are below the EU average, for the set of prices analysed.
The cost of sending a 20 g priority national mail item was 15 per cent lower than the EU average (excluding Portugal) in 2015, whereas in 2014 it was 16.5 per cent lower. Although the price rose by more than the EU average in 2015, Portugal’s ranking in terms of the lowest price changed from 10th, in 2014, to the 9th position, in 2015, jointly with Estonia. Compared to the prices in force in 2008 and 2011, the price in Portugal grew at a slower pace than the average of the other Member States.
In the non-priority national mail service, the price for sending a 20 g item in Portugal is 16.4 per lower than the EU average (excluding Portugal), and it is the 9th lowest price of the countries that provide this service. Compared with the prices in force in 2008 and 2011, the price in Portugal grew at a faster pace than the EU average.
The cost of sending a 20 g cross-border mail item to the other Member States is 28 per cent lower that the EU average (excluding Portugal), moving from 7th place in the lowest price ranking, in 2014, to 5th in 2015. As with the national priority mail, this price has increased more slowly than the EU average, compared with the prices in force in 2008 and 2011.
Regarding national parcels, the cost of sending a 2 kg national parcel in Portugal was 3.8 per cent lower than the EU average (excluding Portugal) in 2015, which is the 15th lowest price of the Member States. In 2014 the price was 6.6 per cent lower than the EU average and was also the 15th lowest price. Compared with 2008 and 2011, the cost of this service grew at a faster pace than the EU average price.
Taking PPP into consideration, the prices in Portugal in 2014 and in 2015 were below the EU average, except for national parcels, which cost more than the European average.
1 In Germany there is no designated USP, so this study considers the prices charged by the incumbent operator, Deutsche Post.
2 Information for 2014 and 2015 prices relates to April, while that for 2008 and 2011 relates to October. This should be taken into account when considering the conclusions about price trends presented in this study.
3 The Sixth Council Directive (77/388/EEC) of 17 May 1977, with its various amendments, allows the provision of public postal services to be exempt from VAT. Member States, however, have interpreted this provision differently (ANACOM, 2011b). It should also be noted that in April 2009, the European Court of Justice, in an action (C-357/07) between TNT Post and the United Kingdom’s tax authority, decided that the exemption from VAT provided for in the Sixth Directive should only be applied to the services provided by a public postal operator in its capacity as a USP, and not to all its services.
4 In Cyprus, postal items are subject to a 0.02 euro tax, called refugee fund stamp.
