The evolution of postal service prices during the period under analysis has been influenced by the various regulatory regimes to which they have been subject.
Up to 1992 public postal service prices(4)https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55132 were set administratively in accordance with Decree Law no. 49368 enacted on November 10th 1969, no.48007 dated October 26th 1967 and no.355 enacted on September 14th 1987.
As from 1992, with the enactment of Decree Law no. 207 enacted on October 2nd 1992, the prices for these services became subject to a Convention established between the Direcção - Geral de Comércio e Concorrência (Directorate-General for Trade and Competition), the Instituto das Comunicações de Portugal and the CTT - Correios de Portugal, SA.
Hence, 1993 saw the negotiation of the first Price Convention, with annual renegotiation taking place between 1995 and 2000.
The Price Conventions set limits for the global variation of the prices of services provided under an exclusive regime(5)https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55133 and for the variation of some items in the price list(6)https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55134.
The Conventions also required price-setting rules to comply with cost, transparency and non-discrimination guidelines, and also with service quality objectives and cost accounting obligations.
With the coming into force of:
- Law no.102 enacted on July 26th 1999, defining the general bases regulating the establishment, management and running of domestic postal services, as well as international services originating in or destined for national territory (this Law integrates the obligations of EEC Directive 97/67 enacted on December 15th 1997 into the domestic regulatory framework, namely in terms of the creation of conditions for the development of the domestic market and the enhancement of service quality);
- Statute Law no. 448 enacted on November 4th 1999 which approves the bases for concession of the universal postal service, setting out the precise terms where under the universal postal service should be provided, the regulatory framework for postal services changed, namely in terms of postal service price-setting.
This framework establishes that price-setting rules for postal services forming part of the universal service(7)https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=55135 are subject to the Convention agreed upon between the regulator, the Direcção-Geral do Comércio e Concorrência (DGCC) and the operator, respecting the principles of accessibility, cost orientation, transparency and non-discrimination in their application.
With this in mind the Universal Postal Service Price Convention for the three-year period 2001-2003 was signed on 21/12/00 by ANACOM, CTT and DGCC.
(4) Under the terms of no.1, article 2 of the Annex to Statute Law no. 176/88, the public postal service includes the acceptance, transport, distribution and delivery of postal correspondence; the issue and sale of stamps and other postal products and the public fax service.
(5) Under the terms of no.1, article 3 of the Annex to Statute Law no. 176/88, the following are run on an exclusive basis: acceptance, transport, distribution and delivery of all closed correspondence, postcards and other missives, even when unsealed, whenever their content is of a personal and current nature; the issue and sale of stamps and other postal products; the public fax service.
(6) For example, the Price Conventions set maximum prices for the following services:
- non-priority domestic letter weighing up to 20 grammes and with standard format;
- domestic priority letter weighing up to 20 grammes;
- non-priority domestic letter, weighing up to 20 grammes and destined for EU countries (except Spain), Spain, Other European Countries and the Rest of the World;
- an international priority letter weighing up to 20 grammes;
- domestic and international postcard.
(7) The universal service includes the delivery of correspondence, books, catalogues, newspapers and other periodicals weighting up to 2 kg and postal parcels weighing up to 20 kg as well as a recorded delivery service and a declared value service. These provisions apply to both the domestic and international postal service.
