CTT – Correios de Portugal, S.A. (CTT) is obliged, under Article 13 (1) of the Postal Act1 and Base XII, paragraph 1 of the Concession2, to provide the services that form part of the universal postal service according to the service quality parameters (SQP) and performance targets established by the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM).
By decision of 12.07.2018, ANACOM established the SQP and performance objectives associated with the provision of the universal postal service for the 2018-2020 period, and defined the rules for their measurement, monitoring and disclosure3.
In the said decision of 12.07.2018, ANACOM determined that, in 2018, the decisions of 30.12.2014 and 13.03.2015, which established the SQP and performance objectives associated with the provision of the universal postal service for the 2015-2017 period were applicable. In other words:
a) in 2018, the Quality of Service Indicators (QSI) in force in 2017 remained applicable;
b) in 2019, a new set of QSI entered into force which, in order to create conditions for a higher level of universal postal service quality, is characterised, inter alia, by the setting of more stringent objectives for some QSI, with the abolition of a minimum value associated with each QSI, which was below the target value, and the creation of an additional reliability target, which ranges from 99.9% for cases where speed and security are crucial (blue (priority) mail, registered mail and daily and weekly newspapers) and 99.7% for all other mail (standard mail, parcels and monthly and biweekly newspapers), to prevent traffic not delivered within these service standards from being delivered very far outside these standards.
In the event of non-compliance with the performance targets established for 2018, a compensation mechanism shall be applied in the year following that of the non-compliance and shall be effective exclusively in that year, corresponding to the deduction of up to 1 percentage point from the maximum variation in prices of the basket consisting of correspondence, editorial mail and parcel services that form part of the universal service, which will benefit all users of those services4.
Situations of non-compliance are verified by ANACOM, after consultation with CTT5.
CTT, by means of a letter dated 11.04.2018, reported the values of the QSI found in 2018, which were measured, using an independent measurement system, by the external entity PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
It is noted that, following an audit carried out, under paragraph 5 of the aforementioned Article 13 of the Postal Act, on the 2016 and 2017 QSI measurement system, it was concluded that the measurement system had multiple weaknesses, ANACOM ordered CTT to make6 a series of changes to the QSI measurement procedures, to be implemented by 01.07.2019.
1 Law 17/2012, of 26 April, as per the current amended version.
2 Basic Acts of Concession of the Universal Postal Service, as approved by Decree-Law 448/99, of 04 November, republished, after amendment, annexed to Decree-Law 160/2013, of 19 November.
3 Available at ''Approval of the quality of service parameters and performance targets associated with provision of the universal postal service (2018-2020)https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1457268''.
4 Results from the joint reading of Article 7 (1) of the “Quality of Service Parameters and Performance Objectives Associated with the Provision of the Universal Postal Service” established by ANACOM by decision of 30.12.2014, and paragraphs 1 and 2 of its Appendix 2. Paragraph 3.4 of the same Appendix provides that, in situations duly substantiated by CTT associated with operational difficulties in implementing the price reduction, that company may, as an alternative, ask ANACOM to apply financial compensation to be paid to users, the specific arrangements for paying this compensation, to be made under the services that form part of the universal service, being of a financial value at least equivalent to the reduction in revenues that would result from the application of the compensation provided for in paragraph 1 of that Appendix.
5 Article 7 (2) of the “Quality of Service Parameters and Performance Objectives Associated with the Provision of the Universal Postal Service”, as established by the decisions of 30.12.2014 and 13.03.2015.
6 By determination of 28.12.2018.
