[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20340-20341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10281]


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POSTAL SERVICE


Periodicals Rate Anomaly

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice of procedure for periodicals rate anomaly.

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SUMMARY: This notice will advise Periodicals mailers of Nonprofit and 
Classroom publications of a procedure that has been established by the 
Postal Service to track differences between

[[Page 20341]]

postage paid at Nonprofit and Classroom Periodicals rates on a mailing 
and postage that is calculated to be less at Regular Periodicals rates 
as a result of an anomaly in the rate structure. These procedures 
coincide with a request for a Recommended Decision, submitted by the 
Postal Service to the Postal Rate Commission, which will propose to 
amend the Domestic Mail Classification Schedule (DMCS) to allow 
Nonprofit and Classroom mailers to use Regular rates for issues for 
which the applicable postage would be lower under the Regular rate 
schedules.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April, 9, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Manager, Business Mail Acceptance, U.S.P.S. Headquarters, 
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-6808.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerome M. Lease, (202) 268-5188.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The procedure to be followed is similar to 
the pending procedures that exist for mailings of publications at 
Regular Periodicals rates while an application for special Periodicals 
privileges is pending action by the Postal Service. See Domestic Mail 
Manual (DMM) E270.8.0-9.0. The new procedures will allow the mailer to 
submit postage and a properly completed PS Form 3541-N, Postage 
Statement--Periodicals Nonprofit Rates, for mailings at nonprofit 
Periodicals rates (or PS Form 3541-NC, Postage Statement--Periodicals 
Classroom Rates, for Classroom), while simultaneously submitting a 
completed PS Form 3541-R, Postage Statement--Periodicals Regular and 
Science of Agriculture Rates, (annotated with the words ``Pending 
Application'') for postage computed at regular rates on the same 
mailing, if it is determined to be less than nonprofit postage. At the 
time of mailing, postage will be paid as computed on the appropriate 
Nonprofit or Classroom mailing statement. If the proposed DMCS change 
is implemented, subsequent to a Recommended Decision by the Postal Rate 
Commission and a decision by the Governors, instructions will be issued 
to grant refunds to publishers for mailings for which an application 
and both relevant mailing statements were submitted at the time of 
mailing, and for which the Nonprofit or Classroom postage paid was 
higher than the otherwise applicable Regular postage. For these 
purposes, an application will consist of a written statement that the 
mailer is currently authorized to use either Classroom or Nonprofit 
Periodicals rates and wishes to retain that authorization, but also 
wishes to be considered under these procedures for a refund to be 
calculated with reference to the Regular and preferred rate mailing 
statements submitted with the application. Once such a DMCS change is 
implemented, Nonprofit and Classroom mailers will be able to pay 
postage initially at the Regular Periodicals rates, and this procedure 
for determining subsequent refunds will no longer be necessary.
    In general, all mailings of the same issue are expected to be 
uniformly entered, either with an application for a subsequent refund 
(i.e., so that the mailer ultimately may pay the Regular rate), or 
without an application for a subsequent refund (i.e., so that the 
mailer pays the Nonprofit or Classroom rates). Within any 10-day 
period, mailers are not allowed to split mailings of the same issue in 
order to obtain a rate advantage. During the time the procedures are in 
effect, it may be possible that a publisher will wish to present an 
application for a subsequent refund for a mailing (or mailings) which 
constitute the main run of an issue, but will not wish to submit a 
similar application for a later supplementary mailing of the same 
issue. This might occur if the Regular Periodicals rates were lower for 
the main run mailing(s), but the Nonprofit rates were lower for a 
supplementary mailing because, for example, the depth of sort was not 
comparable to the original mailing. The only circumstances under which 
this would be permissible would be if no mailing of copies of the same 
issue had been submitted with an application for refund on the date of 
mailing or in the previous 9 days. If mailers submit a mailing of 
copies of an issue without a refund application, and have on the same 
day or within the previous 9 days submitted a mailing of copies of the 
same issue with a refund application, the refund application will be 
denied.
Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 99-10281 Filed 4-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P