[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16129-16130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7317]


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POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111


NetPost Mailing Online Experiment: Introduction of Nonprofit 
Standard Mail Option

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule sets forth the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 
standards adopted by the Postal Service to introduce an option to mail 
at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates via the NetPost Mailing Online 
experiment initiated September 1, 2000.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 5, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerome M. Lease, (703) 292-4184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 29, 2000, the Postal Service 
announced in the Federal Register that the NetPost Mailing Online 
experiment is the third of an expected four-step process that will 
culminate in the establishment of a permanent NetPost Mailing Online 
service (See 65 FR 52308-52303, (August 29, 2000)). The Postal Service 
first conducted an operations test from March through September 1998, 
with a number of customers. That was followed by a one-year market test 
with limited customer participation conducted from October 1998 through 
October 1999, pursuant to the Postal Rate Commission's Docket No. MC98-
1 Opinion and Recommended Decision issued on October 7, 1998, and 
approved by the Postal Service Governors on October 16, 1998. In that 
docket, the Postal Service also requested authorization to conduct an 
experiment, which request was later withdrawn by Board of Governors 
Resolution No. 99-5 (May 3, 1999).
    The NetPost Mailing Online service is similar to the Mailing Online 
service that was offered during the market test. Users access the 
service by means of the Postal Service's main corporate Website, 
(USPS.com). The service is available nationwide.
    NetPost Mailing Online provides an affordable, convenient option 
that makes using the mails easier for Postal Service customers, 
especially those running small offices or home offices who do not 
currently use more traditional mailing services. It employs advanced 
technology that benefits customers who otherwise might not have access 
to sophisticated digital printing technology or to list management and 
presort software necessary to qualify for lower automation rates. The 
Postal Service batches all submitted jobs and sends them via dedicated 
lines to one or more commercial digital printing contractors who then 
print the documents, finish them according to customer specifications, 
place them in envelopes bearing a delivery point barcode, and enters 
them as mail at a Business Mail Entry Unit. Mailings are accepted and 
verified using manifesting documentation and procedures specified in 
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) P910.
    The experiment currently allows small-volume customers to create 
First-Class Mail and Standard Mail mailings and have them entered at 
the automation basic rates. There is no minimum or maximum volume 
requirement. The service is ideally suited for newsletters, flyers, 
statements, invoices, and small direct mailings. Customers can mail 
both letters and flats using a number of different document format, 
binding, and envelope options.
    In a single Website visit to (USPS.com), a NetPost Mailing Online 
customer is able to upload a word processing document and a list of 
addresses to a postal data center. The NetPost Mailing Online system 
presorts and distributes the mailing electronically to contract 
printers for printing and entry into the mail at a

[[Page 16130]]

local postal facility. Additional features of the service include 
online document proofing, a ``file cabinet'' that retains customer jobs 
for 30 days and offers document and mailing list management 
capabilities, real-time status reports of jobs submitted, and a quick 
calculator that provides immediate price quotations.
    This final rule announces the expansion of the NetPost Mailing 
Online service for mailings of letters and flats at Nonprofit Standard 
Mail automation rates effective with the date shown above. For 
additional information concerning system specifications, payment 
procedures, user assistance, and mail matter classification assistance 
see 65 FR 52308-52313 (August 29, 2000), and DMM G091.
    The Nonprofit Standard Mail option applies to eligible mail matter 
sent by authorized organizations as listed and defined in DMM E670.2.0 
and E670.3.0. Mail matter eligible to be sent at Nonprofit Standard 
Mail rates by authorized parties is defined in DMM E670.5.0.
    This final rule contains the DMM standards adopted by the Postal 
Service to implement the Nonprofit Standard Mail option. It also 
corrects a previous omission by adding ``cards'' to ``letters'' and 
``flats'' as First-Class Mail options.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

    Postal Service.

    For the reasons discussed above, the Postal Service hereby adopts 
the following amendments to the Domestic Mail Manual, which is 
incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations (see 39 
CFR part 111).

PART 111--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 3001-
3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001.

    2. Amend the Domestic Mail Manual as follows:

E  Eligibility

* * * * *

E670  Nonprofit Standard Mail

* * * * *
8.0  Authorization--at Additional Offices

8.1  Application

[Amend 8.1 by adding a last sentence that exempts NetPost Mailing 
Online customers from the requirement to obtain an additional office 
authorization for their mailings printed and processed at sites other 
than where the original authorization to mail at Nonprofit Standard 
Mail rates is held.]

    * * * Customers who use NetPost Mailing Online are not required to 
file Form 3623 for their mailings to be printed and processed at sites 
other than where the original authorization to mail at Nonprofit 
Standard Mail rates is held.
* * * * *

G  General Information

* * * * *

G090  Experimental Classifications and Rates

* * * * *

G091  NetPost Mailing Online

* * * * *
1.0  Basic Eligibility
* * * * *

1.3  Mailings

[Amend 1.3 c(2) to read as follows; no other changes to text.]

    Prepare mailings to be eligible for First-Class Mail, Standard 
Mail, and Nonprofit Standard Mail automation basic rates as required by 
standards in E140, E640, and M800.''}
* * * * *
2.0  Mail Classification
* * * * *

2.1  Customer Responsibility

[Amend 2.1 by changing the first and second sentences to read as 
follows; no other changes to text.]

    A customer who uses NetPost Mailing Online service is responsible 
for claiming the proper rate of postage, subject to the eligibility 
requirements contained in E100 for First-Class Mail, E600 for Standard 
Mail, and E600 and E670 for Nonprofit Standard Mail. If the Standard 
Mail rates or Nonprofit Standard Mail rates are claimed in error, the 
customer may be required to pay the difference between the claimed rate 
and the appropriate First-Class Mail or Standard Mail rate, in 
accordance with the terms and conditions of use for the program.

2.2  Revenue Deficiency Procedures

[Amend 2.2 to read as follows:]

    If a classification decision is made by the USPS that matter was 
ineligible for Standard Mail or Nonprofit Standard Mail rates because 
of a customer's failure to meet applicable standards, the USPS may take 
steps to recover the deficiency amount by advising the customer that 
its credit card account will be billed for the difference between the 
rate paid and the applicable First-Class Mail rate or Standard Mail 
rate paid, in accordance with the terms and conditions of use for the 
program. At such time, the customer also will be advised that the 
classification decision and related revenue deficiency may be appealed 
by submitting a letter to the NetPost Mailing Online Program Manager 
(see G043 for address). If the customer appeals, NetPost Mailing Online 
will refer it to the Rates and Classification Service Center (RCSC) in 
Chicago, Illinois, for a final agency decision except in the case of 
Nonprofit Standard Mail. An RCSC decision upholding a revenue 
deficiency for Nonprofit Standard Mail may be appealed through the RCSC 
to the Manager, Mail Preparation and Standards, USPS Headquarters, for 
a final agency decision.
3.0  Functionally Equivalent Systems
[Amend 3.0 by changing the first sentence to read as follows; no other 
changes to text.]

    NetPost Mailing Online mailings that otherwise meet all addressing 
and machinability requirements for automation rates are permitted entry 
at automation rates without meeting required minimum volumes for First-
Class Mail, Standard Mail, and Nonprofit Standard Mail mailings.
4.0  Postage and Fees

4.1  Postage

[Amend 4.1a. to read ``First-Class Mail, automation basic (letters, 
cards, and flats).'' In addition, amend 4.1 to add the following; no 
other changes to text.]

    d. Nonprofit Standard Mail, automation basic (letters and flats).
* * * * *
    This change will be published in a future issue of the Domestic 
Mail Manual. An appropriate amendment to 39 CFR 111.3 to reflect these 
changes will be published.

Stanley Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 01-7317 Filed 3-22-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P