[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 234 (Friday, December 4, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78234-78236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26129]
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POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 501
Authorization To Manufacture and Distribute Postage Evidencing
Systems
AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In this final rule, the Postal Service withdraws all
authorizations to distribute (decertifies) Postage Evidencing Systems
(PES) that are not producing compliant Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI)
on June 30, 2024. IMI compliant PES are defined in the IMI Performance
Criteria (IMI-PC) and produce only IMI-Minimum (IMI-MIN), IMI-Standard
(IMI-STD), and IMI-Maximum (IMI-MAX) indicia constructs (as stated in
the IMI-PC). All PES that are not IMI-PC compliant, also referenced as
Phase VI-IBI and Phase VII-PC Postage (collectively Phase VI and Phase
VII PES), will become decertified Postage Evidencing Systems on June
30, 2024. The decertified Postage Evidencing Systems must be withdrawn
from service by December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the
decertified PES must be marked inactive in the USPS PES management
systems, including in the National Meter Accounting and Tracking System
(NMATS). Postage indicia printed by Decertified PES will no longer be
considered valid postage for use or refunds after June 30, 2025.
DATES: This final rule is effective December 4, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ezana Dessie, Principal Business
Systems Analyst, [email protected], (202) 268-5686.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In response to a notice of proposed
rulemaking (85 FR 30671, May 20, 2020) to decertify and withdraw all
non-Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI) compliant Postage Evidencing Systems
(PES) by June 30, 2024, the Postal Service received industry comments
and feedback. The comments and feedback can be grouped into three
areas: (I) Requests for an extension on the proposed dates for both the
withdrawal of Decertified PES and the decertification of non IMI-
postage indicia; (II) provision of more specificity on IMI-PC
compliance and clarification on several items related to the
decertification; and (III) additional clarification on the support the
Postal Service will provide to the PES providers on the PES migration
(from Information Based Indicia Program
[[Page 78235]]
(IBIP) to IMI-PC). We will address all three areas in turn below.
I. Requests for an extension on the proposed dates for both the
withdrawal of Decertified PES and the decertification of non-IMI
postage indicia.
The Postal Service has taken into consideration the concerns of the
industry and is extending the dates for withdrawal of decertified PES
and decertified indicia. The new withdrawal date will be December 31,
2024; the last date non-IMI indicia will be accepted for use as postage
or for refunds will be June 30, 2025. Some commenters argued that
changes to the IMI-PC before June 30, 2024 should extend the
decertification date. The Postal Service will strive to minimize the
number of changes it requires, but some changes will be inevitable and
will not extend the timeline.
II. Provision of more specificity on IMI-PC compliance and
clarification on several items related to the decertification.
Like any other institution, the Postal Service needs accurate,
complete, and timely data to operate effectively; the IMI-PC supports
these key business objectives for the Postal Service. The IMI-PC
requires the PES providers to submit more detailed transaction data,
with increased transparency and frequency; it also employs higher
security specifications which address the rising security threats and
challenges. IMI-PC enables the USPS to provide more detailed corporate
reporting, more accurately price shipping/mailing products, attain
operational efficiency by automating many functions (including postage
refunds), improve the USPS Federal Regulatory compliance, and better
secure Postal Service and customer data. Finally, the IMI-PC provides
the USPS a better platform to bring improvements and updates to the
USPS PES related products and services.
Phase VI and Phase VII PES no longer meet the USPS PES requirements
adequately. Commercial Payment has shared with each provider a list of
Phase VI and Phase VII PES that are not IMI-PC compliant. A PES is IMI-
PC compliant when conforming to IMI-PC specifications and all other
current PES related guidelines, regulations, and technical
requirements; this includes the rules and regulations in the Domestic
Mail Manual, International Mail Manual, Publication 199, Notice 123,
Code of Federal Regulations, and having a Postal Security Device (PSD)
that has a valid Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
certificate at the time of authorization. The decertification and
withdrawal of the Phase VI and Phase VII PES will allow for the full
implementation of Phase VIII-IMI PES, in which both PC Postage and
physical PES are validated under the current edition of the IMI-PC.
In keeping with the June 30, 2024 decertification date and the
December 31, 2024 withdrawal date, the providers must stop leasing non-
IMI-PC compliant PES for lengths extending beyond the withdrawal date.
Postage indicia printed by Decertified PES will not be considered valid
postage after June 30, 2025; also, refund requests for all unused
postage indicia need to be completed before this date. As the
withdrawal date for PES approaches, the providers must coordinate with
Commercial Payment (or its successor) to invalidate and remove the non-
IMI-PC compliant PES from USPS PES product-service-line, in accordance
with IMI-PC PES withdrawal guidelines.
In rare and select cases, for unique service/business reasons that
the Postal Service deems appropriate, PES providers may request a
waiver to operate non-IMI-PC compliant PES beyond the December 31, 2024
withdrawal date. The waiver request form can be obtained from
Commercial Payment. Any waiver granted will be in writing from
Commercial Payment, or its successor.
III. Additional clarification on the support the Postal Service
will provide to the PES providers on the PES migration (from
Information Based Indicia Program (IBIP) to IMI-PC).
The updated withdrawal date (December 31, 2024) is based on the
feedback and comments from the PES industry, the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on the mailing and shipping industry, current market needs,
and the USPS long-term PES product support/management strategies. The
USPS believes the updated withdrawal date allows the PES providers to
execute the decertification and withdrawal process and complete the
IBIP to IMI-PC transition with minimal impact to our customers. The
USPS is committed to supporting the providers in the decertification
and withdrawal process to minimize the impact of the transition to our
PES customers. To this end, the USPS will provide the providers with
three support tools for communication with their end customers: (1) A
publication on the importance/value of IMI-PC for USPS (this will be
available on PostalPro for the providers to utilize for their customer
communications); (2) a license agreement for use of an IMI logo and
wordmark to support the providers' PES transition and IMI PES marketing
work; and (3) USPS-led customer outreach in collaboration with the
providers, when the Postal Service deems it necessary.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 501
Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Postal Service amends
39 CFR part 501 as follows:
PART 501--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for part 501 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 410,
2601, 2605; Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended (Pub. L. 95-
452, as amended); 5 U.S.C. App. 3.
0
2. Amend Sec. 501.7 by revising paragraph (c) introductory text to
read as follows:
Sec. 501.7 Postage Evidencing System requirements.
* * * * *
(c) The provider must ensure that any matter printed by a Postage
Evidencing System, whether within the boundaries of the indicia or
outside the clear zone as defined in DMM 604.4.0 and the Intelligent
Mail Indicia Performance Criteria (IMI-PC), is:
* * * * *
0
3. Amend Sec. 501.17 by adding paragraph (f) to read as follows:
Sec. 501.17 Decertified Postage Evidencing Systems.
* * * * *
(f) Postage Evidencing Systems that do not comply with the then
current Intelligent Mail Indicia Performance Criteria will be
Decertified Postage Evidencing Systems on June 30, 2024. The withdrawal
date for those systems will be December 31, 2024.
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4. Amend Sec. 501.20 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 501.20 Discontinued Postage Evidencing Indicia.
* * * * *
(b) Effective December 31, 2024 all Postage Evidencing Systems that
do not to produce Intelligent Mail Indicia (IMI) for evidence of pre-
paid postage must be withdrawn from service. Non-IMI indicia, which are
not compliant with the then-current version of the IMI-PC, will be
decertified and may not be used as a valid form of postage evidence.
These decertified indicia may not be
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recognized as valid postage for use or refunds, after June 20, 2025.
Ruth Stevenson,
Attorney, Federal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-26129 Filed 12-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P