Known Mailer and Exceptions, 51446-51448 [2024-13264]
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51446
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities as they are
defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(5 U.S.C. 601–612). This final rule will
solely be operated and administered
within VA and will only affect
individuals who apply and are awarded
an HPSP scholarship. On this basis, the
Secretary certifies that the adoption of
this final rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities as they are
defined in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 605(b),
the initial and final regulatory flexibility
analysis requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603
and 604 do not apply.
Unfunded Mandates
Consuela Benjamin,
Regulations Development Coordinator, Office
of Regulation Policy & Management, Office
of General Counsel, Department of Veterans
Affairs.
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, the Department of Veterans
Affairs amends 38 CFR part 17 as set
forth below:
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that
agencies prepare an assessment of
anticipated costs and benefits before
issuing any rule that may result in the
expenditure by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more
(adjusted annually for inflation) in any
one year. This final rule will have no
such effect on State, local, and tribal
governments, or on the private sector.
PART 17—MEDICAL
Paperwork Reduction Act
*
Although this final rule contains an
increase in the provisions constituting a
collection of information under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521), this
increase is already captured in an
existing collection of information. The
collection of information for 38 CFR
17.602 is currently approved by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and has been assigned OMB
control number 2900–0793. However,
§ 17.602 incorrectly reflects OMB
control number 2900–0352. VA is
correcting this technical error in this
rulemaking by updating the reference in
§ 17.602 to OMB control number 2900–
0793.
Congressional Review Act
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Signing Authority
Denis McDonough, Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, approved this
document on June 12, 2024, and
authorized the undersigned to sign and
submit the document to the Office of the
Federal Register for publication
electronically as an official document of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Pursuant to Subtitle E of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996 (known as the
Congressional Review Act) (5 U.S.C. 801
et seq.), the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs designated this rule
as not satisfying the criteria under 5
U.S.C. 804(2).
List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 17
Administrative practice and
procedure, Health care, Health facilities,
Health professions, Scholarships and
fellowships.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:05 Jun 17, 2024
Jkt 262001
1. The authority citation for part 17 is
amended by adding an entry for
§§ 17.600 through 17.612, in numerical
order, to read as follows:
■
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, and as noted in
specific sections.
*
*
*
*
*
Sections 17.600 through 17.612 are also
issued under 38 U.S.C. 7601–7619, 7633,
7634, 7636, and sec. 104(a), div. V, Public
Law 117–328.
*
§ 17.602
*
*
**COM020*
[Amended]
2. Amend § 17.602 by revising the
parenthetical at the end of the section to
read as follows:
■
§ 17.602
*
*
Eligibility.
*
*
*
(Approved by the Office of Management and
Budget under control number 2900–0793)
§ 17.603
[Amended]
3. Amend § 17.603 by:
a. Redesignating paragraph (b)(2) as
new paragraph (b)(3); and
■ b. Adding new paragraph (b)(2) to
read as follows:
■
■
§ 17.603
Availability of HPSP scholarships.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(2) Mental health disciplines.
Notwithstanding paragraphs (b)(1) and
(3) of this section, VA will award not
less than 83 HPSP scholarships each
year to individuals who are accepted for
or are enrolled in a program of
education or training leading to
employment in a mental health
discipline, including, but limited to,
advanced practice nursing (with a focus
on mental health or substance use
disorder), psychology, or social work.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2024–13367 Filed 6–17–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320–01–P
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POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 20
Known Mailer and Exceptions
Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
The Postal Service is revising
the Mailing Standards of the United
States Postal Service, International Mail
Manual (IMM®) to remove the ‘‘known
mailer’’ definition and exceptions for
customs declarations.
DATES: Effective September 29, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vlad
Spanu at (202) 268–4180 or Kathy Frigo
at (202) 268–4178.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May
12, 2023, the Postal Service published a
notice of proposal (88 FR 30689) to
remove IMM section 123.62 regarding
known mailers and other related
information in the IMM associated with
known mailers to align postal
regulations with current customs policy.
In response to the proposed rule, the
Postal Service received formal
comments from two commenters as
follows:
Comment: One commenter responded
on behalf of the industry for multiple
mailing services, noting that this
industry represents the vast majority of
the Postal Service’s outbound
commercial volume and revenue. The
commenter indicated it would be
challenging for this industry, especially
for nonprofit and publication mailers, to
remove the ‘‘known mailer’’ definition
and exceptions for customs
declarations, in that the change would
end the current allowances whereby a
good of nominal value (less than $1.00)
can accompany a document mailed as a
letter or flat without a customs form.
Response: Under the Acts of the
Universal Postal Union (UPU), small
packets containing goods must bear
customs declarations, regardless of the
minimal value of the goods. All goods
require disclosure of details using the
Customs Forms and Advance Electronic
Data (AED) also known as Electronic
Advance Data (EAD) outside of the
United States, and as these items are
traveling via international means, they
must follow international rules for
content and disclosure of contents.
Comment: The commenter further
indicated that it would eliminate the
current exception that also allows a
document that exceeds the dimensions
of a flat to be mailed as a packet without
a customs declaration if it is polywrapped, noting that the exceptions
were created a decade ago.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\18JNR1.SGM
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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
Response: Similar to the response
above, under the Acts of the UPU, small
packets containing goods must bear
customs declarations, regardless of the
minimal value of the goods. With
respect to documents that are sent as
bulky letters, the Postal Service does not
have operational systems in place to
separate such pieces from small packets
containing goods. Consequently, a
customs declaration is required for
letter-post pieces that are entered as
bulky letters i.e., that are items
containing documents and are not
eligible as letter-post letters or flats.
Comment: The commenter also
indicated that, in 2017, similar
comments of support to retain the
known mailer exceptions were provided
in response to a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on International Mailing
Service, citing that those comments are
essentially unchanged, and are even
more resonant today given the sizeable
decline in the Postal Service’s outbound
volumes and revenue over the past five
years. The commenter further noted that
the Postal Service should not be adding
any obstacles that make it harder for
mailers to do business with it,
especially given the highly competitive
outbound market in which the Postal
Service operates.
Response: The reduction of mail
volumes and revenue, or other business
concerns, while significant to the Postal
Service, do not excuse the Postal
Service and mailers from following
international requirements for customs
declarations and AED.
Comment: The commenter indicated
that requiring a customs declaration
form and accompanying electronic data
for goods of a nominal value will be a
costly adjustment to make for many
current users, including among
nonprofit organizations with which
such items are most popular, in that it
would require significant adjustments to
their processes and increase their costs
to accommodate the customs
declaration form and data, most likely
causing clients to consider the costeffectiveness of sending future mailings,
curtailing international fundraising
mail. The commenter further indicated
that adding the burden of the customs
declaration form would make
advertising mail with a giveaway costprohibitive for nonprofits.
Response: The cost effectiveness of
this change does not dictate whether
customs declarations are required by
international law. This is not a change
made with intent to shift burden or cost
to the mailing or nonprofit industry; it
is solely for consistency with mandatory
international regulations.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:05 Jun 17, 2024
Jkt 262001
Comment: Another notable challenge
provided by the commenter is the
proposed requirement that documents
mailed as a packet due to size
restrictions, such as publications,
include a customs declaration form and
associated electronic data. Any
additional obstacles for publishers are
likely to have an impact on outbound
volumes.
Response: Similar to the response
above, the impacts should be limited to
an additional form placed on the
package and associated AED
transmission, and should not impact
mail preparation or packaging unless
the size of the item does not allow for
a label that is 4 inches in length by 6
inches in height—in which case the
package size may need to change or a
smaller form may need to be designed
and passed by the approving officials at
the Postal Service for custom designed
customs forms.
Comment: The commenter added that
another problem with this proposed
change is that confusion remains about
whether publications and magazines
sent as documents are ‘‘goods’’ that
require a customs form. Some
publications are free circulation, so
customers do not pay for them and thus
they have no monetary value to the
customer, therefore presumably fitting
the category of documents for which no
customs declaration form is required.
The commenter also contended that the
importing country sets its own
regulations determining whether
publications are considered goods or
documents and that it is not consistent
across the board, with some countries
treating publications as documents and
others as goods. The commenter
questioned whether the Postal Service
would require a customs declaration
form for all publications, even if the
destination country considers them to
be documents.
Response: In accordance with the
UPU Convention and its Regulations,
items containing goods require customs
declarations. Documents generally
consist of any written, drawn, printed,
or digital information, excluding objects
of merchandise, whose physical
specifications lie within certain limits;
goods generally consist of any tangible
and movable objects other than money,
including objects of merchandise, which
do not fall under the definition of
documents. Current IMM section 123.63
(here being renumbered as section
123.62) provides guidance on what
items are generally considered
documents and what items are generally
considered merchandise. Customs
declaration forms are required for
magazines (periodicals) as merchandise.
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51447
Comment: The commenter also
indicated that eliminating the known
mailer exceptions adds another layer of
complexity to the export compliance
process, especially for shared partners
that have worked closely with the Postal
Service to meet the necessary export
compliance requirements to ensure
safety, security, and accountability in
the international mailstream. The
commenter further stated that these
hurdles seem to tip the scale in favor of
the Postal Service’s competitors and that
elimination of the known mailer
exceptions adds one more weight to the
scale.
Response: The Postal Service cannot
choose whether or not items with goods
require customs declarations as a matter
of international law, regardless of
whether competitors insist on customs
forms for private shipments. Customs
forms are typically required for goods
shipped as private cargo.
Comment: The other commenter
requested that the subsections
containing ‘‘official mail’’ exceptions for
customs declarations remain and not be
amended. The commenter indicated that
general descriptions are utilized to deter
rifling and theft and that removing the
known mailer definition would
compromise classified and secret or
sensitive materials and equipment,
hinder investigations, and create
stagnancy for the nation’s trusted
workforce, resulting in adverse impacts
to government agencies and ultimately
prevent the mailing of classified
materials.
Response: Under binding
international law, there is no general
exception for customs declarations for
‘‘official mail.’’ At the same time, the
Postal Service considers the security of
all mail for which it is responsible to be
of paramount importance.
The Postal Service is removing IMM
section 123.62 in its entirety and
revising associated IMM section
123.61a, Exhibit 123.61, and section
272.4 to remove known mailer
references.
We believe these revisions are
necessary to align postal policy with
current customs and international mail
regulations applicable to the United
States and other countries. The Postal
Service adopts the described changes to
Mailing Standards of the United States
Postal Service, International Mail
Manual (IMM), incorporated by
reference in the Code of Federal
Regulations. We will publish an
appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part
20 to reflect these changes.
In a separate rule, the Postal Service
will also revise associated revisions to
the DMM.
E:\FR\FM\18JNR1.SGM
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51448
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 20
2
Administrative practice and
procedure, Postal Service.
Accordingly, 39 CFR part 20 is
amended as follows:
*
*
270
Free Matter for the Blind
*
*
PART 20—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR
part 20 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301–
307; 18 U.S.C. 1692–1737; 39 U.S.C. 101,
401, 403, 404, 407, 414, 416, 3001–3011,
3201–3219, 3403–3406, 3621, 3622, 3626,
3632, 3633, and 5001.
2. Revise the Mailing Standards of the
United States Postal Service,
International Mail Manual (IMM) as
follows:
■
Mailing Standards of the United States
Postal Service, International Mail
Manual (IMM)
*
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
120
Preparation for Mailing
*
*
*
*
*
*
123.6
123.61
*
*
Eligibility
*
*
*
*
*
*
272.4 Customs Form Required
[Revise the text to read as follows
(removing the second sentence):]
When required (see Exhibit 123.61),
the mailer must affix a fully completed
electronically generated PS Form 2976
or 2976–A to each item.
Colleen Hibbert-Kapler,
Attorney, Ethics and Legal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024–13264 Filed 6–17–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; harvest
specifications.
AGENCY:
Conditions
*
*
*
*
*
[Revise item a. to read as follows:]
a. Mailers may use the hard copy PS
Form 2976–R and present it at a USPS
retail service counter, or use an
electronic PS Form 2976, PS Form
2976–A, or PS Form 2976–B as
described in Exhibit 123.61.
*
*
*
*
*
Exhibit 123.61
Customs Declaration Form Usage by
Mail Category
*
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
272
*
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone off Alaska; Cook Inlet; Final 2024
Harvest Specifications for Salmon
*
*
*
*
*
[In the section ‘‘First-Class Package
International Service Packages (Small
Packets), as well as IPA Packages (Small
Packets) and ISAL Packages (Small
Packets),’’ remove the second row
(beginning with ‘‘All package-size
items. . .’’) in its entirety; also in
Exhibit 123.61, revise all references of
123.63 to 123.62.]
*
*
*
*
*
[Remove section 123.62, ‘‘Known
Mailers,’’ in its entirety, renumbering
current sections 123.63 and 123.64 to be
123.62 and 123.63, respectively.]
*
*
*
*
*
16:05 Jun 17, 2024
*
*
[Docket No. 240612–0158; RTID 0648–
XD877]
*
Required Usage
VerDate Sep<11>2014
*
50 CFR Part 679
123 Customs Forms and Online
Shipping Labels
*
*
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
International Mail Services
*
Conditions for Mailing
Jkt 262001
NMFS announces the final
2024 harvest specifications for the
salmon fishery of the Cook Inlet
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Area.
This action is necessary to establish
harvest limits for salmon during the
2024 fishing year and to accomplish the
goals and objectives of the Fishery
Management Plan for Salmon Fisheries
in the EEZ off Alaska (Salmon FMP).
The intended effect of this action is to
conserve and manage the salmon
resources in Cook Inlet EEZ Area in
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Harvest specifications and
closures are effective at 0700 hours,
Alaska local time (A.l.t.), June 17, 2024,
until the effective date of the final 2025
harvest specifications for the Cook Inlet
EEZ Area.
ADDRESSES: A plain language summary
of this rule is available at https://
www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAANMFS-2024-0028.
SUMMARY:
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Electronic copies of the
Environmental Assessment (EA)/
Regulatory Impact Review/Social
Impact Review (collectively, the
Analysis) for amendment 16 to the
Salmon FMP are available from https://
www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS
Alaska Region website at https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/
amendment-16-fmp-salmon-fisheriesalaska. The final 2024 Stock
Assessment and Fishery Evaluation
(SAFE) report for Cook Inlet salmon is
available on the Alaska Region website
at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
alaska/population-assessments/alaskastock-assessments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adam Zaleski, 907–586–7228,
adam.zaleski@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
NMFS prepared the Salmon FMP
under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and
implementing the Salmon FMP appear
at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
Section 679.118(b)(2) requires that
NMFS consider public comment on the
proposed harvest specifications and
publish the final harvest specifications
in the Federal Register. The proposed
2024 harvest specifications for the Cook
Inlet EEZ Area were published in the
Federal Register on April 12, 2024 (89
FR 25857). Comments were invited and
accepted through May 13, 2024. NMFS
received 21 letters and 19 distinct
comments during the public comment
period for the proposed 2024 Cook Inlet
EEZ Area harvest specifications. NMFS
responses are addressed in the Response
to Comments section below. After
considering public comments submitted
for the proposed rule (89 FR 25857,
April 12, 2024), NMFS is implementing
the final 2024 harvest specifications for
the salmon fishery of the Cook Inlet EEZ
Area consistent with the Scientific and
Statistical Committee’s (SSC) fishing
level recommendations and that account
for the significant management
uncertainty associated with this new
fishery.
Final 2024 Overfishing Levels (OFL),
Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC), and
Total Allowable Catch (TAC)
Specifications
The final 2024 SAFE report contains
a review of the latest scientific analyses
and estimates of biological parameters
for five salmon species, and because
harvest specifications must be in place
before the fishery begins, the SAFE
report relies on forecasts of the coming
E:\FR\FM\18JNR1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 18, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51446-51448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13264]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 20
Known Mailer and Exceptions
AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Postal Service is revising the Mailing Standards of the
United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM[supreg])
to remove the ``known mailer'' definition and exceptions for customs
declarations.
DATES: Effective September 29, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vlad Spanu at (202) 268-4180 or Kathy
Frigo at (202) 268-4178.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 12, 2023, the Postal Service
published a notice of proposal (88 FR 30689) to remove IMM section
123.62 regarding known mailers and other related information in the IMM
associated with known mailers to align postal regulations with current
customs policy. In response to the proposed rule, the Postal Service
received formal comments from two commenters as follows:
Comment: One commenter responded on behalf of the industry for
multiple mailing services, noting that this industry represents the
vast majority of the Postal Service's outbound commercial volume and
revenue. The commenter indicated it would be challenging for this
industry, especially for nonprofit and publication mailers, to remove
the ``known mailer'' definition and exceptions for customs
declarations, in that the change would end the current allowances
whereby a good of nominal value (less than $1.00) can accompany a
document mailed as a letter or flat without a customs form.
Response: Under the Acts of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), small
packets containing goods must bear customs declarations, regardless of
the minimal value of the goods. All goods require disclosure of details
using the Customs Forms and Advance Electronic Data (AED) also known as
Electronic Advance Data (EAD) outside of the United States, and as
these items are traveling via international means, they must follow
international rules for content and disclosure of contents.
Comment: The commenter further indicated that it would eliminate
the current exception that also allows a document that exceeds the
dimensions of a flat to be mailed as a packet without a customs
declaration if it is poly-wrapped, noting that the exceptions were
created a decade ago.
[[Page 51447]]
Response: Similar to the response above, under the Acts of the UPU,
small packets containing goods must bear customs declarations,
regardless of the minimal value of the goods. With respect to documents
that are sent as bulky letters, the Postal Service does not have
operational systems in place to separate such pieces from small packets
containing goods. Consequently, a customs declaration is required for
letter-post pieces that are entered as bulky letters i.e., that are
items containing documents and are not eligible as letter-post letters
or flats.
Comment: The commenter also indicated that, in 2017, similar
comments of support to retain the known mailer exceptions were provided
in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on International Mailing
Service, citing that those comments are essentially unchanged, and are
even more resonant today given the sizeable decline in the Postal
Service's outbound volumes and revenue over the past five years. The
commenter further noted that the Postal Service should not be adding
any obstacles that make it harder for mailers to do business with it,
especially given the highly competitive outbound market in which the
Postal Service operates.
Response: The reduction of mail volumes and revenue, or other
business concerns, while significant to the Postal Service, do not
excuse the Postal Service and mailers from following international
requirements for customs declarations and AED.
Comment: The commenter indicated that requiring a customs
declaration form and accompanying electronic data for goods of a
nominal value will be a costly adjustment to make for many current
users, including among nonprofit organizations with which such items
are most popular, in that it would require significant adjustments to
their processes and increase their costs to accommodate the customs
declaration form and data, most likely causing clients to consider the
cost-effectiveness of sending future mailings, curtailing international
fundraising mail. The commenter further indicated that adding the
burden of the customs declaration form would make advertising mail with
a giveaway cost-prohibitive for nonprofits.
Response: The cost effectiveness of this change does not dictate
whether customs declarations are required by international law. This is
not a change made with intent to shift burden or cost to the mailing or
nonprofit industry; it is solely for consistency with mandatory
international regulations.
Comment: Another notable challenge provided by the commenter is the
proposed requirement that documents mailed as a packet due to size
restrictions, such as publications, include a customs declaration form
and associated electronic data. Any additional obstacles for publishers
are likely to have an impact on outbound volumes.
Response: Similar to the response above, the impacts should be
limited to an additional form placed on the package and associated AED
transmission, and should not impact mail preparation or packaging
unless the size of the item does not allow for a label that is 4 inches
in length by 6 inches in height--in which case the package size may
need to change or a smaller form may need to be designed and passed by
the approving officials at the Postal Service for custom designed
customs forms.
Comment: The commenter added that another problem with this
proposed change is that confusion remains about whether publications
and magazines sent as documents are ``goods'' that require a customs
form. Some publications are free circulation, so customers do not pay
for them and thus they have no monetary value to the customer,
therefore presumably fitting the category of documents for which no
customs declaration form is required. The commenter also contended that
the importing country sets its own regulations determining whether
publications are considered goods or documents and that it is not
consistent across the board, with some countries treating publications
as documents and others as goods. The commenter questioned whether the
Postal Service would require a customs declaration form for all
publications, even if the destination country considers them to be
documents.
Response: In accordance with the UPU Convention and its
Regulations, items containing goods require customs declarations.
Documents generally consist of any written, drawn, printed, or digital
information, excluding objects of merchandise, whose physical
specifications lie within certain limits; goods generally consist of
any tangible and movable objects other than money, including objects of
merchandise, which do not fall under the definition of documents.
Current IMM section 123.63 (here being renumbered as section 123.62)
provides guidance on what items are generally considered documents and
what items are generally considered merchandise. Customs declaration
forms are required for magazines (periodicals) as merchandise.
Comment: The commenter also indicated that eliminating the known
mailer exceptions adds another layer of complexity to the export
compliance process, especially for shared partners that have worked
closely with the Postal Service to meet the necessary export compliance
requirements to ensure safety, security, and accountability in the
international mailstream. The commenter further stated that these
hurdles seem to tip the scale in favor of the Postal Service's
competitors and that elimination of the known mailer exceptions adds
one more weight to the scale.
Response: The Postal Service cannot choose whether or not items
with goods require customs declarations as a matter of international
law, regardless of whether competitors insist on customs forms for
private shipments. Customs forms are typically required for goods
shipped as private cargo.
Comment: The other commenter requested that the subsections
containing ``official mail'' exceptions for customs declarations remain
and not be amended. The commenter indicated that general descriptions
are utilized to deter rifling and theft and that removing the known
mailer definition would compromise classified and secret or sensitive
materials and equipment, hinder investigations, and create stagnancy
for the nation's trusted workforce, resulting in adverse impacts to
government agencies and ultimately prevent the mailing of classified
materials.
Response: Under binding international law, there is no general
exception for customs declarations for ``official mail.'' At the same
time, the Postal Service considers the security of all mail for which
it is responsible to be of paramount importance.
The Postal Service is removing IMM section 123.62 in its entirety
and revising associated IMM section 123.61a, Exhibit 123.61, and
section 272.4 to remove known mailer references.
We believe these revisions are necessary to align postal policy
with current customs and international mail regulations applicable to
the United States and other countries. The Postal Service adopts the
described changes to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal
Service, International Mail Manual (IMM), incorporated by reference in
the Code of Federal Regulations. We will publish an appropriate
amendment to 39 CFR part 20 to reflect these changes.
In a separate rule, the Postal Service will also revise associated
revisions to the DMM.
[[Page 51448]]
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 20
Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.
Accordingly, 39 CFR part 20 is amended as follows:
PART 20--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 20 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301-307; 18 U.S.C. 1692-
1737; 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 407, 414, 416, 3001-3011, 3201-
3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3632, 3633, and 5001.
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2. Revise the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,
International Mail Manual (IMM) as follows:
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International
Mail Manual (IMM)
* * * * *
1 International Mail Services
* * * * *
120 Preparation for Mailing
* * * * *
123 Customs Forms and Online Shipping Labels
* * * * *
123.6 Required Usage
123.61 Conditions
* * * * *
[Revise item a. to read as follows:]
a. Mailers may use the hard copy PS Form 2976-R and present it at a
USPS retail service counter, or use an electronic PS Form 2976, PS Form
2976-A, or PS Form 2976-B as described in Exhibit 123.61.
* * * * *
Exhibit 123.61
Customs Declaration Form Usage by Mail Category
* * * * *
[In the section ``First-Class Package International Service
Packages (Small Packets), as well as IPA Packages (Small Packets) and
ISAL Packages (Small Packets),'' remove the second row (beginning with
``All package-size items. . .'') in its entirety; also in Exhibit
123.61, revise all references of 123.63 to 123.62.]
* * * * *
[Remove section 123.62, ``Known Mailers,'' in its entirety,
renumbering current sections 123.63 and 123.64 to be 123.62 and 123.63,
respectively.]
* * * * *
2 Conditions for Mailing
* * * * *
270 Free Matter for the Blind
* * * * *
272 Eligibility
* * * * *
272.4 Customs Form Required
[Revise the text to read as follows (removing the second
sentence):]
When required (see Exhibit 123.61), the mailer must affix a fully
completed electronically generated PS Form 2976 or 2976-A to each item.
Colleen Hibbert-Kapler,
Attorney, Ethics and Legal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-13264 Filed 6-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
