Sending international postal items with Ukrposhta without handwritten papers: what will change?

25.01.2021

On 1st February 2021, Ukrposhta will join world postal operators that exchange customs electronic advance data for international postal items containing goods. Customers will need to fill out customs declarations online, using either the Ukrposhta Online Personal Account, mobile application, or API system.

This requirement will apply to customs declarations for such international postal items containing goods as registered wrappers, parcels, registered small packets, M bags, and insured international postal items. Beginning from March, EMS items will also be on the list, and will be available for online registration.

Customers coming to the post office with paper declarations will be offered an additional service of entering the data from the declaration into the system. An extra fee will be charged in addition to the postage.

“Automation of all processes in Ukrposhta does not only reduce a customer’s time at a post office. It is a basis for speeding up all necessary customs and sorting procedures in destination countries. Most of the countries popular with Ukrainian exporters have announced their intention to process incoming post without customs electronic advance data only as a second priority. Ukrposhta will do its best to ensure that postal items sent by Ukrainian exporters are processed on a first-priority basis. In addition, it is a good opportunity to save, as online registration entitles customers to a 3% welcome bonus. For the most popular type of postal items, small packet, Ukrposhta offers cumulative bonuses of up to 15% since 2018”, says Julia Pavlenko, Director of the International Operations Department of Ukrposhta.

According to the Articles of the Convention Regulations of the Universal Postal Union and new customs regulations in a number of countries, postal operators are obliged to switch to the use of advance customs data in electronic form. Postal items without electronic information will be processed as a second priority at Ukrposhta and in destination countries. Besides, postal operators of other countries reserve the right to refuse such international postal items at all.

It should be pointed out that since May 2018, Ukrposhta customers can accumulate discounts of 3% to 15%, depending on the number of small packets sent abroad, by using the Ukrposhta Online Personal Account, mobile application, or API.