14.12.2021

The European Commission makes available to all those interested an app which allows finding out the costs incurred by sending a parcel to/from any state of the European Union. Thus, by accessing the app available here, the users may learn how much does it cost them to send a domestic or a cross-border parcel, by its type or weight, as this app contains the tariffs charged by all the postal providers active at national level. This endeavour is the result of the implementation of the Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery services, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2018 to encourage competition by raising the level of transparency of the tariffs for these services and by setting a unitary European framework for monitoring the evolution on this market.

App for verifying the parcel delivery tariffs

One of the aims of the Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery services is to improve price transparency. The Regulation requires that the providers with 50 or more employees, as well as the providers established in more than one EU country submit to their respective national regulatory authority the domestic and cross-border prices for up to 15 basic parcel delivery services (in certain cases, the regulatory authorities may have used a threshold of 25 employees to take into account certain national specificities). Based on the reporting from the national authorities, the European Commission centralises and publishes the prices in the app intended for postal users across the Union.

The published prices are applicable as of 1 January each year, exclude VAT and are updated every year on 31 March. They are reported in the local currency and in euro. The exchange rate applied by the European Central Bank on 31 March is used for the conversion to euros.

It should be noted that the displayed price reported by a provider for a parcel delivery service may include certain conditions and restrictions. In many cases, the characteristics of a parcel delivery service can differ from one provider to another.

Regulation on cross-border parcel delivery services

The Regulation adopted by the European Parliament and the Council entered into force on 22 May 2018 and can be consulted here. The Regulation contributes to a better market functioning, by ensuring a more efficient and consistent oversight of the parcel markets and by stimulating competition. The Regulation aims at increasing the price transparency, in view of reducing the unjustified price differences, as well as the prices paid by individuals and small and medium enterprises, in particular those located in remote and sparsely populated areas.

The universal service provider offering parcel delivery services, the providers of cross-border parcel delivery services with more than 50 employees, as well as the providers of parcel delivery services with less than 50 employees, but established in more than one EU Member State, have the obligation to submit to the regulatory authority in the Member State in which they are established general identification data, specific information on the activity carried out in the previous calendar year, the type of services offered, the general sales conditions, including a detailed description of the complaints handling procedure and any change to this information. This information is then reported to the European Commission, with a view to contributing to supporting the objectives of the single digital market of enhancing the cross-border electronic commerce and the digital inclusion.