As of 1st January 2021, parcel items being sent to international destinations will require electronic pre-
advice customs information.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) has announced new regulatory changes which means that it will be a requirement to provide electronic pre-advice customs data (also known as electronic advance data or EAD) on all parcel items containing goods or merchandise to international destinations from 1st January 2021.
These changes will also come into effect for parcel items containing goods or merchandise being sent to the United Kingdom from 1st April 2021. Letter mail formats containing letters, cards and/or documents will not be affected by this new requirement.
Niall McClure, Managing Director or Postal and Logistics said: “As a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), we are bound by the regulations imposed upon postal authorities and as such must abide by this recent change. Pre-advice data helps to automate and speed up manual processes by reading electronic pre advice data opposed to manually checking parcels, and this enables a more efficient customers clearance process”.
The information that is currently captured on CN22 and CN23 custom forms now needs to be presented in advance, between the originating postal networks and the destination countries. Additionally, some fields that are currently optional on these forms will become mandatory, and the most considerable change is that for each item within the parcel, customers will now need to list the individual dimensions, weight, quantity, and value.
Jersey Post has created a new combined postage and customs label which has a scannable barcode that enables them to share the information between postal operators worldwide. The simplest and most convenient way for customers to provide this new information is through Jersey Post’s online postage portal.
- Step 1: Visit www.jerseypost.com/onlinepostage
- Step 2: Click ‘Get Started’ to register for a Jersey Post free account
- Step 3: Once registered, follow the steps on the postage portal to calculate your postage ensuring you select the correct destination, format, dimensions, weight and value.
- Step 4: Print your postage label, attach it to your parcel and drop it off to any of our Island-wide post offices.
By signing up for a Jersey Post free account, customers can save time and skip the queues by creating and printing postage labels that meet the new requirements in the comfort of their own homes, without the need to visit and queue at the post office. Dedicated label printing machines have also been made available at the Broad Street branch for customers that do not have printing facilities at home. Those customers unable to use the online postage portal, can visit any of the island-wide post offices bringing with them the required information when sending items overseas.
Items that do not have pre-advice customs information may result in significant delays, additional charges, being returned or in some cases destroyed. Parcel items being sent to the United Kingdom should continue to have a printed customs form (CN22 or CN23) attached until the new regulatory change comes into effect from 1st April 2021.
