International Incentive Letter-post™ – Customer Guide

Important Updates for January 2010

Customers should ensure they are using the most current version of the Customer Guide, including all amendments and other applicable documents, which are posted on the Canada Post website. See in particular, canadapost.ca/postalservices for key documents..

Please note that when there is an amendment or a revision to the document, the version number will be modified as follows:

• an amendment increases the first digit in the version (e.g., version 2.0, 3.0).
• a revision increases the second digit in the version (e.g., version 1.1, 1.2).
• the version number restarts at 1.0 every January of a given year.

Table of Contents

1

Service Overview

1.1	The Purpose of This International Incentive Letter-post Customer Guide

This Customer Guide has been designed to give Customers detailed information needed to get the most from Canada Post’s International Incentive Letter-post services.

This Customer Guide forms part of the Agreement between the Customer and Canada Post. It explains the qualifications and other terms and conditions under which this service is provided.

Customers should ensure they are using the most current version of the Customer Guide, including all amendments and other applicable documents, which are posted on the Canada Post website. See in particular, canadapost.ca/postalservices for key documents.

It is the Customer’s obligation to meet all the requirements outlined in the International Incentive Letter-post Agreement.

Some words and expressions used in this document have a specific meaning. Please refer to section 1 “Definitions” of the General Terms and Conditions for the definition of specific terms referenced throughout this document and this Agreement.

1.2	What is International Incentive Letter-post?

International Incentive Letter-post provides Canadian-based mailers with a competitive, incentive-based Premium, Per Item or Standard service for mail destined to the United States and other international destinations. In order to access International Incentive Letter-post and prices, a Customer must enter into an appropriate Agreement with Canada Post. U.S. Direct Entry Letter-post services are also available for mail destined to the U.S.A.

International Incentive Letter-post items are composed of paper or material with the general characteristics of paper. These items must meet the requirements for International Incentive Letter-post, including size and weight.

Except where the product names are identified in full for clarity reasons (i.e. service standards, mail preparation, etc.), throughout this document the categories of services International Premium Incentive and U.S.A. Premium Incentive will be referred to as Premium Incentive, International Per Item Incentive and U.S.A. Per Item Incentive will be referred to as Per Item Incentive, International Standard Incentive and U.S.A. Standard Incentive will be referred to as Standard Incentive. U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct will remain as is.

International Incentive Letter-post must be posted in Canada for delivery outside of Canada.

There are eight (8) categories of International Incentive Letter-post:

• International Premium Incentive
• U.S.A. Premium Incentive
• International Per Item Incentive
• U.S.A. Per Item Incentive
• International Standard Incentive
• U.S.A. Standard Incentive
• U.S. First-Class Direct and
• U.S. Standard Direct.

Premium Incentive and Per Item Incentive are air mail services that feature direct return of undeliverable mail items at no extra charge, provided there is a Canadian return address on the outside of the mail item. Redirection to the addressee is dependent on the practices and requirements of the receiving destination postal administration.

Standard Incentive service is an economy service that provides non-priority transportation to destinations outside of Canada. It is ideal for printed matter where price, rather than speed, is important. Undeliverable items of Standard Incentive will be disposed of or recycled locally, as determined by Canada Post.

U.S. First-Class Direct service is ideal for sending time-sensitive business correspondence to addresses in the U.S.A. The service enables Canadian-based commercial Customers to project a “U.S. look” on their mail items.

U.S. Standard Direct service is a proven cost-effective service designed for the movement of non-time sensitive items such as advertising mail, catalogues, etc., that require a “U.S. look and feel”.

1.3	Service Standards

Canada Post has developed service standards for properly prepared International Incentive Letter-post.

Customers must comply with the scheduling requirements specified in section 4.1.1 “Scheduling” to help ensure proper delivery arrangements are in place to meet Customer delivery requests.

Service standards are estimates of how long it will take for the mail to be delivered from major Canadian centres to major centres in the destination country. Service standards are not guaranteed.

An overview of International Incentive Letter-post service standards is as follows:

These service standards do not apply to redirected or returned items.

1.4	Service Features and Options

1.4.1

Features

A feature is provided as part of the basic service.

1.4.1.1

Return to Sender

This feature applies only to Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and U.S. First-Class Direct. All undeliverable items of Premium Incentive and Per Item Incentive with a Canadian return address on the outside cover are returned directly to the Customer at no extra charge. When the return address is on the inside of the mail item, the item will be returned to the Customer for a fee.

All undeliverable items of U.S. First-Class Direct with a U.S. return address on the outside cover are returned to the sender’s address specified on the envelope at no extra charge. A fee may apply if the Customer wishes to have undeliverable items returned to their Canadian address.

1.4.1.2

Redirection

This feature is available to all categories of International Incentive Letter-post. All mail items will be redirected to the addressee based on the practices and requirements of the receiving destination postal administration.

1.4.1.3

Pickup

Pick-up is available to International Incentive Letter-post Customers at no additional charge, in locations where Canada Post offers mail collection services.

Customers can visit canadapost.ca/ilpsupportdocuments for a list of pick-up locations or contact the Customer Relationship Network at 1.888.550.6333.

1.4.2

Options

An option is a service enhancement that is not provided automatically as part of the basic service. There are no options available for International Incentive Letter-post.

2

Content, Format and Physical Characteristics

To be eligible as International Incentive Letter-post, the items mailed must meet the criteria specified for International Incentive Letter-post and must be prepared for mailing in such a manner as to prevent loss or damage to any item and permit easy examination of each item.

Items submitted as International Incentive Letter-post that do not meet the content, format and physical characteristics specified for International Incentive Letter-post and the various mail preparation and other requirements outlined in this Agreement, are not acceptable as International Incentive Letter-post and may be subject to price adjustments and/or surcharges.

See section 5 “Criteria for Qualification” and section 6 “Surcharges” in the General Terms and Conditions. Visit canadapost.ca/postalservices for information on surcharges.

2.1

Content

2.1.1

What is Acceptable as International Incentive Letter-post?

International Incentive Letter-post is mail that is composed of paper or other material with the general characteristics of paper, falling within the minimum and maximum dimensions and weight established by Canada Post for International Incentive Letter-post, and otherwise meeting the applicable requirements.

The following qualifying items may be mailed using Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and U.S. First-Class Direct:

• letters
• cards
• postcards
• self-mailers (must be sealed or glued on all four (4) sides)
• receipts
• invoices or similar financial documents
• other printed matter that meets the service requirements.

Standard Incentive and U.S. Standard Direct can only be used to send qualifying mail which does not include any information specific or relevant to the addressee. Standard Incentive and U.S. Standard Direct consist of printed matter that has been reproduced in several identical copies by means of a mechanical or a photographic process, such as:

• magazines
• newspapers and newsletters
• pamphlets and other promotional literature
• advertising and promotional postcards
• advertising and promotional self-mailers.

2.1.2

What is Unacceptable as International Incentive Letter-post?

The following items may not be sent as International Incentive Letter-post (Premium, Per Item, Standard, U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct):

• items that do not meet the product specifications or otherwise meet the requirements for International Incentive Letter-post, such as:

• mail items that do not include the service indicator (not applicable for U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct)
• Small Packet items
• goods
• films, audio or video recordings (e.g.,CDs, DVDs).

The Customer has the responsibility of ensuring that the contents of an item can be shipped under law. Canadian legislation, including but not limited to the Criminal Code, the Canada Post Corporation Act and Regulations (including, in particular, the Non-mailable Matter Regulations and International Letter-post Regulations), the Tobacco Act and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, may prohibit the mailing of certain items. Restricted and prohibited items also vary by country.

In addition, Customers shall not ship items that:

• contain products or substances that could harm Canada Post employees
• can soil and damage equipment
• expose a person to danger
• emit an offensive odour
• are prohibited by law.

Commingling is not permitted. Commingling occurs when separate mailings are prepared for mail processing in such a way that they are intermingled together to create a single sequenced mailing (either within the same packaging, bundle/grouping, container or shipping unit). See “Ownership of Mail” in section 6.2 “General Terms and Conditions”.

2.1.3

Enclosures and Attachments

For Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and Standard Incentive Letter-post, no attachments are acceptable except those that are necessary for the purpose of addressing, payment of postage, service endorsements and Customs requirements.

Only enclosures which meet the requirements for International Incentive Letter-post are acceptable provided the item still meets all applicable size and weight requirements.

For U.S. First-Class Direct and Standard Direct Letter-post, permanent labels and stickers (those designed not to be removed or relocated) must be affixed directly to the outside of the item with a permanent adhesive. A mailer may provide recipients with relocatable labels to place on the outside of response pieces sent back to the mailer. Labels and stickers may be used on U.S. First-Class Direct card items only if permitted by the applicable United States Postal Service (USPS) standards.

When mail of a higher class (U.S. First-Class Direct) is enclosed with mail of a lower class (U.S. Standard Direct), the postage on the entire item is charged at the rate of the higher class item.

2.1.4

Non-mailable Matter

Generally, non-mailable matter means any item that:

• is prohibited by law (e.g., illegal, obscene, fraudulent)
• is non-mailable due to the fact that it fails to meet certain physical characteristics or marking requirements
• contains products or substances that could:

• cause injury to those handling the mail
• cause damage to postal equipment or other items
• cause entrapment of other items.

Any item bearing a modified postage stamp in contravention of section 52, or bearing a word or mark in contravention of section 58, of the Canada Post Corporation Act and Regulations is also non-mailable matter.

Visit “Non-mailable Matter” at canadapost.ca/postalguide for more information.

It is the Customer’s obligation to ensure an item does not constitute non-mailable matter and is otherwise acceptable for mailing. For information on how non-compliant items will be handled, refer to the General Terms and Conditions component of this Customer Guide.

2.1.4.1

Solicitations by Mail

Solicitations (offers) having the general appearance of a bill, invoice, or statement of account where there is no obligation to make a payment in relation to the offer unless accepted, must adhere to the regulatory obligations detailing wording and format requirements.“Non-mailable Matter” at canadapost.ca/postalguide contains the requirements. For the official requirements of the Solicitations by Mail Regulations made under the Canada Post Corporation Act, go to http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showtdm/cr/C.R.C.-c.1295.

2.2

Format

2.2.1

Addressing

2.2.1.1

Destination Address

Every item in a deposit of International Incentive Letter-post must be addressed to a specific individual or a company and include the complete mailing address, including the country of destination which must be spelled in full and be printed alone on the last line, in capital letters, in English or French. U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct items must include a complete delivery address with the correct ZIP Code or ZIP+4 Code.

2.2.1.2

Return Address

For Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and Standard Incentive Letter-post items, there must be only one (1) return address on each item, and that return address must be Canadian.

Each item of U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct must bear only one (1) return address. If used, that return address must be American. If the return address is a multiple delivery address, it must show a unit designator (e.g.: a suite/apartment number).

For more information on addressing, visit the Canada Postal Guide at canadapost.ca/postalguide under Addressing Guidelines.

2.2.2

Markings

For Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and Standard Incentive Letter-Post, Customers may only use Canada Post postage indicia, logos, trademarks or markings if the Customer has obtained the prior written consent of Canada Post. Any use by the Customer must then be only in strict accordance with the consent granted. Any unauthorized use is an offence under the Canada Post Corporation Act and Regulations.

Each item must bear the approved Canada Post service indicator, including the Customer’s account number. Each item must also bear on the front of the item in an area specified by Canada Post, the applicable service indicator as follows:

• Premium Incentive and Per Item Incentive: “AIR MAIL/PAR AVION”
• Standard Incentive: “NON-PRIORITY”.

Note that an item will be non-mailable matter if, on the outside, it is marked or labelled with any of the following that were not provided or authorized by Canada Post:

• any design likely to be mistaken for a postage stamp, franking impression or service label
• any label or endorsement implying that it will be given special handling, delivered faster or be provided with any service that has not been purchased by the Customer. (However, Customers may include labels on items that are directed to the addressee as an instruction that is clearly related only to the enclosure and would not otherwise result in the item being non-mailable matter)
• any facsimile of any label, endorsement or marking used by Canada Post that might cause confusion so as to affect its handling, e.g., confusion as to the service the Customer has paid for.

It is the Customer’s obligation to obtain approval for any proposed endorsement or other markings from Canada Post prior to printing.

For U.S. First-Class Direct and Standard Direct Letter-post, all items must be presented to Canada Post without a postmark. An approved USPS permit indicia or meter impression will be applied by an authorized supplier located in the United States of America. The application of the USPS authorized postmark will comply with the requirements laid out in the USPS Domestic Mail Manual. Visit usps.com for more information.

2.3	Physical Characteristics

All International Incentive Letter-post items must meet the following size and weight specifications.

With the exception of rectangular promotional postcards (must have no projecting or raised relief parts), and self-mailers (without an attached pin-feed strip), Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and U.S. First-Class Direct items must be in a completely sealed envelope.

Standard Incentive and U.S. Standard Direct items should be securely closed (e.g., tabbed, spot-sealed or in a wrapper), but easy to open and close again to allow for inspection.

The metric unit is the official measure. Imperial equivalents are provided for reference and convenience only.

3

Preparing the Mailing

Proper mail preparation is important to ensure that International Incentive Letter-post items are processed and delivered efficiently. Adjustments and/or surcharges may be applied to improperly prepared mailings.

3.1	Mail Preparation

Mail preparation is the process of facing, containerizing the items and labelling the containers. It helps ensure machineability of mail (where applicable), protection of mail, identification of type of mail and ease of handling.

In all instances, the Customer must separate International Incentive Letter-post items by destination (either U.S.A. or International) and by service (U.S.A. Premium Incentive, International Premium Incentive, U.S.A. Per Item Incentive, International Per Item Incentive, U.S.A. Standard Incentive, International Standard Incentive, U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct) and complete and sign a corresponding Order (Statement of Mailing) for presentation with the items.

In certain locations, a contractor prepares and applies the approved Canada Post Letter-post indicia and the applicable service indicator to Customers’ items of International Incentive Letter-post (Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and Standard Incentive). At dispatch time, the contractor deposits the Customer’s International Incentive Letter-post items and Order (Statement of Mailing) at the designated Canada Post facility.

3.2	Summary of Key Requirements

3.2.1

Premium Incentive Letter-Post

3.2.2

Standard Incentive Letter-Post

3.2.3

Per Item Incentive Letter-post

3.2.4

U.S. Direct Entry Letter-Post

Customers may combine U.S. First-Class and Standard Direct volumes on one (1) Order (Statement of Mailing). Each category must be listed separately, according to the applicable rate structure.

4

Depositing the Mailing

4.1	Prior to Depositing

4.1.1

Scheduling

Customers must give 24 hours notice of any planned deposit of 20,000 items or more so that Canada Post can arrange for necessary transportation. This information will help efficient deposit and processing of Customer’s mailings.

4.1.2

Creating an Order (Statement of Mailing)

A completed Order (Statement of Mailing) produced by EST, or a manually-prepared Order (Statement of Mailing), is required for each single deposit of Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive or Standard Incentive Letter-post. Two (2) printed copies of the Order (Statement of Mailing) prepared electronically, or the original of a manually prepared Order (Statement of Mailing), must be provided to an authorized Canada Post Representative at a postal facility approved by Canada Post at the time of mailing.

Customers are required to complete an Order (Statement of Mailing) produced by our Electronic Shipping Tools for each single deposit of U.S. First-Class Direct and/or U.S. Standard Direct Letter-post.

Customers mailing U.S. First-Class Direct and/or U.S. Standard Direct Letter-post are also required to complete a U.S. Customs Invoice with a Pre-Arrival Processing System (PAPS) Barcode Label attached and a Shipping Label/U.S. Mail Receipt for each single deposit.

Customers must complete separate Orders (Statements of Mailing) for deposits of Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and Standard Incentive. These services may not be combined on the same Order.

U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct may not be combined on the same Order (Statement of Mailing) with Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive or Standard Incentive Letter-post.

U.S. First-Class Direct and U.S. Standard Direct may be combined on the same Order (Statement of Mailing), but the physical items must be presented to Canada Post in separate containers (boxes).

4.1.2.1

Electronic Order (Electronic Shipping Tools [EST])

Customers can obtain EST, free of charge, by registering for a user ID and password at canadapost.ca/newuser. For technical inquiries regarding EST, please call the Technical Help Line at 1.800.277.4799.

Customers have the option of using either EST on-line, or the desktop version, which can be downloaded to prepare Orders off-line and submitted later. This method reduces paperwork and opportunities for error while providing added Customer convenience.

4.1.2.2

Manual Order (Statement of Mailing)

Customers can choose to manually prepare an Order (Statement of Mailing) using a hard copy form (for Premium Incentive, Per Item Incentive and Standard Incentive only). However, manually prepared Orders are subject to a manual Order processing fee.

4.2	At the Time of Deposit

4.2.1

Where to Deposit

International Incentive Letter-post items must be deposited with an authorized employee of Canada Post at a Receipt Verification Unit (RVU), where they exist, or at any postal facility approved by Canada Post. International Incentive Letter-post items cannot be deposited in street letter boxes, parcel receptacles or other mail receptacles. Each deposit must be accompanied by an Order (Statement of Mailing).

5

Pricing

5.1

Prices

Please refer to the applicable International Incentive Letter-post Price Sheet.

In order to access these prices, the Customer must meet all applicable requirements, including the specifications and Mail Preparation requirements for International Incentive Letter-post, as outlined in this Agreement.

5.1.1

Minimum Volume and Phantom Pricing

Customers may deposit less than the minimum volume requirement (100 items) described in this Agreement provided that the difference between the actual volume and the minimum volume is entered and paid at the phantom price.

Regardless of destination, the phantom price for each phantom item of:

• Premium Incentive will be charged at the then current U.S.A. Premium Incentive, “Up to 50 g”, Short and Long per item price
• Standard Incentive will be charged at the then current U.S.A. Standard Incentive, “Up to 50 g”, Short and Long per item price
• Per Item Incentive will be charged at the then current U.S.A. Per Item Incentive, “Up to 30 g” per item price.

6

International Incentive Letter-post Specific Terms and Conditions

6.1	Payment Terms

For general payment terms, see Paying For Your Mailing.

6.2	General Terms and Conditions

See General Terms and Conditions, which are modified as follows:

Add:

The Customer agrees to reimburse Canada Post for any incremental terminal dues costs such as, but not limited to, bulk mail and remail charges that are applied by the receiving Postal Administration, as specified in the Universal Postal Union Convention.

The Customer agrees that Items mailed under this Agreement will be mailed only on the Customer's or its Authorized User's behalf, and that Items will not include commingled mail, being consolidated mail of a type or from sources other than those approved by Canada Post.

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		Postal Guide		Prices		Mail Preparation & Presortation Guides
		International Destination Listing		Customer Guides		Postal Indicia
		General Terms and Conditions		Container Labels		ABCs of Mailing
		Glossary		Postal Standards